Kevin Kline: Did Tom Hanks kill his career?

Some people think so.

How so?

Yeah, I need details here to understand this better. Can you fill us in on the details?

"Some people say..." has got to be one of the stupidest, laziest, and most meaningless phrases ever.

Which specific people think this, and what in the fart is their reasoning or evidence? First, you have to accept that Kevin Kline's career was "killed", which I don't see any evidence that would lead one to that conclusion. Then even if you can make that argument, how did Tom Hanks' success directly affect Kline's supposed lack of success?

Geesh.

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The theory being that Hanks ended up with a lot of roles in the 90s that may have went to Kline.

Not buying this. I don't believe one actor can destroy another's career.

The same thing was said about Humphrey Bogart killing George Raft's career.

I don't know enough about Bogart or Raft to comment on that. I don't think one actor can kill another actor's career.

Hanks is a solid actor (shocking I know); but I don't think I've liked him in anything as much as I did Kline in A Fish Called Wanda and The Ice Storm tbh.

no, no, no, no.
is this tongue-in-cheek? if so, the better and far more specific question should have been, "Kevin Kline: Did Tom Hanks' alleged pre-teen infatuation with Donald Woods trigger an international cascade effect leading to the later, inevitable, casting of Kline in 1987's historical drama, Cry Freedom which, in turn...." no I got nothing.

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WAKE UP BLIMEY FISH!
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TV was going to destroy movies in the 50s. And we're still watching movies. Had Kevin Kline gotten the main role in Saving Private Ryan, he might have been killed in an accident in that beach landing scene. It's a game we can play endlessly. To no meaningful effect.

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Bad example. George Raft constantly turned down roles in some of the greatest movies, effectively shooting himself in the foot. Plus Raft really couldn't act in the first place.

I prefer Hanks over Kline, but Kline’s best role is perhaps the volatile boyfriend of Meryl Streep that in Sophie’s Choice.

Kline and Hanks are different enough that each is suited to different type movies and roles. Oh and George Raft actually had a damn good career so another reason why it's bunk to say Bogart killed his career. You know all this stuff reminds me of crazy conspiracy theories. What I'd like to know is why do people believe or promote this type of stuff?

I doubt that Hanks messed up Kline's career. Hanks is really good at being a relatable, likable character, an everyman if you wish. In Saving Private Ryan, he was perfect for that sort of guy who's a metaphor for what we've been presented for a lot of WW II GI's....regular guys, far from home, doing an ugly, dangerous job because it needed to be done.

Honestly, I've never seen Kline that way. I like him as a actor, but I've never seen him do that likable, relatable, everyman very well. When he tried, it seemed forced in a way that Hanks does not.

Exactly why they are different, Hanks is often as you described in his roles, and Kline often plays the likeable rogue. Though both actors can do a wide range of characters.

Oy. A theory with no evidence. Fun!

First of all, again, Kevin Kline's career did not die in the 1990s. He starred in seven comedies (I Love You To Death, Soapdish, Dave, French Kiss, Fierce Creatures, Princess Cariboo, and In & Out), two dramas (Grand Canyon and The Ice Storm), a thriller (Consenting Adults), lent his voice to a Disney cartoon (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), was in a Shakespeare adaptation (A Midsummer Night's Dream), had a highlighted cameo in a big budget biopic (Chaplin), and co-starred in a summer tentpole flick (Wild Wild West). THAT is a dead career?!?

But for the sake of this supposed theory, which of the roles Tom Hanks was cast was Kline up for? Zero, that I know of. If Kline wasn't already busy making all the movies he actually made, which of Hanks' films does this theory imagine Kline would have gotten?

So. Very. Dumb. And unsubstantiated!

The only link the two men's careers really have in the 1990s is Kline's vehicle In & Out was inspired by Hanks' Oscar speech for Philadelphia where he thanked a teacher from his past, who was gay. In real life Hanks called the teacher ahead of time to make sure he was OK being "outed" on an international broadcast, while in the comedy movie it is a surprise, especially to the teacher's fiancé.

Other than that bit of trivia, the two careers have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

obviously their careers wouldn't have anything to do with one another. the argument is that hanks sort of replace him as this everyman type actor.

This would have been my guess. Wild theory that Hanks didn't like that moment being turned into a comedy?

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