Canada’s own Leslie Nilesen may have made a name for himself in comedy, thanks in no small part to Airplane! And The Naked Gun series, but true fans likely know that his career dates back to the 1950s! In fact, Leslie Nielsen played serious roles for thirty years before his comedic breakthrough in Airplane! But as Dale Sherman, the author of numerous books about actors and musicians, tells it, Nielsen’s role was much the same throughout all the phases of his career:
“What’s interesting about Leslie Nielsen’s acting career is that he seemed to follow three stages: good second lead, crime-drama guest star and then comedic actor. Fortunately for him, that last part came in the third act of his career and proceeded to make him a bigger star than anything before it. Interesting as well is that he appears to have been very much a man who liked to keep people laughing, but seemed to be stuck playing ‘man who sternly looks at others’ in a number of his roles before Airplane!. Admittedly, that also has him sternly looking at others, but with comical results.”
Nielsen himself seemed to confirm Sharman’s theory, stating in an interview with The Press Democrat that: “The more seriously, the more credibility you present in your demeanor when you’re talking about insanity, the funnier it becomes.”
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