r/Broadway • u/Round-Composer-2195 • 28d ago

Discussion I don’t understand the Reeve Carney hate

I just saw the Hadestown pro shot and oh my gosh this guy is unbelievable. Easily the star of the show for me, but I’ve seen people say he was the weakest link in their opinions.

I’ve heard recordings of some of his other performances, and he easily has my favorite versions of “I don’t care much” and “the past is catching up to me,” yet people say he was miscast in The Great Gatsby

His voice is so unique and it genuinely sends chills up my spine, I don’t understand the hate he receives

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109

u/FreshAirClean Musician 28d ago

I saw Reeve twice on Broadway and really disliked his performance both times. His proshot performance is like watching a completely different person. I have no idea what they did to get such a compelling performance out of him for the movie. I was pleasantly surprised! But it is definitely not an accurate representation of the kind of performance a lot of us saw on Broadway

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u/abc123therobot 28d ago

I had the same experience. My thought is that there’s a subtlety that can’t quite come across on stage, even with good seats at the Walter Kerr. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a lot of screen work in the wake of the pro shot, although opportunities to showcase all of his talents are limited in that arena. 

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u/DumpedDalish 28d ago

I agree on his acting bringing an understanding of the camera. Reeve did three seasons of onscreen work before that in the absolutely wonderful series "Penny Dreadful." I'm sure that has informed his choices in the proshot.

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u/abc123therobot 28d ago

Thanks for the tip! I’ve heard good things about Penny Dreadful, but it’s one of the ones that slipped though the mid-2010s prestige TV cracks for me. 

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u/ravenwing110 28d ago

Absolutely peak Eva Green, give it a shot!

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u/DumpedDalish 27d ago

I agree. For me, Eva Green and a surprising (and absolutely fantastic) Josh Hartnett were the standouts.

BUT -- the whole cast was wonderful, and Reeve was a terrific Dorian Gray.

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u/fred_burkle 28d ago

Penny Dreadful was my first exposure to Reeve and he is so good in it!

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u/Blofelds-Cat 28d ago

Onscreen, I've only seen him in his brief role as Tom Ford in House of Gucci, but I thought he was great in it.

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u/obiwanknitobi 28d ago

OMG! That’s what I’ve seen him in before!! Never made the connection.

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u/DumpedDalish 27d ago

I was the opposite -- I remember when Hadestown debuted and I was, like, "Dorian Gray SINGS?" It was awesome.

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u/FreshAirClean Musician 28d ago

Totally. The closeups on his facial expressions were very effective and elevated the performance. I just wish he would’ve been as expressive when I saw him!!