“I never set out to play the hero, but since I’m usually cast as one I want to be the best paid hero.” That’s what Sean Connery said at a moment when he was re-negotiating his James Bond deal. As a serious actor, Connery admitted he never understood what traits audiences wanted from their movie heroes and his confusion would be shared by studio mavens today. Even long-in-the-tooth leading men can find a second wind. Keanu Reeves is drawing record box office in John Wick: Chapter 4 , cast as a laconic virtuoso of death who emerges from retirement because his dog got killed. Tom Cruise doesn’t kill anyone on screen in Top Gun: Maverick , but his actions in keeping that movie from a streaming bow helped put the theatrical business back on track. Meanwhile, Harrison Ford cemented his status at 80 as the dean of geriatric heroism: He’s got the James Mangold-directed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny headed to Cannes, and up next is Thunderbolt Ross in Captain … [Read more...] about Peter Bart: Contrasting The Leading-Man Life From Keanu, Cruise & Harrison Ford To Sean Connery & Seminal Swashbuckler Errol Flynn