Alfre Woodard

Publish date: 2024-08-27

Let's discuss one of America's great tragic actresses, Alfre Woodard.

She is a beautifully elegant and classy woman.

After getting her start on the stage, she appeared in great films such as Cross Creek, Extremities, Scrooged, Miss Firecracker, Passion Fish, Heats and Souls, Crooklyn, How to Make an American Quilt, Primal Fear, Down in the Delta, Love & Basketball, K-PAX, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Radio, Beauty Shop, The Family That Preys, 12 Years A Slave, Annabelle, Mississippi Grind, So B It, Clemency, Juanita, and Desperate Housewives.

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by Anonymousreply 90February 19, 2023 11:23 PM

Don't forget - she starred opposite a then relatively unknown Denzel in St. Elsewhere. I love her too - I just re-watched Scrooged she's great opposite Bill Murray. That could've been a thankless role, but those two had great chemistry.

by Anonymousreply 2December 15, 2022 7:18 PM

She outclassed all the dames on Wisteria lane, shame the writing wasn't that great for her arc.

by Anonymousreply 3December 15, 2022 7:32 PM

I've loved her in so much, although the best role she ever got was one of her first, as the omnicompetent hotel PR director in Altman's HEALTH.

by Anonymousreply 4December 15, 2022 7:37 PM

She's equally adept at comedy, OP.

by Anonymousreply 5December 15, 2022 7:41 PM

She's such a good actor it almost doesn't matter if the film/tv show is good or not because you know she'll be good in it. Her career appears to have been thoughtfully built, with a nice balance of money/visibility gigs and projects of real substance. Agree with R5 that she's wonderful in comedy. That's because she's such a truthful actor.

Wish she would do more theatre. I've never seen her live on stage.

If I went up to her and sang, "What's it all about, Alfre?" what would she do?

by Anonymousreply 7December 15, 2022 7:44 PM

Talented and certainly easier on the eyes than that pompous hack Viola.

by Anonymousreply 8December 15, 2022 7:48 PM

I would say she should have been nominated for and won BSA for "Passion Fish". Vanessa Redgrave is great but didn't need to be nominated for "Howard's End".

by Anonymousreply 9December 15, 2022 7:49 PM

Adore Alfre, ever since St Elsewhere, she was obviously a great actress. And Passion Fish is a beautiful film, not a single bum note or performance.

by Anonymousreply 10December 15, 2022 7:52 PM

She's superb in the recent film CLEMENCY, which is available on Hulu now. Grim but worth seeing just for her.

And I wholeheartedly agree she should have at least been nominated for an Oscar for PASSION FISH.

by Anonymousreply 11December 15, 2022 7:53 PM

I always liked her in Primal Fear as the Judge. The judge could have been thankless, but she stood out with a cast that included Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, John Mahoney, Terry O'Quinn, Steven Bauer, and Frances McDormand

by Anonymousreply 12December 15, 2022 9:43 PM

She should have Viola's career.

by Anonymousreply 13December 15, 2022 9:45 PM

She has a steely inner strength that is almost frightening in its intensity. Think the best is yet to come for her career.

by Anonymousreply 14December 15, 2022 10:14 PM

She should have Viola's career. A much more compelling actress with a more palatable personality.

by Anonymousreply 15December 15, 2022 10:16 PM

R13 Viola's career isn't that impressive really, she's just very good at getting attention.

Don't forget she regrets doing "The Help"

by Anonymousreply 16December 15, 2022 10:17 PM

R13 Viola's career isn't that impressive really, she's just very good at getting attention.

Don't forget she regrets doing "The Help"

by Anonymousreply 17December 15, 2022 10:17 PM

Is Alfre better than Angela Bassett?

by Anonymousreply 18December 16, 2022 2:48 PM

Not a single bad word comes to mind when I think about her. Pure love.

by Anonymousreply 20December 16, 2022 2:56 PM

She can do no wrong. Love Alfre.

by Anonymousreply 21December 16, 2022 9:31 PM

She was also in Star Track. Why didn’t you list Star Track movie?

by Anonymousreply 22December 17, 2022 12:40 AM

[quote] Is Alfre better than Angela Bassett?

NO ONE is better than me! Not even Viola!

by Anonymousreply 23December 17, 2022 12:45 AM

Very underrated actress who doesn't get enough respect.

by Anonymousreply 25December 17, 2022 12:51 AM

Love her in anything. She always delivers.

by Anonymousreply 26December 17, 2022 12:55 AM

R23 Sit your ass down before I have my unemployable husband give YOU a taste!

by Anonymousreply 28December 17, 2022 1:05 AM

She’s great, and her characters are always tired of people. I can 100% relate.

by Anonymousreply 29December 17, 2022 1:25 AM

She was great in Star Trek: First Contact. That was also my “first contact” with her in film.

