Another episode in the story of the Acting Corps, prompted by a moment in which I could recall neither Scott Bakula’s name nor the name of his most famous tv show, Quantum Leap. But Facebook friends came to the rescue — and inadvertently set up a reason for yet another posting (beyond this one) on tv shows.
I’ll use this posting to talk about Bakula and his acting, and in still another posting I’ll get to my reasons for asking about him in the first place.
I’ll start with Wikipedia, inserting comments and photos along the way:
[WikiBakula 1] Scott Stewart Bakula (… born October 9, 1954) is an American actor known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap (for which he received four Emmy Award nominations and, in 1991, won a Golden Globe), for the role of Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise and currently portrays Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride in NCIS: New Orleans [premiered 9/23/14].
On Quantum Leap:
Quantum Leap is an American television series that originally aired on NBC for five seasons, from March 1989 through May 1993. Created by Donald P. Bellisario, it starred Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who leaps through spacetime following his quantum experiment in time travel, by temporarily taking places of other people’s lives in order to correct historical mistakes. Dean Stockwell co-stars as Admiral Al Calavicci, Sam’s womanizing, cigar-smoking companion and best friend, who appears to him as a hologram.
The series features a mix of humor, drama, romance, social commentary, and science fiction, and was named one of TV Guide’s “Top Cult Shows Ever.”
(#1)
Bakula in NCIS: New Orleans, now at the age of 60:
(#2)
[WikiBakula 2] Bakula has also starred in the comedy-drama series Men of a Certain Age and guest-starred in seasons two and three of NBC’s Chuck as the title character’s father Stephen Bartowski.
On Men of a Certain Age:
Men of a Certain Age is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on TNT on December 7, 2009. The hour-long program stars Ray Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as three best friends in their late forties dealing with the realities of being middle aged… On July 16, 2011, TNT cancelled the series after two seasons. (link)
(#3)
More on the cast in a while.
[WikiBakula 3] Bakula moved to New York City in 1976, where he made his Broadway debut playing baseball legend Joe DiMaggio in Marilyn: An American Fable, and appeared in the well-received Off-Broadway production Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down; he would later appear in its Pasadena Playhouse production.
… He was cast in two short-lived series: Gung Ho [1986-87] and Eisenhower & Lutz [1988]. During a Hollywood writers’ strike, he returned to New York to star in Romance/Romance, and then afterward landed the lead role opposite co-star Dean Stockwell in the science-fiction television series Quantum Leap.
On Eisenhower and Lutz (this will become relevant in a later posting):
Eisenhower and Lutz is an American sitcom which aired for thirteen episodes on CBS in 1988.
The series stars Scott Bakula as Barnett M. “Bud” Lutz, Jr., a shiftless ambulance-chasing lawyer. Lutz had trouble getting clients, so his father (Henderson Forsythe) added the name “Eisenhower” to his shingle to attract clientele. Lutz spent more time trading quips with the women in his life — Megan, (DeLane Matthews), and K.K. (Patricia Richardson) — than he did actual legal work. (link)
Then Quantum Leap happened and Bakula became a celebrity. And a public hunk. Here he is on the cover of Playgirl in 1996:
(#4)
In an intense underwear pose from this period:
(#5)
Bakula is currently playing a gay man on HBO’s Looking:
Looking is an American comedy-drama television series about a group of gay friends living in San Francisco. It premiered on January 19, 2014, on HBO. The series’ executive producers are David Marshall Grant, Sarah Condon, and Andrew Haigh. (After two seasons, HBO announced that Looking would not be renewed for a third season, instead ordering a one-time special to serve as its series finale.)
main cast: … Murray Bartlett as Dom Basaluzzo, 39, a sommelier in a gastronomic restaurant
recurring cast: … Scott Bakula as Lynn, an entrepreneur who strikes a connection with Dom (link)
Here’s Lynn meeting Dom for the first time in a steamroom:
(#6)
Still a hunk at 60.
Men of a Certain Age. I liked this series a lot, so I’m going to say a bit more about the other stars.
Romano I’ve posted about before, but only in connection with the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. From his Wikipedia entry:
Raymond Albert “Ray” Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter and voice actor. He is known for his role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, for which he received an Emmy Award, and as the voice of “Manny” in the Ice Age film series. He created and starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2009–11). From 2012 to 2015, Romano had a recurring role in Parenthood.
And then Braugher:
Andre Braugher (… born July 1, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film, Owen Thoreau Jr. on the TNT show Men of a Certain Age, and his Emmy nominated performance as Captain Ray Holt on the Golden Globe-winning comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Wonderfully contrasting personalities. I fear the show was too talky and thoughtful for the tv execs.
September 27, 2015 at 5:14 pm |
A couple or three points I want to pick up on:
1. The photo you captioned as Scott in NCIS: New Orleans, is actually a publicity shot from the launch of Looking.
2. The photo of Scott wearing underwear is actually a composite. from the waist up, it’s the shot of him from the playboy shoot, in which he was actually wearing jeans. The underwear and legs actually belong to Burt Reynolds, and were “shopped” in from a very much older photo.
3. You said you were going to talk about Scott’s acting, but you actually only talk about some of the roles he played. This information is easily found elsewhere and in better detail. I was hoping you were going to discuss his performances, most of which were outstanding, and few were below par for him. He hasn’t always made the best choices in the roles he took on, and there were some jobs that even he couldn’t lift higher than shoulder height, mainly because of rubbish writing and poor direction and editing.
I am a recent convert to the cult of Scott Bakula, having only discovered him two or three years ago. But since then I have become a devoted fan. I am not a spring chicken either. I am of the same demographic of most of his fans, and also a life-long devotee of Sci-fi. I speak as a woman of some maturity and education when I say that he is a sadly overlooked star. He is much maligned and I do think it’s unfair. He would be, in my considered opinion, one of the best actors in modern times, excelling even Olivier, Richardson and O’Toole. He certainly is the best of the American culture.