Frank Langella: 'Paul Newman was a dull actor'

Published Jul 2 2012, 00:47 BST  |  By Zeba Blay

Frank Langella has revealed in a new memoir that he was never impressed by the performances of the late Paul Newman.

In his new book Dropped Names: Famous Men & Women as I Knew Them, the Frost/Nixon actor takes aim at Newman's roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, describing him as "a little dull".



WENN reports that at the recent Nantucket Film Festival Langella stood by his comments, saying: "He had a tremendous desire to be a great actor, but he was not a great actor. Great actors are rare. He was a movie star and that's not an insult.

"It's a fact and I promised myself I would write an honest book. I read these sugar-coated biographies that drive me crazy. I said 'dull' not to insult him but to say that he was a victim of his beauty, a real victim of it as much as female beauties are."

Langella, who has starred in over 80 films since the 1970s, insisted that he still admires Newman as a Hollywood icon.

"Paul is a movie star, of which there are hardly any more of, really. Our movie stars today, they all look machine-made," he added.

The 74-year-old's upcoming comedy drama Robot and Frank is due for release on August 24 in the US.

Watch a trailer for Robot and Frank below: