 |
| From Hail, Caesar! poster |
If there's one thing that directors Joel and Ethan Coen love, it's a strong ensemble. With today's release of their latest Hail, Caesar!, it feels important to remember the many actors that they have worked with to make such iconic cinema for over 30 years. The following is a ranking of the Top 10 repeat offenders all between their debut Blood Simple and 2013's Inside Llewyn Davis. While this list is subject to change as more members join their weird little stable, the following reflects an insurmountable group by which The Coen Brothers would be nothing without. Along with ranking, the list will include their greatest credit, for which it would be impossible to not see them as when talking about their greatest work.
 |
| John Goodman in Barton Fink |
1. John Goodman
Appeared in: 6
-Raising Arizona
-Barton Fink
-The Hudsucker Proxy
-The Big Lebowski
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Role: Barton Fink
Pound for pound, there is no actor who better compliments the Coen Brothers aesthetic as impressively as John Goodman. Starting with their sophomore film Raising Arizona, he has been a consistent presence in their camp, providing his larger than life personality to play everything from absurd slapstick to a quiet, drugged up jazz musician. However, there's no topping his role in Barton Fink, where he plays a salesman who, much like the hotel in which the protagonist resides, is slowly falling apart. The famous scene where he yells "I'll show you the life of the mind." is the stuff of wonders that reflects a role that is impossible for him to top. While some would argue that his work in The Big Lebowski was just as great, there's no denying the impact of his Barton Fink role is still one of the greatest things to ever appear in a Coen Brothers movie period. Few actors may have better roles, but none can embody every era of the duo better than Goodman.
 |
| Steve Buscemi in Fargo |
2. Steve Buscemi
Appeared in: 5
-Miller's Crossing
-Barton Fink
-The Hudsucker Proxy
-Fargo
-The Big Lebowski
Best Role: Fargo
While he hasn't starred in a Coen Brothers movie since 1998, the impact that Steve Buscemi had in their 90's output is possibly more important than anyone else's. Along with the directors being weird, it helped that Buscemi was an adventurous type of weird, especially in Fargo as the "funny looking" bad guy. Fargo is arguably their most revered film to date, and with good cause as it pits the wholesomeness of Midwest America against film noir and violence in ways that perfectly encapsulate that Coen Brothers humor. It's worth it alone for the frustration of Buscemi's character as he gets tired of the happy people while himself being somewhat incompetent. Even then, his impact over a relatively short 8 years provides such an impressive legacy that it's impossible to think of too many other films or directors that have used him as effectively in the 18 years since he last worked with them.
 |
| Frances McDormand in Fargo |
3. Frances McDormand
Appeared in: 7
-Blood Simple
-Raising Arizona
-Miller's Crossing
-Fargo
-The Man Who Wasn't There
-Burn After Reading
-Hail, Caesar!
Best Role: Fargo
There have been few women as important to The Coen Brothers filmography as France McDormand. For starters, she has worked with them the longest - going back to their debut Blood Simple from 1984. From there, she has been a frequent collaborator who continues to appear in their work, often playing the voice of reason. This is most evident in her career-defining role in Fargo, where she plays a pregnant police officer trying to track down Buscemi and his partner. It's a role that embodies North Dakotan wholesomeness so well that it has pretty much become a caricature in the decades to follow. Even then, she has done impressive work and deserves plenty of credit of at least helping to establish The Coen Brothers brand before it was actually a thing.
 |
| John Turturro in Barton Fink |
4. John Turturro
Appeared in: 4
-Miller's Crossing
-Barton Fink
-The Big Lebowski
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Best Role: Barton Fink
Speaking of actors whose reputations are almost sewn straight into The Coen Brothers, it's hard to really imagine John Turturro working with anyone else except these directors; a fact made more tragic since he hasn't worked with them in 16 years. For the most part, he manages to play the cocky intellect with a certain charisma that no other can. Still, for the four roles that he did, there's no denying his impact of his cockiest and most confident (and tragic) role in Barton Fink, where he takes on Hollywood and comes out as the frustrated failure. It's a character so iconic that he has come to be the poster child for frustrated writers (which is anyone who spends triple digits annually on pens, paper, and printer ink). Beyond that, it's the film that won them the Palme d'Or and solidified their reputation as geniuses that were here to stay.
 |
| Jon Polito in Miller's Crossing |
5. Jon Polito
Appeared in: 5
-Miller's Crossing
-Barton Fink
-The Hudsucker Proxy
-The Big Lebowski
-The Man Who Wasn't There
Best Role: Miller's Crossing
If you're mostly familiar with The Coen Brothers' past decade of work, the name of Jon Polito is likely to be tragically missing from your memory. Along with being lesser known elsewhere, Polito's work doesn't get the credit it deserves as the wisecracking man whose mafia-like personality has made his characters immediately recognizable and is what made him one of The Coen Brothers' most important weapons. It makes sense then that his best work would be in the mafia drama Miller's Crossing, which features Polito delivering so many great comedic lines that add a wonderful sensibility to the film's already strange tone. While he would continue to do great work with them over the next 11 years, there's no denying that he came out strong and remained that way until his farewell.
