Greetings,
Hey, remember when I talked about Christian Kane? And remember how I mentioned the show he is on, Leverage, also starring Timothy Hutton? And remember how I mentioned how much I love Timothy Hutton? You do? Good, because today I will expand on my love for Mr. Hutton. I don't know what I can tell you about him that you don't already know, but I will do my best. Let's go steal a tribute! Only Leverage fans will get that.
On August 16, 1960, we welcomed into the world Timothy Tarquin Hutton. That's right. He was given the best middle name I've ever heard. Thanks, Mom and Dad. He was born in California, but, after his parents got divorced, his mother moved them to Boston, only to return nearly a decade later. It was when he was 16 and cast in a school production of Guys and Dolls that he truly developed a love for acting. You see, teachers. When you are pressured to cast students because of their parents' status on the school board or the PTA, remember that there are repercussions to not just casting the most talented kids. Imagine how different the world would be if our beloved Timothy had lost the part to the son of the principal. I shudder.
Now, while he didn't start acting professionally until he was about 18, Tim (I'm just gonna call him "Tim" because it's less typing for me) did have a couple of childhood jobs. First, at the age of five, he had a part in a film called Never Too Late, which was uncredited. However, both Wikipedia and IMDB have chosen to dub him "Boy running to his daddy". Hey, we all have to start somewhere. Next, he showed up in an installment of The Wonderful World of Disney. It was something filmed in 1970 that wasn't aired until 1972, and it was called "Dad, Can I Borrow the Car?". I don't know what his role was in this, but since he was ten at the time, I'm assuming that, if he asked this question, the answer would be no. Then again, it was the 70's, so who knows? (Oopsy! After I posted this, a reader commented that the "Car" movie was doubled with something called "The Hunter and the Rock Star" and it is this one that Tim appears in. He apparently plays a singer who runs away to an island where they hunt tigers, and he becomes friends with one of them! Okay! I haven't seen either, so I will take their word for it. See, I can admit and fix my mistakes.)
When he did start acting seriously, it was mostly in TV roles, and he did build up a fairly good resume. But all of that paled in comparison to his first major motion picture role. That of Conrad Jarrett in the film Ordinary People. Where do I begin with this one? It is absolutely amazing. It's all about a family doing their best to survive in the midst of tragedy, and it is done in a stunning way. When you take into account everything that is attached to this film, it would have taken a asteroid hitting the set for anything to go wrong. Not only was this Tim's first time acting in a movie, but it was also Robert Redford's first time at the helm as a director. The cast included Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Elizabeth McGovern, even a young Adam Baldwin. But even with all of this greatness, it was Timothy Hutton, a young man barely out of his teens and a first time film actor, who stole the show. He was so brilliant and was rewarded (along with Redford as director and the film itself) with an Academy Award. Sometimes they do get it right.
And now for the bad news. There is this theory that, after one wins an Academy Award, a slump follows. Tim kind of fell victim to this. The 80's were not exactly the best time for him cinematically speaking. I mean, he actually had to be in films with Tom Cruise AND Sean Penn . . . twice! Why didn't they just take him out back and beat him? Sorry. Not a huge fan of those two guys. There were a few bright moments. He was in an acclaimed TV movie called A Long Way Home, and he also directed the video for the Cars' song "Drive". (Side note: he also recently directed the video for the song "The House Rules" by his co-star, Christian Kane. To You Tube!) Still, it was not exactly the best of times professionally.
But never fear. As the decade drew to a close, things picked up. He landed a few Broadway roles and, heading into the 90's, began to take more featured parts in films. Let me discuss a few of those.
One of my favorites from this time was The Dark Half, based on the book by Stephen King. Tim plays a writer who wants to kill off his pseudonym, which only serves to bring it to life. So he's actually playing two characters that are technically the same person. This movie was filmed in 1990-91, but was not released until 1993, due to studio upheaval. Upon release, it was not a huge box office success, but people have, in time, come to appreciate the film and its star.
A few years later, Tim did a great, star-studded movie called Beautiful Girls. In this, he plays a successful pianist who is in the midst of trying to make some big decisions concerning his life and relationships. He returns to his hometown for a high school reunion, only to be hit on by a fourteen year old Natalie Portman! Hey, look, whatever she says to him in this movie is nowhere near what she put poor Jean Reno through in The Professional. But seriously, I'm with you on both counts there, Natalie.
As we moved into the new milleniumn, Tim revisited the world of Stephen King by starring in Secret Window. Okay, so he wasn't the "star", because that was Johnny Depp. He played the man for whom Johnny Depp's wife left him. Now I have actually heard some women ask "Who would leave Johnny Depp for Timothy Hutton?", though I think they just meant who would leave Johnny Depp for anyone, and Tim just happened to be the anyone in this situation. Frankly, if you asked me that question, I would raise my hand and say, "I would!". Call me shallow, but I prefer a man who actually WON an Academy Award.
And in 2008, he was in a movie called Lymelife with two Culkins and a Baldwin. That would have been enough for me to say no to that part, but the fact that my girl Jill Hennessy was involved would probably allow me to overlook that and get involved. And the movie was actually pretty good.
In amongst all these feature films, Tim did do a lot of TV work. In 2006, he was one of the stars of a show called Kidnapped. This show was interesting because every season they would have a new kidnapping victim, therefore a new victim's family, therefore a new cast for the most part. So since Tim was the first victim's father, it didn't matter much to his fans that the show only lasted one season, because his character would only last one season anyway. Sad for Jeremy Sisto, though. Look, the show was great and should not have been cancelled. But this first and only season was very, very similar to the movie Ransom. They even got Delroy Lindo to be in it. So watch it on Netflix because it's great, but don't expect too many surprises.
This brings us to present day and a man named Nathan Ford. Yes, it is time for Leverage talk. In late 2008, we got the thing for which we had been waiting - Timothy Hutton on a weekly basis. I talked about Leverage in my other post, but to recap, they are "bad guys" who are now "good guys". Robin Hoods, if you will, or perhaps a new A-Team, with girls. Look, I did give Christian Kane a load of praise, but Tim is absolutely brilliant on this show, playing "The Mastermind" of his band of people helpers. He is as good as he was in Ordinary People, just in a very different way. I actually consider this the funniest non-comedy on television right now, and he makes that work perfectly. But don't get me wrong. Tim does still have his dramatic chops. There are moments where he just breaks my heart, but in a good way. There is just no one like him. And since I did bring up Ordinary People again in this paragraph, may I say I would love to see Mary Tyler Moore guest star on the show. Maybe she can play his mom! Brilliant idea.
Well, now that I see how much I have written, perhaps I should wrap it up. So in conclusion, let me say that I love Timothy Hutton. He is, without a doubt, one of my favorite actors, and from what I gather, he seems like a nice guy in real life. That always matters to me. So may we continue to be blessed with more of Timothy Hutton and Leverage, or whatever else he wants to do. Whatever it is, I'm sure he will not disappoint.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
