Big Roles

Actors tend to peak later than actresses, but I think he got stuck in character roles when he was at the proper age to become a leading man (his 30's and 40's). It didn't help that these roles were often gutless, unrefined, and not possessing traits you expect in a leading man.

When he got older, he did a successful transition into playing gritty, rugged, hard ass types and I personally think he became more charismatic, but I am pretty sure he is probably seen as too old for a lot of lead parts. Sure, Liam Neeson (who is the same age) gets away with it, but Neeson has been a leading man since the early 90's. Once you are "in", Hollywood takes care of its own. Unfortunately, Stephen doesn't seem to be "in" with the big players and elite groups of Hollywood. He seems liked by James Cameron and Michael Mann, but Cameron is only going to utilize him for Avatar films and Mann gives him rather small roles (and gives the plum roles to bigger names).

What I am hoping is for Stephen to work with a young, upcoming director in an indie film that gets a lot of notices at film festivals and possibly even the awards circuit. It worked out perfectly for fellow character actor, JK Simmons, when he worked with newcomer Damien Chazelle (Whiplash). Simmons now has an Oscar to put on his fireplace mantle and probably gets more offers for work, while Chazelle gets all his other projects greenlit and has A-listers demanding to be in his next film. I hope something similar happens to Stephen.

I am speaking strictly in terms of film work; I recognize that he has been quite successful in theater.