By Alan Sepinwall
Gerald McRaney is suddenly cool. How did this happen?
If you don't believe the guy from Major Dad has developed a hipster cachet nearly 40 years into his acting career, you need to watch him scaring the pants off of everyone on Deadwood as gold-obsessed mining magnate George Hearst, or see him lending CBS' upcoming drama Jericho some badly needed gravity as the mayor of a small Kansas town that survives a nuclear attack on U.S. soil. Where did this transition from "Hey, it's the one with the mustache from Simon & Simon" to "Holy cow, that was so good I need to launder everything I'm wearing" come from?
"I've gotten old," McRaney, who turns 59 later this month, joked during a Jericho press conference at last month's Television Critics Association press tour in California. "It's just coincidence that I've found a couple of really well-written parts to play," he added. "That's the whole thing."
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To read the rest of the Star-Ledger article, click here. For more writing on Deadwood, see "The Deadwood Columns" in the sidebar at right.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The cooling of Gerald McRaney
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6 comments:
McRaney truly has been a revelation as Hearst. I wonder when they do yet another revision on Emmy nomination procedures next year he'll manage to snag a well-deserved supporting actor nomination.
I second that emotion, and I've even said in one of my recaps that he deserves every award that comes his way. I never believed it was possible for another actor to hold the screen against Ian McShane, much less plausibly rattle or even scare McShane's character, but McRaney makes me believe it.
I have to say that a shiver goes up my spine every time I hear ads for "Jericho" and George Hearst's voice is heard. I may never be able to trust a McRaney character again!
As I noted in my response to Matt's study of last week's episode, McRaney's been brilliant this year. He's been every bit McShane's equal, which is no small feat, and the first character I've felt that has a legitimate shot of bringing Al to his knees. This is damned important, because as Al becomes increasingly empathetic, the show needs dark forces at his heels in order to keep the story from getting soft. Hearst is the knife's edge, and McRaney's honed his act to a fine point.
One of the things about Al is that although at least early in the show his evil was complex it was visceral. It loomed over the camp.
Which is why McCraney's vision of Hearst is truly brilliant. It's that creepy sort of evil that you know is there but the rational part of your brain has a hard time coming to grips with the reality that such seeming simpleness can be so frightening.
Hearst is the obsessive simpleton. He mutters about the color, takes sledge hammers to random walls and always seems distracted even when directly addressing someone. It's an idiot savant version of evil.
McRaney's play of the scene with Mrs. Ellesworth was the crest of the wave. The cobra like strike from nearly slack jawed weirdo to vicious sociopath in a matter of seconds was inifinitely more frightening that anything Al has ever done.
Hearst scares me. For Al I have a grudging affection.
But Hearst truly scares me.
Well it sure took you guys long enough to realize what an amazing actor Gerald McRaney is.
He has been my favorite actor for nearly 30 years.
But, he gets no Emmy and leaves JERICHO to die after one season.
I'll alway be waiting to see what he does next.
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