Movies - TV
A Shift In Filmmaking Pushed Gene Wilder To End His Acting Career
By MATT RAINIS
Gene Wilder's film career shone brightly but burned out quickly as he was only in 23 movies in his life, 22 of which were between 1967 and 1991. According to a piece by Insider following the actor's death at age 83, Wilder simply wasn't receiving offers that interested him, and what he also took issue with was where the film industry was headed.
In the Insider piece, Wilder said, "I didn't want to do 3D, for instance. I didn't want to do ones with bombing and loud and swearing, so much swearing going on. Someone said, 'Oh, go f— yourself.' Well, if it was coming from a meaningful place I would understand it. But if you go to some of the movies, I don't want to say which ones, can't they just stop and talk?”
Wilder had always had a skeptical view of acting as a profession, often referring to the behavior of actors as "childlike." With that view of the art form in mind, it makes sense that few could reach him on the same wavelength, but his absence was definitely a huge loss for the film medium, as Wilder was capable of bringing a unique magic
to his performances.