This British-Australian actor came into the limelight with Curtis Hanson crime-thriller L.A Confidential where he played Detective Sergeant Edmund “Ed” Exley, an intelligent, ruthless, and morally ambitious fellow. While he was brilliant in the role, he was quietly overshadowed by the likes of Kevin Spacey & Russell Crowe. But his most widely known is Christopher Nolan’s psychological thriller Memento. Now a cult, Memento chronicled the life of Leonard who is vulnerable and confused because he cannot form new memories. After Memento, Pearce slowly subsided into the league of soul-less B-movies which didn’t do him any good. But after watching a few of his recent performances, I can ensure that Guy Pearce has still got it. He is one of the most underrated actors in the industry. Here are four movies of Guy Pearce that we recommend you watch right now.
1. Results (2015)
Results follows the life of Trevor (Guy Pearce), an ambitious gym trainer who wishes to expand his so-called dream into a brand, Kat (Cobie) who works in Trevor’s gym and is immensely liked by her clients, who also casually sleeps with Trevor, and Danny (Kevin Corrigan) who comes in ‘hoping to get into shape’ or as he puts it ‘to be able to take a punch.’
Results is an unusual romantic-comedy, that comes as a surprise. Guy Pearce plays an Australian fitness instructor who thinks he can solve everything through positive thinking. In one of the best scenes in Results, you see Trevor imagining his dream taking shape in front of his eyes. The film shows how disciplined and well thought Trevor is yet how emotionally detached he is when it comes to maintaining a real relationship. Pearce brings life into the character with his dry wit and muscular packs.
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2. The Rover (2014)
David Michod’s The Rover is an atmospheric, filthy, tense, and brooding thriller of fewer words. Thrown in a gritty post-collapse Australia, The Rover magnifies its lens into the life of two people. Their closeness to death and survival is just an outline, at heart, The Rover preaches the fact that principles and honors are above everything else.
The Rover featured the best performance by a male actor in 2015. It pains me to just think how sad it is that a terrifying, tense, and gut-wrenching portrayal of Eric was underseen. To be completely honest, I would say that Pearce acted as if his life depended on it.
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3. Animal Kingdom (2010)
Michod’s debut film is dreadful. It’s the darker equivalent of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Animal Kingdom is a dark, intense look into the life of a family of drug dealers and bank robbers who have managed to successfully elude the police on multiple occasions. Animal Kingdom is a brilliant and intelligent film. The screenplay shouts a master at work and it’s supported by a canon of wonderful performances. In my opinion, this is the most underrated film of the decade.
In Animal Kingdom, Guy Pearce plays Detective Senior Sgt Nathan Leckie, who has a secretive hand over one of the members of the Cody family. While there are far better performances in the film, Pearce shines in his role as Nathan Leckie. While watching the film you’ll be reminded of Gary Oldmen’s rendition of Detective Gordon.
4. Lawless (2012)
Inspired by the real-life events which happened in the life of the grandparents of the author of the novel “The Wettest County in the World”, Lawless is a story about three bootlegging brothers in rural Virginia. Their illusion that they can not be touched is soon threatened by the cop when the Bondurant brothers refuse to pay them off. The problem starts brewing soon among the Bondurant brothers when they face an outside threat that sets the duel between Tom Hardy, the chief Bondurant, and Guy Pearce, a mob flunky in law enforcer’s clothing. Though the film swings between classic gangster film with a dash of modernism and B-grade wannabe art film, it is the performance of each character that raises the bar of film, especially Tom Hardy and the always dependable Guy Pearce.
The film seemed pretty low on thrills until Guy Pearce shows up as a ruthless imperil cop who brings the much-needed confrontation that sets the dramatic thrill in motion. Guy plays his part as a vicious, brutal, and calculating special deputy with élan and an equal amount of swag. He looks creepy without his eyebrow and every word he speaks sends a chill down the spine.
