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Andrea Thompson & Claudia Christian Post-B5: Do Blondes Have More Fun?

M

Mondo Londo

Regular
Let's consider:

Andrea Thompson played Talia Winters on B5 and left in Season 2 ("Divided Loyalties, #220), when she learned for sure her role would/could not be expanded.

At at least one point, she posed for "art" photographs.

After leaving her recurring role on B5 on PTEN, she got a recurring role on CBS' JAG, and then a starring role in ABC's NYPD Blue. After that she decided to slow down and took a job as a tlevision reporter in a very small market. After about a year of that, she is going to become a lead anchor of the revamped CNN Headline News.

Claudia Christian played Susan Ivanova on B5 for four seasons, before leaving her role in a contract dispute.

At at least one point, she posed for "art" photographs.

After leaving her starring role on B5 on PTEN, she was featured in
The Substitute 3 and similar projects, has done some voice-over work, and has a few projects soon to be released/started.

So, what has been the difference in their careers? Does Andrea Thompson simply have a better agent?

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I just thought of something. JAG has switched networks, hasn't it? I'm not sure it was on CBS when Andrea Thompson had a part. It's not that important to this discussion, but I might as well be accurate...

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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi

[This message has been edited by Mondo Londo (edited August 19, 2001).]
 
Claudia wanted a movie career. I don't think she was interested in having another television role like Andrea was. With that said, though, why would she consider "B" movies like The Substitute 3 to be a good career move?
crazy.gif


I believe Ms. Christian is learning that the leap from TV to movies isn't as easy as she thought.

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"The war is never completely won. There are always new battles to be fought against the Darkness. Only the names change."--Delenn
 
I know this doesn't matter much in Hollywood, but one reason may be that Thompson is just a better actress than Christian.

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"You do not make history. You can only hope to survive it."
 
Claudia had been in a few movies before B5 and one reason she left was because she had been offered parts in a couple of movies. I don't think these were leading roles but she probably believed they would lead to bigger and better parts. So far that hasn't happened.

Talia (forget her name) just wanted to work more and also she was having some marital problems at that time. I think she just wanted out.

All of which has nothing to do with hair color.

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Andrea's 'evil Talia' personna emerged, and that gave her a leg up in the corporate cutthroat world of acting, and newsreading.

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You're speaking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Maid Marian
Fluently! Errol Flynn as Robin Hood
You're talking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Arabella Bishop
I trust I'm not obscure. Errol Flynn as Dr. Peter Blood
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> but one reason may be that Thompson is just a better actress than Christian.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No she's not. IMO.

I thought her JAG character was a total loser. Apparently so did a lot of other people. She certainly didn't last long.

Her jump to TV news is another example of the degradation of "News" reporting in general. Once upon a time, Reporters went out, found stories and presented them to their audience.

These days, they just wait for someone to stage a "media event", send out a camera crew, have someone in the back office write up a few sound bites and a peroxide airhead reads the sound bites off a teleprompter.

It ain't news, it's Entertainment.




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Yes, I like cats too.
Shall we exchange Recipes?
 
It's like moving from staff to freelance in any of the fields that allow such a move. You never know what might happen... sometimes it works (Thompson) and sometimes it doesn't (Christian). Last time I checked, CC and Herc actress Alexandra Tydings were going to pitch a TV series - I wonder what happened with that?

Urk.

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Channe, Freelance Writer Extraordinaire and The Next JMS
--
B5 Synchroninity of the Day: I just found out that the new dorm I'm living in next year has been named Breen Hall.
 
Claudia Christian is obviously a multi talented idividual, but why do most of her recent projects seem to invole her playing up the whole sci fi cyber babe act. I mean if she wanted more serious movie roles, I would have thought she would try and steer clear of that image.
Angela Jolie can get away with playing lara croft, because she has a reasonably good body....of work prior to the Tomb Raider movie, you can't honestly say the same of Claudia.
I read an interview with Bruce Boxleitner in UK's SFX mag a while back, and he just came across as such a cool down to earth person. He basicaly said that he knew very well where he was in the scheme of things, and that because of the kind of roles he had played before he would always be percieved as just a tv guy, Boxleitner said in all honesty that he was not the type of actor who would ever get Hollywood leading roles, and that he was more than happy with his career. What also came across was his real pride in what he'd achieved while in B5.
Don't get me wrong I love Claudia to bits, but she doesn't seem to be helping her self with the type of projects she is pursuing.

