William H. Macy on How Hollywood’s Portrayal of Violence Harms Society

Movies offer us a variety of genres, and it is ultimately our choice what to put on top. While actor William H. Macy isn’t certain about his favorite genre, he is sure about what he doesn’t like. During a podcast, the industry veteran recently revealed that he isn’t a fan of how Hollywood portrays violence on the big screen.

William H. Macy bluntly states his aversion to the violence depicted in Hollywood movies

Macy is an established actor who has been in the film industry for nearly five decades. Throughout his career, the 74-year-old actor has demonstrated his versatility by acting in varied genres. However, much of his work has been in the comedy genre. Interestingly, Macy seems to have a particular aversion to the violence depicted in the Hollywood industry, as suggested by his recent statement.

When he appeared on the Films to Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein podcast, Macy was asked about the worst movie he’s ever seen. He responded with a rant: “Oh, boy. I rarely get through them. I think, at the end of the day, one thing any story has to be is true. It’s got to be true to the human experience. And I think the test is if you put it out there and a couple of million people see it, that most of them recognize the issue and it moves them.” 

The Oscar-nominated actor added that it “offends” him when movies don’t depict the truth. He explained, “I guess the most obvious example — and I can see the will to live just fade from people when I get on this kick — but I think Hollywood is doing a lot of damage to the world with our portrayal of violence. It’s not true, and it’s not a good place to be lying when it comes to our portrayal of violence.”

Macy’s stance on how seeing violence through films impacts our perspective has previously cost him some work. The actor even requested that a Western he was working on scale back the casualties in the film. He said, “When I first started off, there were nine bodies on page four, and I lobbied for us to go back to the real West and not to Westerns. Don’t imitate films.”

Recounting some facts, Macy pointed out that only four men died in the infamous 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He said, “It was the biggest thing. Four guys. Most of the scripts you get, there’s four guys on the first page. You see them downtown, blasting away in New York City. There’s not a cop to be seen. People get shot four times, and they give a speech.”

While Macy has some valid points, not everyone may see things as he does. However, since he is quite adamant about his beliefs, he even has an idea that might convince people to shift their perspective and reconsider their choices if they enjoy violence on screen. He has developed his own idea for a show that he said he’s tried to sell several times.

He said, “I wanna do a thing where you take three episodes to have you fall in love with one of the major characters and then shoot him. But don’t write him off the show. And every week, you can see what a bullet does to a human body. You can see how it wrecks his marriage. You can see how he gets infections. You can see how he has to learn to walk again or use his hands again. You can see the deep, dark depressions. Let’s tell the truth about it because I swear to God, you kill one person, there’s nothing more dramatic than that. You kill 18 people, it’s just porn. The only thing you can do to make that more dramatic is kill 18 more.”