The actor Meg Ryan crowned as the second coming of James Stewart: “He’s just amazing”
Meg Ryan might have established herself as the rom-com queen with the release of When Harry Met Sally in 1989 – following it with classics like You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle – but she has always been so much more than that.
I mean, following her bold turn in Jane Campion’s erotic In The Cut, it was a true tragedy that Ryan was subjected to so much negative press, because it resulted in a career downturn – no longer was she seen as the ‘girl next door’ archetype. Yet, that’s never who she wanted to be; it was a mere label forced upon her on the basis of certain roles.
Ryan subsequently began acting less from the 2000s onwards, but she has since found the time to pursue her interest in directing, making her debut feature, Ithaca, in 2015. A drama set during World War Two, the film is a lot different to the kinds of movies you might associate with Ryan, but she gave it her all – even if reviews weren’t positive.
Still, she had a grand time bringing William Saroyan’s novel The Human Comedy to life, with Alex Neustaedter starring in the lead as a teenage boy who delivers telegrams. With supporting performances coming from the likes of Ryan and her faithful collaborator, Tom Hanks, the movie might have had potential, but it fell flat.
Still, it allowed Ryan to work with a star she believed to be the second-coming of James Stewart – and I’m not talking about Hanks. While the Forrest Gump lead was routinely compared to the actor back in the day, Ryan couldn’t help but draw comparisons between a slightly younger actor and the legendary It’s A Wonderful Life star.
Talking to Mandatory, the actor shed praise on Hamish Linklater, who played Tom. “He’s just amazing. He looks like a Rolls-Royce, you know? Every nuance. It was incredible being in the editing room and to see him perform. Because he is in the pocket of it all the time, but every time, he does it differently. Take after take.”
Ryan was dead set on the fact that Linklater had this timeless quality that would’ve allowed him to triumph in the old days of Hollywood. “And we could have cut together any type of performance from this guy, and they all would have been right. And I know Frank Capra, I’m sure, would have cast him in everything,” she added.
When the interviewer brought up Stewart – one of Hollywood’s greatest actors who routinely worked with Alfred Hitchcock – Ryan agreed. “Yeah. He’s such an optimist. And he gets hurt so beautifully, you know what I mean.”
Linklater isn’t a massive name, but he has appeared in his fair share of TV shows as diverse as Fargo, Midnight Mass, and Batman: Caped Crusader, while more recent movie roles have seen him appear in the acclaimed Nickel Boys and the Margot Robbie-starring A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. Clearly, Ryan could see talent in him that hasn’t been utilised to its full potential just yet. “Very soulful guy, and a great actor,” she concluded.
