Two Careers Are Better Than One
at the same time he's interested in money and power." But many film critics were puzzled about how to evaluate the film, as its atmosphere and narrative are given equal weight. (The eminent Roger Ebert, for example, reviewed the film (positively) solely in terms of its imagery.) Still, it was clear to all that Sting's ability as an actor was coming along nicely.
However, just when his film career was really taking flight, Sting took a long break from acting as, aside from a cameo in the 1989 comedy The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Sting did not take another film role for seven years. When he decided to reenter the film arena in the mid-'90s, the good parts he had been offered in the '80s were no longer simply dropped into his lap. Sting's only two acting roles in the '90s were in two films produced by his wife Trudie, 1996's Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets and 1998's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. While the latter was a big hit in England, it was panned by US critics and did less than $4 million at the box office; and the former was plagued by marketing problems for its actually being released with two alternate titles (The Grotesque and Grave Indiscretion) and bombed on all fronts.
As of 2000, Sting's career as an actor seems uncertain—including whether he truly wants to pursue this second profession. "I get a lot of offers from Hollywood, but I don't feel under any pressure to comply with their wishes or otherwise. I just do what comes naturally."
Latest Articles