James Woods did one thing he not often does this week.
He appeared on a chat present for a wide-ranging chat on all the things from performing to President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline.
That’s normal working process for many stars. Woods isn’t like most stars.
He’s brazenly conservative, and he’s paid a steep worth for beliefs shared by roughly half the nation. His final sizable position got here in 2014’s “Jamesy Boy.”
He’s since misplaced each his agent and place in Hollywood, Inc.
Why? He’s brazenly conservative. It’s that straightforward.
He’s removed from alone. Kevin Sorbo has a painfully comparable story as to why he not works in mainstream Hollywood movies. Jim Caviezel claims he misplaced not one however two brokers for starring in “Sound of Freedom.”
Different right-leaning artists preserve their views to themselves. They know higher.
Some as soon as met in secret as a part of the Pals of Abe collective. They bonded over skilled horror tales, shed tears over discrimination and supplied one another ethical help.
A really tiny few, together with Jon Voight, can share their conservative takes with out skilled punishment. Voight is each a legend and an exception to the rule.
And whereas some will name-check Tim Allen and Kelsey Grammer as fellow, outspoken conservatives, neither is a fraction as boisterous as, say, John Leguizamo or Rob Reiner.
It’s why Woods’ interview with SiriusXM celebrity Megyn Kelly proved illuminating and tragic. He served up killer tales, shared private tales of shedding his father at an early age and teased a secret undertaking coming this fall.
The takeaway? It’s darn close to legal the twice Oscar-nominated star is not welcome in Hollywood. And there’s zero outrage about it from his fellow actors or the company press.
Woods continues to be within the trade’s cross-hairs. He defined to Kelly why he needed to disguise his reference to the Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” – he’s an government producer on Christopher Nolan’s movie – to guarantee its Oscar hopes wouldn’t endure.
“When Oppenheimer got here out, there was a dialogue about my Twitter, and it was gently prompt that I principally stay invisible, which was painful,” he mentioned. “However, I’m a realistic individual and I believed, lots of people put their effort into this, so I’m simply going to be an invisible pariah … I stepped again and principally took one for the group.”
The irony? Woods spoke glowingly of two far-Left artists through the Kelly chat. Every epitomizes how progressives can do or say virtually something in Hollywood and never face skilled repercussions.
The actor praised Whoopi Goldberg of “The View” fame and Reiner for being proficient and pricey mates. Positive, they could disagree on virtually all the things, however Woods would work with both once more in a heartbeat.
Would most liberal stars say the identical about Woods? Has both Goldberg or Reiner immediately addressed Woods’ skilled cancelation?
Plus, many artists have brazenly wished dying on President Donald Trump and/or in contrast him to Hitler.
No skilled repercussions.
It’s the new Hollywood Blacklist. It isn’t as punitive because the Nineteen Fifties model. Woods isn’t threatened with jail time for not “naming names.” That’s little consolation for a 77-year-old star who can nonetheless ship nice performances … besides nobody is prepared to danger the brand new blacklist’s wrath to rent him.