John Malkovich names the manliest movie of his career: “So male, just wildly male”
A quick Google search of John Malkovich will reveal just how varied his career has been. Since he first started appearing in movies in the late 1970s, he’s done just about everything there is to do on the screen. His portrayal of journalist Al Rockoff in The Killing Fields explored genuine darkness, while his interpretation of Lennie in Gary Sinise’s Of Mice and Men lends physical form to one of literature’s saddest moments. Playing yourself isn’t as easy as it seems, but Being John Malkovich might be the best example in movie history.
There are definitely more traditionally masculine actors out there, but Malkovich has been in his fair share of macho movies. He was in one of the Michael Bay Transformers movies for crying out loud. It doesn’t get much more ‘male gaze’ than that. He also nearly featured in Unforgiven, which is a brain-breaking concept. When it comes to manliness, however, it doesn’t get much better – or worse, depending on your preference – than Con Air.
Released in 1997, this Simon West-directed thriller pits Nicolas Cage against a plane full of criminals who stage a breakout midair. Malkovich plays Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom, one of the ringleaders of the escape plot. It’s far from Shakespeare, but the movie is absolutely spot-on for what it is. An out-and-out schlockfest without a shred of logic to cling to, it’s perfect for anyone wanting to switch their brain off and get lost in the madness for two hours.
“It was hilarious,” Malkovich told GQ. “It was like the first thing I’d ever done just with men… “Con Air was the first time [working] with guys that I wouldn’t necessarily invite them all into the house. They were always inviting me to places – like the bar they’d adopted as their hangout was called American Bush. Listen, I can’t go to a bar called American Bush. I mean, sorry. But in truth, they were quite funny, some supersmart, but it was just so male. Just wildly male.”
One person who was convinced by the veteran’s gruff performance as Grissom was photographer Sandro Miller. He worked on a project called ‘Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich’, a book of the actor recreating famous photographs from across history. “I remember watching that film before John came in, expecting somebody like Cyrus the Virus,” he said of the first time he met his future friend. “I was just completely, completely wrong because John was the most gentle gentleman that you could ever imagine.”
Alongside Cage, the ‘RED’ franchise star shared the screen with a bounty of male talent. Steve Buscemi, John Cusack, and Ving Rhames all play supporting roles, while there are also bit parts for Renoly Santiago, Danny Trejo, and Dave Chappelle. Astonishingly, there are a few women in the cast. Rachel Ticotin plays a female guard aboard the flight who becomes the target of one of the inmates, while Monica Potter plays the wife of Cage’s character. Outside of those two roles, which aren’t exactly what you’d call ‘deep’, that’s pretty much it for the ladies.
It’s not going to win any awards for feminist representation or pass any sort of Bechdel test, but Con Air is a good, silly time that taps into some of the most primal male feelings. Even Malkovich, a modest guy by all accounts, was won over by its red-blooded charm.
