Jim Varney performs Hamlet on NBC Nightly News (1985)

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RIP Jim Varney. Like the man said, without Jim Varney, there is no Ernest.
- We need more character actors. Have there been any good ones since Borat?
  
  I would argue even Baron-Cohen isn't that great. The genius of Varney (and his contemporary Jeffrey Combs) is that they can portray these consistent characters without strongly leaning into insulting stereotypes.
Alas poor Vern, I knew him well.
I never realized that he was a handsome man IRL. How odd.

And BTW, I can't stand to see Shakespeare acted that way. FFS, the characters are supposed to be alive. Go watch some Kenneth Branagh and/or Emma Thompson. Best yet, check out the 90s version of Romeo and Juliet with DiCaprio and Danes. Holy shit. I've never understood a Shakespeare work so clearly.

7 comments