We know you are wondering. What exactly is Adam Westing?
Adam Westing is when an actor’s reputation becomes so big that they cannot escape it. They are limited, or freed, into playing hyper-versions of themselves in every future acting gig they get. Only the versions of themselves that they play are total JerkAsses.
No one does this better than Adam West.
Some actors get… reputations that just won’t go away. Maybe they’re famous for being divas on the set. Maybe they’re famous for only playing certain roles— or even worse, only playing one role. Nobody will let them forget it. They can struggle mightily to earn a new reputation as decent people who can play a variety of roles.
Or they can resign themselves to their fate, and make a career out of it by Adam Westing.
Adam Westing is a form of Self Parody where actors play either themselves, or a Captain Ersatz of themselves, or a Captain Ersatz of their most famous role…and they play it as a total Jerkass, a total idiot, or both. More rarely, they play the character as the exact opposite of what they’re most famous for, but still a Jerkass and an idiot.
via kevinbolk
