There are many actors that seem to be on their way to a successful career in the movies or television and then disappear from the public eye, leaving the fans with only their own speculation as to what happened. John Friedrich is one of those actors.
Like so many of the talented people in this blog, John Friedrich had built up a pretty nice looking resume. His brief scenes with John Travolta in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble are the best parts of that movie. As the love interest to Debra Winger in Thank God It's Friday, his comic charm makes the movie seem better than it actually is. And in the James Woods film Fast-Walking, John Friedrich's understated performance holds its own among a whole slew of scenery chewing character actors like Timothy Carey and Tim McIntire, just to name a few.
John Friedrich's performances were often better than the actual films. The Final Terror is a good example of that. Add to the mix that he looked and sounded vastly different in each role, as well as the fact that many of his movies did poorly at the box office, and you have an excellent actor who fell through the cracks.
With most of his films, and especially his work in the movies, The Wanderers, A Small Circle of Friends, and the television mini-series, The Thorn Birds, John Friedrich has actual proof that he could have been a star. And I'm one fan that believes that it could still happen.
Like so many of the talented people in this blog, John Friedrich had built up a pretty nice looking resume. His brief scenes with John Travolta in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble are the best parts of that movie. As the love interest to Debra Winger in Thank God It's Friday, his comic charm makes the movie seem better than it actually is. And in the James Woods film Fast-Walking, John Friedrich's understated performance holds its own among a whole slew of scenery chewing character actors like Timothy Carey and Tim McIntire, just to name a few.
With most of his films, and especially his work in the movies, The Wanderers, A Small Circle of Friends, and the television mini-series, The Thorn Birds, John Friedrich has actual proof that he could have been a star. And I'm one fan that believes that it could still happen.
Always have enjoyed Thank God It's Friday as my bad 70's disco guilty pleasure movie. John Friedrich was such a handsome young man and I was barely in high school, but always wondered what he ended up doing. He has aged wonderfully and still has that million dollar smile. Good to see he is coming back to the screen. I'm a fan and will watch other movies now that I've finally done some searching. Break a leg.
ReplyDeleteI loved this actor in the Thorn birds..Jesus! He was a loving brother for little Meggie or Sidney Penny and a good boy even if he played a tormented young man..Poor guy! I always thought that his acting was great but underrated..In the "thorn birds"he leaves his family after the fair to join Jimmy Sharman and his mates...and he won't appear again.. He is very handsome in the series too and he is my favourite male character among the Cleary..he was hostile but intelligent and brave...Thank you for this post.Greetings from France.
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