Line #19 Creator/JamesDean


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jd_8.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:''"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."'']]
3	->''"Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done."''
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5	James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor.
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7	He is best known for the movies ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'', ''Film/EastOfEden'', and ''Film/{{Giant}}''... with good reason, as those are the only three films in which he had a starring role; he was killed in a car accident at the age of twenty-four, just as his career was starting to take off. Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actor, and remains the only actor to have received more than one posthumous nomination.
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9	A symbol of cool for teenagers of the [[TheFifties 1950s]] and nowadays for his being (reportedly) bisexual. His relatively [[ShortLivedBigImpact short career and enduring popularity]] also makes him something of a real-life EnsembleDarkhorse. The roles that made him famous (Cal Trask in ''Film/EastOfEden'' and Jim Stark in ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'') were TroubledButCute guys with {{Freudian Excuse}}s; his role as Jett Rink in ''Film/{{Giant}}'' was an attempt to break away from being {{typecast\|ing}} as troubled teens.
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11	In 2019, 64 years after his death, it was [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afm-james-dean-reborn-cgi-vietnam-war-action-drama-1252703 announced]] that "Dean" (more accurately his likeness) would be "appearing" in a new film called ''Finding Jack'', set during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar (a conflict which did not begin in earnest until after he died). This met with considerable backlash and is widely regarded as a publicity stunt. The filmmakers [[https://variety.com/2019/film/news/james-dean-finding-jack-cgi-1203399187/ defended]] their decision to "cast" Dean in the film, saying that it was approved by his family... however he was an only child with no children of his own, and his own parents are long dead, so the family in question is [[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/dec/11/james-dean-plays-with-cousin-marcus-winslow-in-snow-1955-thats-me-in-picture his first cousin Marcus Winslow]] (his paternal aunt's son), who was 11 years old when he died, so this approval is ''also'' highly contentious. The film has apparently been cancelled as no updates have been given since the initial announcement.
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13	While he was known to family and friends as "Jimmy", he shouldn't be confused with Jimmy Dean the "Big Bad John" singer, early costar of [[Franchise/TheMuppets Rowlf the Dog]], and breakfast sausage magnate.[[note]]It is sometimes claimed that the two Deans were actually distant relatives, although this is a matter of some dispute.[[/note]]
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15	!!James Dean's roles are commonly associated with the following tropes:
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17	* ActorInspiredElement: He suggested that Jett Rink's drunken soliloquy in ''Giant'' be done via long shot to emphasise the character's isolation.
18	* TheDanza: As Jim in ''Film/RebelWithoutACause''.
19	* DawsonCasting:
20	** In ''Film/EastOfEden'', he was already in his early twenties playing the teenage Cal.
21	** In ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'', he was 23 playing the 16-year-old Jim Stark.
22	* EnforcedMethodActing:
23	** For the ferris wheel scene in ''East of Eden'' that leads into Cal and Abra's kiss, James opted not to use the bathroom to add to his character's discomfort.
24	** He and Richard Davalos also shared an apartment briefly to get into the mindset of twin brothers. The latter admitted they became the characters "to the teeth" and it took him two years to shake it off.
25	* FriendshipOnTheSet:
26	** Creator/JulieHarris became his companion on ''East of Eden'', and she was often the one who could get him to calm down. Years later she would say "I loved him so much" in a platonic sense.
27	** Creator/ElizabethTaylor befriended him on the set of ''Giant'', and they would often stay up late into the night talking about life. He also became friends with Creator/DennisHopper.
28	* HostilityOnTheSet:
29	** Raymond Massey hated him on the set of ''East of Eden'', as he was classically trained and disliked the method. Elia Kazan picked up on this and encouraged the hostility to make for a natural performance between a distant father and son. The former later admitted it was his best role.
30	** Put it this way. Rock Hudson, with whom he worked on ''Giant'', said years later "I don't want to speak ill of the dead but he was a prick".
31	** On the same film, he had a tumultuous relationship with director George Stevens, and they clashed almost daily.
32	* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: James Dean is TroubledButCute personified. People will cosplay as Jim Stark and say they're James. ''Giant'' is his non-TroubledButCute role, and it's the least remembered of his films for this reason. Had he lived longer, perhaps this would have been different.
33	* IconicOutfit: His iconic red jacket, white t-shirt and jeans in ''Rebel Without A Cause''.
34	* MetaCasting: ''Film/EastOfEden'' was essentially James playing himself, or a character very similar to himself -- including the troubled relationship with his father. Creator/EliaKazan has called it the most apt bit of casting he ever did. Upon meeting James, Creator/JohnSteinbeck (who wrote the novel on which the film was based) remarked, "He ''is'' Cal!"
35	* ThrowItIn: For the famous scene in ''Film/EastOfEden'' where Adam rejects Cal's present, Cal was scripted to hit him. James however improvised Cal tearfully trying to hug him instead. Raymond Massey's confused reaction was genuine.
36	* UnderageCasting: In ''{{Film/Giant}}'', he continued to play Jett into his forties, and actually refused to wear more detailed older age makeup; only having grey hair and a few lines on his forehead.
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38	!!Portrayals in fiction:
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40	* [[TheDanza Another James]], last name [[Creator/JamesFranco Franco]], portrayed him in the 2001 MadeForTVMovie {{biopic}} ''Film/{{James Dean\|2001}}'', to much acclaim.
41	* Nick Carpenter played him in ''The Mystery of Natalie Wood'', a 2004 biopic MiniSeries about the [[Creator/NatalieWood eponymous actress]], who starred with Dean in ''Film/RebelWithoutACause''.
42	* The 2010 film ''Film/BicycleBride'' features a character named "James Dean" who looks exactly like James Dean, crossing into UncannyValley territory (he was played by actor Andreas Wilson).
43	* ''WebVideo/TheMonumentMythos'' is set in an AlternateUniverse in which Dean becomes President of the United States.

Context Creator / JamesDean