The “special” actor Burt Reynolds called the second coming of Spencer Tracy: “He hasn’t hit his zenith yet”
One of the easiest ways to manufacture hype for an up-and-coming star is to call them the second coming of somebody else, even if there hasn’t been anyone to roll off the Hollywood production line who’s been branded as the new Burt Reynolds.
The next big thing in method acting is frequently dubbed the next Marlon Brando, cinema’s freshest affable everyman can’t avoid the James Stewart comparisons, and Glen Powell seems to be trying really, really hard to win his mentor’s endorsement and earn his anointed tag as Tom Cruise’s first-ever protégé.
Reynolds was one of a kind, though, and for better or worse, there’ll never be another like him, since it’s highly unlikely that another actor with a glorious moustache will burst onto the scene after 15 years of struggling, spend five years as the biggest box office draw in the business, turn down some of the greatest and most iconic roles of all time, and then fail to regain that momentum ever again.
The Smokey and the Bandit star was an entity unto himself, caught in the middle of the constant tug of war between being an actor and being a movie star. He chose the latter, and had plenty of opportunities to try his hand at becoming the latter, but when all was said and done, he was still an iconic figure of the ‘New Hollywood’ era.
Even though they were polar opposites in terms of approach, legacy, and dramatic abilities, Reynolds never wavered from his belief that Spencer Tracy, the nine-time Academy Award nominee who became the first person to claim back-to-back acting Oscars, was the greatest of all time. So, when he called one actor the second coming of his idol, it carried plenty of weight.
In an interview with A24 just six months before his death in September 2018, he was in a reflective mood. “I’ve been very lucky,” he said. “I’ve worked with some wonderful actors, and the man that taught me ‘don’t act, just behave’ was my idol, Spencer Tracy. He said, ‘Well, don’t don’t let them catch you acting’, which is a great way to put it.”
When asked if there was anybody who fit the Tracy template, his first pick was Sally Field, randomly enough, before he went out on a limb. “I think George Clooney is special,” he added. “He hasn’t hit his zenith yet, but he’s going to. He’s just a couple of roles away from being the best actor in town.”
Clooney has grown accustomed to being called the Paul Newman to Brad Pitt’s Robert Redford when comparing past icons with the present crop, but Reynolds thinks he’s more Tracy 2.0. Then again, it was a little odd that he was still waiting on the former Batman to reach his peak, considering when he said it.
At the time, Clooney was 56 years old, a two-time Oscar winner, an eight-time nominee, and a four-time Golden Globe winner, which still wasn’t enough to convince Reynolds that he’d reached his zenith.
