Feb '19 *
When I think of Richard Jordan, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Dune (1984). He played Duncan Idaho in that. It is interesting to me to note how quickly he aged, before and after that movie.
Look at him in Logan's Run (1976). I think the character he was playing was probably supposed to be in his early twenties, or maybe even late teens. So, that might explain why he came across as seeming young, he was probably pulling out the stops, acting-wise, to seem as young as possible. That character, Francis, is supposed be basically a hardcore mindless badass take-no-prisoners Sandman, who basically just says "Fuck the runners! They're breaking the rules!" and just laughs at them and enjoys his job as he terminates them. A lot of people would have a hard time being THAT soulless even in childhood, but I think the way he behaves suggests that we are supposed to just think he is a high-spirited young man who just isn't very thoughtful, and has not yet taken the time to think through the morality of his job. This is just my sense... I imagine most people here haven't seen Logan's Run in a long time, but if you have seen it I bet you know what I'm saying.
Anyway, Richard Jordan was actually about thirty-seven or thirty-eight when he played that part. I'm not completely sure when they filmed his scenes, but even if he was thirty-seven he had to be very close to thirty-eight. So, he was just playing a character who was supposed to be much younger. Just the fact that he was able to do it at all convincingly means that he wasn't really THAT old, I guess...
Well, anyway, compare how he comes across in that to how he looks in Dune, which was only about eight years later. He seems MUCH older to me. Then compare him in Logan's Run to how he looked in Hunt For Red October (filmed in 1989), when he played National Securiy Advisor Jeffrey Pelt. To me, he looks... I don't know, maybe thirty or thirty-five years older there than he did in Logan's Run, although it was filmed only about fourteen years after it.
To sum up: what a drag it is getting old.
I just think this is striking, I might have mentioned it before on IMDB, a long time ago.
Look at him in Logan's Run (1976). I think the character he was playing was probably supposed to be in his early twenties, or maybe even late teens. So, that might explain why he came across as seeming young, he was probably pulling out the stops, acting-wise, to seem as young as possible. That character, Francis, is supposed be basically a hardcore mindless badass take-no-prisoners Sandman, who basically just says "Fuck the runners! They're breaking the rules!" and just laughs at them and enjoys his job as he terminates them. A lot of people would have a hard time being THAT soulless even in childhood, but I think the way he behaves suggests that we are supposed to just think he is a high-spirited young man who just isn't very thoughtful, and has not yet taken the time to think through the morality of his job. This is just my sense... I imagine most people here haven't seen Logan's Run in a long time, but if you have seen it I bet you know what I'm saying.
Anyway, Richard Jordan was actually about thirty-seven or thirty-eight when he played that part. I'm not completely sure when they filmed his scenes, but even if he was thirty-seven he had to be very close to thirty-eight. So, he was just playing a character who was supposed to be much younger. Just the fact that he was able to do it at all convincingly means that he wasn't really THAT old, I guess...
Well, anyway, compare how he comes across in that to how he looks in Dune, which was only about eight years later. He seems MUCH older to me. Then compare him in Logan's Run to how he looked in Hunt For Red October (filmed in 1989), when he played National Securiy Advisor Jeffrey Pelt. To me, he looks... I don't know, maybe thirty or thirty-five years older there than he did in Logan's Run, although it was filmed only about fourteen years after it.
To sum up: what a drag it is getting old.
I just think this is striking, I might have mentioned it before on IMDB, a long time ago.