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by Anonymousreply 31December 17, 2022 1:44 AM

R31 She is so correct. jean Luc is obsessed. Wish she would turn up in Picard Season 3.

by Anonymousreply 32December 17, 2022 2:08 AM

What about you, Phylicia?

by Anonymousreply 33December 17, 2022 9:16 PM

I always confuse her with Viola Davis.

by Anonymousreply 34December 17, 2022 9:33 PM

Passion Fish! “I didn’t expect the anal probe.”

by Anonymousreply 35December 17, 2022 9:44 PM

R12 totally agree - I love that movie and all the cast - but like you said that really was a thankless “judge” part and yet I looked forward to all her scenes. I love that a thread here is devoted to her! I think I may have said in some Viola Davis thread that Alfre should have had her career - glad others here agree.

by Anonymousreply 36December 18, 2022 1:35 AM

Around Thanksgiving I rewatched "What's Cooking?" for the first time in 22 years. It had quite a cast but Woodard was the standout. Mercedes Ruehl and Joan Chen were also great, and DL favorite Lainie Kazan plays a mother who struggles to accept daughter Kyra Sedgwick's lesbianism (Julianna Margulies plays her partner).

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by Anonymousreply 37December 18, 2022 1:43 AM

Adding my [bold]"I love Alfre Woodard"[/bold] to this thread. I first discovered her in Heart and Souls 1993 and have been a huge fan ever since. Love her in everything I've seen her in.

I've never heard anyone say a bad word about her.

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by Anonymousreply 38December 18, 2022 2:00 AM

She was great in Scrooged.

by Anonymousreply 39December 18, 2022 2:11 AM

That other one completely stole her career.

by Anonymousreply 40December 18, 2022 2:12 AM

"Pashone Feesh!"

As far as I'm concerned, Meryl Streep is the White Alfre Woodard. Love me some Ms. Alfre.

by Anonymousreply 41December 18, 2022 2:18 AM

She actually does suffer from alopecia. Unlike you know who.

by Anonymousreply 42December 18, 2022 2:23 AM

She’s pretty private and doesn’t do much press. Also she doesn’t have the traumatic childhood stories to talk about over and over again. She grew up middle/upper middle class and was a popular student at a nice private high school in Tulsa.

by Anonymousreply 44December 18, 2022 2:33 AM

Tulsa? Does her family have a long history there? She could mine the massacre narrative and develop a movie or limited series where she plays her own grandmother or such.

by Anonymousreply 45December 18, 2022 2:35 AM

She's also in Searching for Debra Winger.

by Anonymousreply 46December 18, 2022 3:21 AM

R47 hahaha. I liked her as an actress enough but so ridiculous that Rosanna Arquette decided to make her into a martyr for “they’re not being enough roles for women.” Except that everyone hated her that’s somehow overlooked.

by Anonymousreply 49December 18, 2022 3:29 AM

Alfre don't do auditions where people are eating sandwiches.

by Anonymousreply 50December 18, 2022 3:29 AM

Alfre and Viola and Angela should do an American version of 8 Women.

by Anonymousreply 51December 18, 2022 3:35 AM

R35 We quote that all the time except it’s “I didn’t ask for the anal probe.” Such a great scene in the movie.

I love Alfre too! I think I first saw her in the Geena David sitcom. She was good in that as well. I was so glad when she started in St. Elsewhere after that.

She is the best!

by Anonymousreply 52December 18, 2022 3:35 AM

I didn’t ask for the anal probe.

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by Anonymousreply 53December 18, 2022 3:41 AM

I thought she was in Roots too

by Anonymousreply 54December 18, 2022 3:42 AM

I think it's time to inform the OP that none of the Works of Woodard mention qualify as tragedy. They are melodrama, propaganda-bios, niche-interest movies, comedies and what used to be called "women's movies" when women weren't such cunts.

So whether or not she is a tragic actress has not been tested, but her pride makes her look ripe for a little divine retribution. Except instead of a catharsis and transformation she's apt just to write a book and appear in a movie starring herself addressing her "experience and triumph."

by Anonymousreply 55December 18, 2022 3:47 AM

She had a sad role in Clemency but I found the film underwhelming.

by Anonymousreply 56December 18, 2022 3:48 AM

She was so good in Passion Fish

by Anonymousreply 57December 18, 2022 3:50 AM

R49 - Debra Winger's issue wasn't the older woman not getting roles. That was more Rosanna's agenda. But Alfre talks about having bad auditioning experiences, being an older woman in Hollywood and being a working mother.

by Anonymousreply 58December 18, 2022 3:59 AM

Woodard is like Tyson in the sense that shes often better than her parts and the material. They are from different generations and have had different but still limited opportunities. Angela Bassett is good but has never had the range of parts that Woodard has had. Woodard is just perfection in “Passion Fish” and just about everyone is great in that film.

by Anonymousreply 59December 18, 2022 5:00 AM

R59 true but Bassett is only six years younger than Woodard

by Anonymousreply 60December 18, 2022 7:34 PM

Another vote for Scrooged. Seeing a real actress alongside an oaf like Bill Murray just elevates the material for both sides.