 |
| Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski |
6. Jeff Bridges
Appeared in: 2
-The Big Lebowski
-True Grit
Best Role: The Big Lebowski
There's few actors who are as lovable and laid-back as Jeff Bridges, which makes it logical why he would be best known for playing a stoner. The Big Lebowski is a film that has taken on a life of its own, even featuring enough catchphrases to spawn its own cult and festival. While his role in True Grit may be less acclaimed, one cannot deny that whatever Bridges did with The Coen Brothers is the closest to consistent perfection that they'll ever get. While it's a shame that they haven't worked together more, it's at least reassuring to note that both times they did ended up with inimitable roles that people still talk about with a certain fondness. If Bridges wants to do some aloof, accent-defying work in the near future, let's hope he calls The Coen Brothers.
 |
| George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? |
7. George Clooney
Appeared in: 4
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-Intolerable Cruelty
-Burn After Reading
-Hail, Caesar!
Best Role: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
It may seem unfair to rank someone as charismatic as George Clooney this low. However, consider who has beaten him. Most of the people on this list are longtime Coen Brothers affiliates who have helped to define their careers through iconic performances in the directors' greatest works. While Clooney definitely deserves some credit, one could argue that his work is subpar by comparison to Buscemi, Turturro, or Polito (even if I think that Burn After Reading is underrated). However, the magic that comes full force in O Brother, Where Art Thou? should be enough to reassure anyone wondering if this team has any magic in them. It's easily the actor's funniest work to date and features a great sense of Americana that helped to inspire crazier period pieces over the next few decades of their career. Even if the other films pale in comparison, their team-up still carries some magic, which hopefully will be rekindled in Hail, Caesar!.
 |
| Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona |
8. Holly Hunter
Appeared in:
-Blood Simple
-Raising Arizona
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Best Role: Raising Arizona
Along with Polito, Holly Hunter is an actress that doesn't immediately come to mind when considering Coen Brothers actors. However, she is just as integral as McDormand in establishing the pallet by which the next 30 years would be judged first appearing alongside her in Blood Simple. However, it's the screwball romp Raising Arizona that she's likely to best be remembered for as a police officer who falls in love with a buffoonish criminal who wants to kidnap babies. For a film packed with great performances, she holds her own alongside Nicolas Cage and Goodman as they push the hi-jinks into compelling directions while helping to bring comedy to the production. She may not be the most recognizable woman to work with them, but she's arguably one of the most important.
 |
| Peter Stormare in Fargo |
9. Peter Stormare
Appeared in: 2
-Fargo
-The Big Lebowski
Best Role: Fargo
The magic of Fargo cannot be underestimated, especially if you want to simply judge The Coen Brothers stable. Featuring a lot of their best actors at some of their best work, it's easy to forget that a large portion of them weren't repeat offenders. Barely crawling into this list is Peter Stormare, whose role alongside Buscemi produces one of the most iconic antagonistic crime duos in 90's film history. Along with being an accomplice to one of the best character deaths, his character is the perfect folly for any Coen Brothers character, providing no nonsense with a dose of unrealized dimness. Much like Bridges and Hunter, it's not entirely clear why Stormare doesn't work with them more, since he is such a perfect fit into the universe.
 |
| Billy Bob Thornton in The Man Who Wasn't There |
10. Billy Bob Thornton
Appeared in: 2
-The Man Who Wasn't There
-Intolerable Cruelty
Best Role: The Man Who Wasn't There
Rounding out the list is a peculiar choice, if just because he's not the most immediate name you'd think of. Billy Bob Thornton is better known for vicariously working with The Coen Brothers by having them serve as producers to Coen-esque work (Bad Santa, Fargo TV series). While these show his ability to handle their tone, the only real film to show his ability with the real thing is The Man Who Wasn't There, which is a supernatural film noir homage that is very weird and easily the most underrated film that the duo has ever directed. It's a brilliant film the likes of which showed that Thornton could easily fit into a Stormare-like role if given the chance. However, everything since Intolerable Cruelty (one of the few I don't like at all) has not featured him, which is a shame - especially as he has reemerged as a talented, charismatic actor capable of handling comedy and drama in equal doses.
UPCOMING REPEAT OFFENDERS FROM Hail, Caesar!: Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Alex Karpovsky, and Fred Melamed
No comments:
Post a Comment