why Eric Sheffer Stevens and not ___?

[quartermainefan]

ESS is heading to primetime in FOX's I Hate My Teenage Daughter.

So it always seems interesting how X makes it but Y doesn't. Soap biggie Steve Burton left and failed, Tony Geary left and had to come back, but Justin Hartley (he of the supposed school of Bad Acting called "Passions") has had great success in primetime.

So what does ESS have that Van Hansis and Tyler Christopher do not? And paradoxically, why did all these people get emmy noms but ESS got shut out?

[JellicleCat]

Maybe he just wasn't good enough? Or he chose the wrong reel to submit. There are any number of reasons why someone would fail to be nominated. The fact that he was a newcomer in the industry probably didn't help either.

Personally I think he's a bit overrated. He was okay, but nothing special. But then again, a lot of people who have been nominated for (and even won) emmys have been nothing special as well.....

[dragonflies]

He's a great actor, it's hard to tell why he didn't get a nom, cause he's flawless

[Cheap21]

Its Fox. His show will be cancelled within a year so it wont matter anyway

[Chris B]

His character was one of the most overrated and he was a mediocre actor IMO. I think his appeal was that he was something different (a gay House knock-off) and many weren't satisfied with Noah as Luke's love interest since Jake Silbermann is a dreadful actor.

As for why certain actors succeed while others don't, I'll never understand. It's really just down to luck. I still can't believe that Brook Kerr never found success after Passions. I thought she was one of their better actors. In fact, most of their better actors are the ones you never hear from.

[DeeeDee]

Amen.

[DRW50]

Steve Burton had a good-sized role in a well-received Steven Spielberg mini-series. If he didn't have big roles after that it may have been lack of pushing himself.

Tony Geary was probably typecast, not all that easy to work with, and frankly, very overrated.

[Vee]

He's a better actor than either Hansis or Silbermann. That doesn't often count for anything in the business, but it can help.

[dragonflies]

Overrated, seriously? He was anything but, Jake SIlbermann is the epitome of overrated

[EastMA2]

Silbermann is a horrible actor. Maybe he'll stick to making short films.

ESS was great on ATWT and I am very happy his series got picked up. He deserves it.

[Khan]

This is true. The television graveyard is strewn with half-hour shows from FOX that were axed. Some faster than others.

Analyzing why certain former soap actors "make it" where others don't is pointless, IMO. It's the good, old-fashioned, luck of the draw. Simple as that.

I will say, though, I thought ESS was a much better performer than VH or JS, if only because he seemed to rise above the plot-driven material to create a character that was more nuanced than either Noah or Luke.

[AlexElizabeth]

I can't agree more.

[JellicleCat]

I've hardly seen anyone (apart from the Nuke-fans) say that Jake Silbermann is a great actor, so how can he be overrated?

[DRW50]

With the right project I think Jake would also have a chance. He can't be any worse than Brandon Routh.

[Khan]

God, I hope not. If any actor out there is worse than BR or his female counterpart, Charity Rahmer, then all I can say is, McDonald's is still hiring.