The actor Guy Pearce called the second coming of Marlon Brando: “He’s so compelling”
Guy Pearce has recently had a bit of a renaissance in Hollywood after his stellar performance in The Brutalist, playing a wealthy industrialist who exploits the talents of a Hungarian architect. His performance is chilling, harrowing and wonderfully complex, playing someone who presents himself in many different ways, going from being a brute to a saviour and a tyrant. He is rightfully being critically praised for his performance in the film, leading some to revisit his earlier work such as Memento, LA Confidential and The Hurt Locker and his impressive range of television work.
Throughout the years, he has collaborated with great directors like Christopher Nolan, David Cronenberg, Ridley Scott, and William Friedkin. However, he has also highlighted the important lessons he has learnt from his fellow co-stars, singing the praises of one in particular and comparing him to the ultimate Hollywood legend.
Marlon Brando has always been seen as the ultimate image of success, creating a lasting legacy for himself through haunting performances in The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris and On the Waterfront. Whether it be his stoic yet slightly threatening presence or piercing eyes, the actor has defied a generation of Hollywood through his towering stature and dangerously committed performance, leading him to be known as one of the best actors of all time. It is seen as a defining compliment to be compared to him, something that Pearce did when discussing another actor’s work.
Lawless, directed by John Hillcoat in 2012, follows a bootlegging band of brothers in Franklin County during 1931, who find themselves in a violent war with the police after a Chicago lawman tries to shut down their operation. Pearce starred in the project alongside Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Shia LaBeouf, describing how mesmerised he was by Hardy’s presence in particular and the impact of his work.
Pearce explained, “He’s so compelling to me. I can’t take my eyes off him. I was on Lawless for a month and I couldn’t take my eyes off him for the whole time I was there. I hate to use the word Brando, but there’s a quality about Tom, to me, that’s reminiscent of Brando—that incredible masculine physicality. He’s more sort of messed-up-looking than Brando, but he’s kind of beautiful. So masculine, but he has this incredible delicate sensibility in this body that’s—wow! And he’s so unpredictable, which I think is the greatest quality an actor can have”
The Australian actor is definitely onto something, as Hardy does share an uncanny physical resemblance to Brando, with a similar persona that is both intimidating and completely watchable. Pearce also compared his acting methods to Hardy’s, highlighting their differences and the unique magic he brings on set.
Concluding, “I’m not unpredictable. I’m so predictable. Really, I rehearse a scene, and I say, ‘This is what I’m going to do,’ and I just keep doing the same thing all the time and try to make it as natural as I possibly can. I can’t change it up between takes, really, not like some guys can. Those guys, they’re like electricity. You don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