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[This message has been edited by Shane (edited August 19, 2001).]
 
I think it could be just bad choices on christian's part. I'm not fond of thompson anyway. she always seemd such a cold fish and so humorless.

perhaps its just the blond thing!?

the movie/tv business is all about how you look anyway. as billy crystal said on snl:
"its not how you feel, its how you look, and you look mahhhvelous!"



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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> I thought her JAG character was a total loser. Apparently so did a lot of other people. She certainly didn't last long.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, that wasn't supposed to be a likeable character -- but it was a recurring role on a prime time network show, that led to a regular role on one of the hottest shows on TV at the time.

CC, on the other hand, went from playing a stripper whose body is invaded/taken over by an alien and then goes on a wild killing spree...

To a starring, custom-written role on a ground-breaking, award-winning TV show -- but she left that to play...

A cigar-smoking secret agent posing as a bimbo waitress who loves wet tee shirt contests... as well as other similar roles.

Yes, I know there have been other roles and projects, but they really haven't led to much... have they? I'd like them to, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for her, but...

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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi
 
Bakana, I agree with you, but the word is 'infotainment', with less non national inquirer type info all the time. I remember wishing that OJ would start dating Lady Di, so one item would cover them both, and leave a little bit of time for real news.

------------------
You're speaking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Maid Marian
Fluently! Errol Flynn as Robin Hood
You're talking treason! Olivia De Havilland as Arabella Bishop
I trust I'm not obscure. Errol Flynn as Dr. Peter Blood

Mr. Owl ate my metal worm.
 
As bad as the movies may be I believe they pay more.

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Bus

"Yeah, we could start our own game where people throw ducks at balloons and nothing's the way it seems."-Homer
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alexthecat:
I think it could be just bad choices on christian's part. I'm not fond of thompson anyway. she always seemd such a cold fish and so humorless.

perhaps its just the blond thing!?

the movie/tv business is all about how you look anyway. as billy crystal said on snl:
"its not how you feel, its how you look, and you look mahhhvelous!"<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, Andrea Thompson does always seem emotionally unavailable, doesn't she?

I'm pretty sure I've said this in other threads, but I'll say it again here: I'm not sure Claudia Christian will ever have better writing to perform than she did on
Babylon 5. As such, I'm not sure she'll ever deliver better performances than she did as Ivanova.

That's why it surprised me that she let a season of it go by for roles like the one she got in The Substitute 3. Though, of course, as someone once said, "you can't eat art" (well yes, I'm sure there are exceptions
smile.gif
).

It's also true that Hollywood casting is not well known for original thinking. So, if one casting agent was able to put CC in a "hot supporting sci-fi/action chick" role and not get fired, well then, the rest would pile on...


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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi
 
I think Claudia is quite happy about where she is; she seems to be in the interviews that I have seen and read. The roles she takes are unusual, interesting, and appear to be just plain fun. She does what she likes. What could be better than that?

Thompson seems to be doing what she likes to do, as well. I remember reading that she's always wanted to be a reporter (supposedly journalism was her major in college) so I'm glad she finally got there. Even if new reports only contain half truths and half lies (according to my mass-communications professor).

For what they both wanted to do, I'd say that they both have come out really well.

Mysterio,

Claudia just likes to do "B" movies. Nothing at all wrong with that. And Substitute 3 was a pretty good movie. Some people make careers off being "B" actors and turn out really well. Case in point, Bruce Campbell.
smile.gif
He's proud to consider himself a "B" actor (if you don't believe me, check out his auto-biography).


And now this topic is moved to General.

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Ivanova is always right. I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova's recommendations. Ivanova is God. And if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out.
 
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