The unfortunate thing is that it's often hard to figure out whether it's the source material or the people that are handling it.

It tends to be a bigger problem with conversions. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz included a lot of back story to the characters that never made it on screen. But, a play presented as a play, is a more straightforward deal.

What's wonderful about Patrick Stewart is that he understands his craft, he makes mindful decisions about how he plays his characters, and in general works his butt off.

Agreed about Patrick Stewart. I don't think I've ever seen him land a "bad" role, and from Star Trek to Shakespeare, he has delivered some incendiary performances.

He narrates the new Castlevannia that just came out. It's one of the big reasons I bought it.

And Tim Curry was one of the big reasons behind my buying GK1. Dumb reason, still a great game.

Sacrilege, philistines! I hereby condemn you to watching Krapp's Last Tape on YouTube, as performed by John Hurt, for the next 70 minutes! Feel the wizened despair as told through the hollows of John Hurt's face, as Krapp rages against the analog ghost of his expired arrogant self!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omcZT8k-km8 If he's caught in a bad movie, it's always in spite of his acting, rather than because of it. Thespians who have extensive strage training often transcend the material, which is why even when in a limpid "Moby Dick" or "Christmas Carol" (pointless after the George C. Scott version) he dominates the screen. Avery Brooks in the same way, which is why I'm sorry he hasn't really acted on-screen outside of DS9, sans a supporting turn in "American History X."

I happened to see the David Tennant version of "Hamlet," and it was quite excellent, at least the production made for the DVD. I thought he was a little long in the tooth to play the Danish prince but he did impress, and certainly has range outside his "Whovian" self. I thought much the same about Al Pacino in the 2004 adaptation of "Merchant of Venice," where I was worried he would ham up the screen like a Jewish Scarface, but he made the role his own.

Played Oblivion? I've never heard him so flat and uninteresting though maybe he played the game and decided to pitch his performance at the same level of 'meh'

Also: Fuck regional restrictions!
At least Avery got far more variety than Patrick did, Sisko started off broken & rough around the edges whereas Picard was basically a finished model from the first shot of Farpoint. Not only did Avery's character change a lot over the course of the show (just imagine the series 1 Sisko being put in the ep "In The Pale Moonlight") but he also got to play Benny Russel, not often that a lead gets to play 2 completely seperate characters.

DRM on GOG, damnit!
Wanted to see this, so badly..;/

For the sake of order correctness, from Shakespeare to Star Trek. Some/many may be wondering "how a Shakespearean actor landed a role in a cheesy Sci-Fi show [as much as i love the ST universe]. :)
Have You seen him parodying himself on Extras? A bloody hilarious scene that deals with the "the legend vs the person" stuff.

Also in Robin Hood: Men In Tights, "Its GOOD to be the king"

Holy cow, i've never noticed that this connection! So dumb i am.;>
Just makes me like him more, he's got range, and he's got distance.