MovieChat Forums > Tobias Menzies Discussion > Always cast as the villain... And it wo...

Always cast as the villain... And it works!

posted 9 years ago by skat1140
3 replies | jump to latest

So, every time I see this guy, he's bad or very bad. (Cast as bad, not a bad actor.) His "Game of Thrones" cameo, he's a callow, superficial twit-- that's the bottom of his range, the least bad he can possibly be. Otherwise, he's real bad, bordering on evil slash psychopathic. In "Outlander" he's a true sociopath, using his role as a soldier in order to indulge his sadism to the fullest extent. In "The Night Manager", he's "just" venal and corrupt and casually evil. But the guarantee is: if you see him in a film, and he appears normal or upstanding, something is later going to be revealed about him that is terribly wrong.

The guy just cannot be a straight-up lead role. There's something latent and dark about him that forces him to be cast as the evil supporting character.

What is it about this guy? Sean Bean has had the same type of arc, but has made it to getting lead roles. Can Menzies achieve this also?

[–] VictoriaGirl 9 years ago

Those must be the only 3 things you've seen him in. He doesnt play a villain in Rome, The Honorable Woman or Forget Me Not. Those are the only other things Ive seen him in (besides Outlander (and only one of the characters he plays in that is a villain), and The Night Manager). Ive never seen Game of Thrones so I cant comment on his character in that. So, no he is NOT always cast as the villain.

[–] eloiseshf 9 years ago

As well as the non villanious roles mentioned by others, he has also played Derrick Sington, the British officer who liberated the concentration camp of Belsen in World War II. So definitely a hero there.
Like Cristopher Walken, it's on stage that he get to show his full range. Yes, he has played some villains or at least deeply unsavory characters on stage as well, but for all their flaws, his Chekhov characters (Trofimov, Tuzenbach, Astrov, even Von Koren) are all deeply sympathetic. Same goes for Edagar in King Lear. Or Hamlet. Or Captain Plume in the Recruiting Officer. And several of these also happen to be leads. In Forget Me Not (film) and The Fever (stage) he is in every scene.

I am a Cat-aholic, cats are my religion.

[–] digitaldiva 9 years ago

Hi skat1140,

Others mentioned his Brutus in Rome. He was remarkable, should have been nominated for an Emmy or Golden Globe. He also has a lead in the newest Underworld film as a werewolf. From what I've read, he's not a villain in the film, but knows? Although he has an edge, I personally think he can play all kinds of roles - remember his Frank in Outlander is a very sympathetic character. He received a great deal of critical attention because of his ability to play two very different characters.