The five movies Evan Peters couldn’t live without: “makes you feel love”
Describing an actor as versatile may seem like generic praise, but it’s more than applicable in the case of Evan Peters.
The dynamic series of roles that he’s had in the Ryan Murphy universe alone would be impressive enough, but Peters has also managed to win an Emmy for his heartbreaking role in Mare of Easttown, terrify viewers with his performance as Jeffrey Dahmer, and become a scene-stealing superhero with his role as Quicksilver in the X-Men prequel films.
Peters has accomplished a great deal for an actor of his relative youth, but he’s also clearly a massive cinephile with a clear passion for his favourite films, so when Hunger Mag asked him to identify the ones he couldn’t live without, he was quick to name Tommy Boy, a Chris Farley classic that was essential for many kids growing up in the 1990s.
Tommy Boy may seem like an odd choice for an actor as prestigious as Peters, but many actors would agree that comedy is often much more challenging than drama. Farley’s life was tragically cut too short, but the performances he gave have had a lasting impact on many of his young fans, including Peters.
He also named Forrest Gump, another quintessential classic that has continued to earn praise in the decades since its release, with perhaps the most striking aspect of it when compared to present films is how sincere it is, sans any hint of subversion. Turning in a performance free of irony was never an easy task, and it’s one of the reasons that Peters’ own work has been so impressive, such that, among the reasons that his role in Mare of Easttown is so beloved, is that he captured the essence of a genuinely good person who tried his best to find the good in others.
On the other end of the spectrum, Peters also mentioned that the Nicholas Winding Refn’s thrilling crime drama, Drive, was a film that he had come to love in his “later years”, and while he may have already been a known entity at the time the film came out in 2011, it was hard not to be blown away by Refn’s unique stylisation and aesthetic choices, not to mention Ryan Gosling’s stoic performance that was equally as emotional.
In terms of emotional, another contemporary film the actor cited was Never Let Me Go, which he called “maybe the saddest movie” that he’s ever seen. The futuristic science fiction romance was based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, but the film adaptation was even more devastating thanks to the powerful performances from Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, and Carrie Mulligan.
Peters’ affection for romantic films was even more evident from his final selection of Dirty Dancing, which he called a “classic”, describing it as a film that “makes you feel love at the end of it”, and interestingly, the brief cameo he filmed as Quicksilver for Deadpool 2 featured a few references to Dirty Dancing, courtesy of Ryan Reynolds.
If anything, the actor’s unique opinions suggest that he should make more movies, as he’s been mostly preoccupied with his work on the small screen, and although his recent roles in Tron: Ares and Wish didn’t pan out too well, there’s sure to be a more substantial, heartfelt film in development that would benefit from his talents and perspective.
Evan Peters’ all-time favourite films:
- Tommy Boy (Peter Segal, 1995)
- Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
- Drive (Nicholas Winding Refn, 2011)
- Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek, 2010)
- Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardolino, 1987)
