Top 10: Good guys go bad #2

Last Updated on July 27, 2021

There are
certain actors we watch in movies who constantly play the protagonists in almost
all of their roles.  Whether they are most known for making us laugh, saving the
world, or solving crime, most of these actors always play it safe for the fear
of destroying their image or for not being able to play a convincing bad guy.
(*cough Keanu Reeves in The Watcher *cough)

Some actors
thankfully get over that fear and take risks, and sometimes exceed viewers’
expectations with their leaps from heroes to villains onscreen. (It worked for
Denzel!) Here is my personal list of my favorite “bad to the bone” performances
from popular “good guy” actors.

READ
PART 1 OF THIS LIST HERE

WARNING – SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!

5.
Harry Connick Jr. – Copycat

This talented singer/actor is most known for his roles in Independence Day
and the show Will and Grace, but his breakout performance however was
playing Daryll Lee Cullum, a redneck and crazy serial killer in the thriller,
Copycat.  Harry Connick Jr. sold me as a great actor during the film’s
frightening prologue where his character attacks Sigourney Weaver in a bathroom
stall.  It surprises me how he has had very few film roles since, but hopefully
one day that will change.

4.
Kurt Russell – Death Proof

Although, I was not the biggest
fan of Quentin Tarantino’s installment in Grindhouse, there was one thing
I loved about this film, and that was the presence of Mr. Badass himself, Kurt
“Stuntman Mike” Russell. In spite of the fact that he was very underused in
Death Proof, he managed to steal every scene he was in. I just wish the film
dealt more with him running down annoying girls with his car, instead of hearing
the annoying girls talk about nothing for 45 minutes straight, but that’s just
me. 😉

3.
Tom Cruise – Interview with the Vampire

Before Interview with the
Vampire came out in theatres, Tom Cruise was being criticized for not being
right for the role of the lead vampire, Lestat. (A key character in Anne Rice’s
famous “Vampire Chronicles” novels) However, Tom Cruise shocked everybody when
he received great reviews for his performance in the gothic vampire film. This
is one of my favorite Tom Cruise roles, and I thought he definitely did a better
job playing Lestat than Stuart Townsend did in the forgettable Queen of the
Damned.

2.
Harrison Ford – What Lies Beneath

If
this film had not cast Harrison Ford as the deceitful husband who ended up being
the bad guy at the end, I think I (as well as others) would have figured out the
twist ending earlier
on in this supernatural thriller.  I can’t tell you how high I jumped when he
grabbed Michelle Pfeiffer after she discovered he dialed 411 instead of 911 on
the portable phone.  It was an amazing casting choice, for the ending would have
been so predictable if a lesser-known actor had played the part. 

1.
Brad Pitt – Kalifornia

Brad Pitt’s gripping
performance in Seven, convinced me he was not just a pretty boy, but that
he was a damn good actor. Although, I would have been convinced two years
earlier of that fact, if I had watched Kalifornia first. In the film he
played Early Grayce, a psychotic and menacing, yet not so bright serial killer.
If you can get past the film’s slow pace, I would recommend this a film as a
must-see for Brad Pitt fans.  It is truly one of his best yet overlooked
performances to date.

READ PART 1 OF THIS LIST HERE