But he anchors this picaresque yarn with sheer charisma, playing Toplis as a troubled but twinkling anti-hero, a cold-eyed crook with a roguish charm.
Butler, almost eerily devoid of wit or charisma, plays Mike Banning, a US Secret Service agent who was on the President's security detail until a tragic accident got him demoted to a desk job.
Chris Pratt, overflowing with charisma, plays the leader of the pack of misfits, and his blissed-out space cowboy (with a love for seventies music) is so full of good will that he buoys the film and its requisite whizbang special effects.
His father figure charisma plays exceptionally well in Brazil, and with his steely 'man of destiny' glare he walked into his second spell in charge of the national team with the very message that millions wanted to hear: "We have the obligation to win the title".
Personal stories help: Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, whose business empires depend on their charisma, both play up their pasts as educational dropouts.
There remains the thought that he lacks the charisma to play a leading man and may be most comfortable stealing the show from the sidelines.
Since we spend a lot of time presenting our research to one another, a degree of oratory skill and charisma can play no small role in one's success.
Lucan, who was famed for his sharp, chiselled looks and charisma was played as a heavy-breathing, semi-mute, swaggerless wretch.
Her chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama, meanwhile, has already shown a touch for channeling the varsity glamour of John F. Kennedy, who radiated vigor and charisma by playing touch football and skippering boats.
