MovieChat Forums > Tom Berenger Discussion > Never did much after Platoon

Never did much after Platoon


it just never panned out for him.

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I think he's had a pretty good career. Had a good character in Big Chill. Had a funny bad-guy role opposite Debra Winger in some hillbilly neo-nazi film. Was a detective in some other thriller. Good comedic role in Major League. That's at least 5 movies where at least he had a lead role and was convincing. Plus some left field TV appearances. He's a cool guy, a younger Burt Reynolds.

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Major league ???!

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Definitely agree, his early 80's run up to Platoon show he had potential to be a big star.

Looking at his work after Platoon. Betrayed (1988), The Field (1991), Born on The Forth of July (1989), Sniper (1993), Gettysburg (1993), Major League (1989), Last of the Dogmen (1995), The Substitute (1996), Training Day (2001), Inception (2010) and Hatfields & McCoys (2012). Not a bad C.V, but I do agree he had nothing in terms of a acting role as awesome as the one from Platoon. He sadly fell into Direct to Video career far too fast. Sad really.

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What crazy talk is this? The guy is famous and was in some great movies. Calling that sad is like complaining that you only got to screw a couple of the beauty pageant contestants but not the winner.

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thats the kind of glass half full optimism everyone should look for!

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He never quite became an A-lister but has worked steadily. He strikes me as someone who could pop up in a great late-career character role and find himself back on the awards circuit.

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I agree. He's stated that one of his favorites roles, from an acting viewpoint, was as Word Man in Eddie & the Cruisers. He liked the idea of technically being the lead, but doing so in the background, a quiet, almost secondary observer of the more dynamic characters. It had to be a subtle balance for him. Which means the acting challenges & opportunities are important to him, an excellent attitude & approach for a character actor.

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I don't know how you can say that with any degree of accuracy. 98% of SAG members would love to have his career.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000297/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#writer

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Idk, i love Sniper and The Substitute

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I remember when The Substitute came out in theaters. Not a bad movie.

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I rewatched that recently , cant remember TB in it

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Say what? He's the star of the movie!

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He might not have turned top tier, but he's been in tons since Platoon.

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i thought he would have had a bigger career.

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I like him as an actor, but I mostly have seen him in ensemble movies, so other than The Substitute, I can't really think of any movie that he had the lead. I'm sure out of the 111 credits he has as of today on IMDB, he has been the lead in a few. I think that could be is that he does too many things well. Like he's done action, he's done drama, he's done comedy, but he doesn't really have a 'thing'.

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He did seem on his way to being an A-lister. He definitely should have. You know what movie I loved with him in the lead? Shattered from 1991. I used to watch it constantly. It's got Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi, Corben Bernsen, and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer (Val's wife). And directed by the great Wolfgang Petersen. Highly recommended if you guys have never seen it!!

https://tubitv.com/movies/302730

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Oh yeah! I have seen that and liked it a lot.

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Oh my God it was so good I couldn't get enough of it!! And Tom was soooo dreamy!!!!

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just saw it - good stuff
I think I might want to start watching films from the 90's - none of the woke BS, etc.

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