I think if actors don't think of themselves as funny in real life they think they can't do comedy.
But the West did not last long enough. Its folk myths and heroes became stage properties of Hollywood before the poets had begun to get to work on them.
Any time you play someone who is alive, well, very much in the public eye, and has a huge audience who admire, respect and look to them for inspiration, you want to do the best you can.

