With a career as long and diverse as Edward Herrmann’s there is much to discuss, but I decided to talk about just one moment he has in Warren Beatty’s Reds, a moment that (in its small way) helps make the whole thing possible.
That’s the job of a character actor.
I am so bummed about this! I loved seeing or hearing him pop up in stuff like The Good Wife and Wolf of Wall St in recent years. Such a great presence. In Gilmore Girls he was reliably wondeful and fun with any scene partner they threw at him. Knew exactly what tone to hit to make the interaction warm or awkward – always funny and fresh and true.
Yes!! The Gilmore Girls! I loved him so much in that.
I was honored to watch him rehearse Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in session at the Actors Studio – this was years ago. He wasn’t rehearsing it for a production, he was basically just working on it because he wanted to work on it, and he was open to feedback, and all that. It was basically just sitting in on an acting class, watching him try stuff, go bold with his choices – he was not shy – it was his process.
I loved him a lot – very pleased to have paid tribute to his small part in Reds – one of the building blocks of the film that helps make it work!!
I enjoyed seeing Edward Herrmann onscreen — he was the main reason I first tuned into The Gilmore Girls. His two performances that stick out in my mind are: A poised and brilliant surgeon stationed in Tokyo who cracks under pressure when he is flown into the 4077th M*A*S*H unit, and as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Eleanor and Franklin. The scene I recall most fondly in the latter is during their courtship when he is serenading Eleanor (Jane Alexander) with a ukulele (?) singing “Under the Bamboo Tree”, and he urges her to sing along with him.
Oh yes! I loved him as FDR! Perfect casting!
Herrmann is so fucking scary in The Lost Boys. It’s a genre picture and probably looked down upon by many, but he’s terrifying in it.