There is an actor who has graced our screens since the 1950s, an actor who's graced our screens both silver and small in over 100 appearances, whose unique appearance and acting style have given us memorable and screen stealing characters. Ever the chameleon, he's played parts of many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and in each one he's remained doggedly himself. Although he's played heroes on occasion, his manic demeanour, and rugged looks have often seen him typecast in villainous roles. His devotion to acting (and possibly $$$) have seen him pop up in a surprising number of terrible films, many of which he makes bearable, with his odd inflections of words, and hamtastic acting.
Of course we all know who I'm talking about. It's obviously...
Wait! Hold up, not so fast!
It's not that dude. Though he is undoubtedly awesome and all, but he's not the one I'm talking about. No, I'm talking about this guy.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Henry Silva.
Now, I'm not going to give you a rundown of his life or filmography â that's all readily available for the interested over at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Silva and IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0798328/reference , but in my opinion this actor is a true treasure of trash cinema.
A member of the Actor's Studio since 1955, there is no doubting the man can act, and act damn well. His roles in films such as The Manchurian Candidate and Johnny Cool attest to that. However, he was rarely the leading man, and all too often typecast as villainous heavies.
At some point around the mid-1960s, Henry Silva seems to have made a decision to accept any acting gig, no matter how bad, provided it paid, and proceeded to move to Italy, where he spent the next decade propping up a number of Euro-cop thrillers, mob films, and spaghetti westerns with his steely gaze, before returning Stateside to set about compiling a trash resume almost beyond compare..
Oh, and here he is helping sell Midas mufflers with Lee Van Cleef, showing all of his usual restraint...
Silva has starred (or appeared) in a number of terribly terrible movies, and a number of awesomely terrible movies. He wasn't too fussed, apparently. And in each one, his memorable performances exude a sort of boyish glee and charm. He's like the cat that got the cream. A grown man being paid to play soldier, deliver excruciatingly awful lines, and blow shit up.
Can't say I blame the guy. If someone paid me to sit in a tank and pretend to blow up Barry Bostwick wearing a gold leotard on a flying motorbike, I'd sure as shit take the money!
A quick glance at IMDb shows us that, in the trashy 'Ë80s, he took part in some memorably trashy epics.
Alligator (1980)
Megaforce (1982)
Escape 2000 (1983)
Cannonball Run II (1984)
Above the Law (1988)
Cyborg II (1989)
In later years, Silva has moved more into voice-work as Ban in various animated Batman shows (his deep timbred tones much better suited to the character than Tom Hardy's bizarre gurglings...), and cameos. One of my favourites comes as mob boss (what else?) Ray Vargo in Jim Jarmusch's excellent Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999). As usual, its brief screen time, but memorable nonetheless.
At 85, he may be slowing down, but his contribution to good, bad, and good/bad movies is undeniable and unforgettable.
Henry Silva, I salute you!
#JonoSalutes #TrashLegends