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Not slaying it: One hit does not a star make
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May 10th, 2014
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What do Bill Cosby, Andy Samberg, and Zach Braff have in common? All three are well-known television actors, but none of them have had any real success in films. And now sadly, you can add Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to the list.
After winning widespread praise for his performance in season three of 'Game of Thrones', the Dane, who plays Jaime ‘The Kingslayer’ Lannister in the show, looked set to capitalise.
Timing was right
With the popularity of ‘Game of Thrones’ at an all-time high, it wasn’t a surprise when he was offered leading roles in two movies. And once made, it probably wasn’t a coincidence that both films were released to coincide with the transmission of season four.
It’s not like both films have bombed spectacularly, but neither have they set the world alight.
Coster-Waldau is quickly learning that success does not always translate from the one medium to the other.
A hundred times no
The first of his films, ‘A Thousand Times Good Night,’ has received a moderately good 57 on Metacritic, but no thanks to Coster-Waldau, claim critics.
Not only has he been outshone by his co-star Juliette Binoche, but also by 15-year-old Lauryn Canny, who plays his daughter.
“The handsomely bearded Marcus's picturesque job as a ‘marine biologist’ is preposterous and their house in Ireland a colour-supplement-type fantasy,” observed an unimpressed Guardian.
“Something is wrong with this picture.”
Timing is awful
‘The Other Woman’, co-starring Cameron Diaz, has fared worse, scoring just 39 on Metacritic.
Many critics observed that Coster-Waldau, like the rest of the cast, struggled with material that just wasn’t funny – a problem habitually faced by comedies.
“Practically every gag in this movie, and there are scores of them, is milked dry,” complained the Christian Science Monitor.“When the gags aren't very good to begin to with, this is a prescription for disaster.”
The Newark Star-Ledger concurred.“‘The Other Woman’ doesn't do many things well, but it does do one thing perfectly: it makes you wish you'd stayed home,” it observed.
“The only thing missing from this steaming casserole, in fact, is the one crucial ingredient: a sense of humor.”
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