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by Anonymousreply 62December 18, 2022 8:52 PM

I have always thought Alfre was the most beautiful woman in ALL of movies. For me it's the eyes and those lips - so expressive.

by Anonymousreply 63December 18, 2022 11:03 PM

I liked her in Desperate Housewives, but she was way under used.

by Anonymousreply 64December 18, 2022 11:38 PM

Loved her in “Crooklyn”. Cried my heart out.

by Anonymousreply 66December 19, 2022 12:00 AM

Have we mentioned "Grand Canyon?" I only wish a better love interest than Danny Glover had been cast for Ms. Woodard, but he was a box office fave back then. Their love story was well written and played.

And Jeremy Sisto, who was a mere child in that movie! I saw him on something the other night and the years are being kind to him. I remember, too, the beautiful baby found abandoned. Time to watch "Grand Canyon" again.

by Anonymousreply 67December 19, 2022 12:16 AM

Loved in everything from Cross Creek to Grand Canyon to Passionfish.

She deserved a nomination for Passionfish.

She has this scene that I always remember of her crying in her bedroom. Just a scene of loneliness and despair.

It was so true and beautiful and I always remember that scene.

Love her

by Anonymousreply 68December 19, 2022 12:18 AM

R67, so nice. I did not read any responses until I wrote mine, and you mention Grand Canyon.

by Anonymousreply 69December 19, 2022 12:19 AM

I have it on excellent authority that she was very unhappy during her season on DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES.

by Anonymousreply 70December 19, 2022 12:58 AM

Will she go to her grave without an Oscar?

by Anonymousreply 71December 19, 2022 6:24 AM

She's a far better contender for the black Meryl Streep than Viola. I never got that comparison anyway since Meryl was acting since the 70s and Viola only came on the scene in the 2000s with a glut of thankless roles before Doubt was her breakout. Alfre at least had a history of film going back before the 21st century.

by Anonymousreply 72December 19, 2022 6:32 AM

I can’t wait for they inevitable documentary “Alfre Woodward: A History of Film.”

by Anonymousreply 73December 19, 2022 6:43 AM

She isn't more compelling than Viola.

by Anonymousreply 74December 19, 2022 6:45 AM

Which one was in that Sissy Spacek film where she drives them so they could participate in the bus boycott, and wasn’t that “technically” cheating and making the white person the savior in a black narrative?

by Anonymousreply 75December 19, 2022 6:48 AM

Viola made a splash in a recurring role in Law & Order on TV.

by Anonymousreply 76December 19, 2022 6:48 AM

R75 - I think that was Whoopi.

by Anonymousreply 77December 19, 2022 6:49 AM

Ok, which one was that best friend of the little white boy played by Doogie Howser when his mommy died and I think they made him play piano?

by Anonymousreply 78December 19, 2022 6:52 AM

[quote] "She's also in Searching for Debra Winger."

That's a waste of time if I ever saw one! Some things should be left to lie in obscurity. And that's one of 'em.

by Anonymousreply 79December 19, 2022 6:56 AM

I think it has some redemptive stuff in it. Jane Fonda talking about acting is particularly good. And it shows how funny Debra is.

by Anonymousreply 80December 19, 2022 7:10 AM

R75 - The Long Walk Home.

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by Anonymousreply 81December 19, 2022 7:16 AM

R78 - I think that's Whoopi again.

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by Anonymousreply 82December 19, 2022 7:21 AM

When did this turn into the Whoopi thread? Bitch needs to get her own space.

by Anonymousreply 83December 19, 2022 7:27 AM

Alfre not being nominated for Passion Fish is one of the biggest Oscar omissions in history. It's hilarious that there was a shock that Gaga was not nominated last year but Alfre not getting nominated was a shocker because she was brilliant and the film doesn't work without her. Mary was fantastic of course but the two of them make the film.

I'm not a big fan of Scrooged but Alfre, along with Karen Allen, really help ground the film. Murray acts like he's in a completely different film. I find him really off-putting, especially after learning what an asshole he is. But Alfre lights up every scene she's in.

I felt bad for Alfre that there was no big push for Clemency. I think she would have been nominated. It's crazy to think she hasn't received another Oscar nomination in almost 40 years.

by Anonymousreply 84December 19, 2022 7:31 AM

at one time she was part of the conversation for Clemency but once again the field was overcrowded with contenders.

by Anonymousreply 85December 19, 2022 7:34 AM

I think Alfre was a co-lead in Passion Fish. I would have liked to see her get nominated alongside Mary McDonnell ala Thelma & Louise the year before. Michelle Pfeiffer should have been nominated for Batman Returns (in supporting or lead, doesn't matter to me). I would have dropped Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil. She was alright, but not Top 5.

by Anonymousreply 87December 19, 2022 7:39 AM

OK, but one of them was definitely in that movie about the dead husband trying to communicate and warn the wife who was into crafting and the one about the illiterate black girl who writes letter to god and falls in love with a juke joint hussey.

by Anonymousreply 88December 19, 2022 7:47 AM

Imagine Alfre as Lady MacBeth. Wow.

by Anonymousreply 89February 19, 2023 10:58 PM

I loved her in Holiday Heart.

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by Anonymousreply 90February 19, 2023 11:23 PM

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