John Cusack
Since 2010, John Cusack has starred in 16 films that received a theatrical release. Many of you likely couldn’t name more than a handful; sadly, few of them are worthy of merit or much discussion. Yet, despite the shaky quality of the more current films he stars in, Cusack is one of the most eclectic actors working today, able to slither into many genres or character types. It takes a certain performer to portray Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Nixon or Brian Wilson on the big screen, and it takes a magnificent one to play all of those men within a three-year period.
Aside from his brief part as the former president in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Cusack has not had a box-office hit since 2012. Although he doesn’t quite have the look or perhaps the muscle we associate with brusque action heroes like Neeson, he has the dramatic (and dark comedic) chops to convincingly play a man pushed to the edge.
The wry quality he brings to many of his performances, such as those in The Grifters, The Ice Harvest and Grosse Pointe Blank, gives him a slick charm and edge that any action hero needs. Physical strength is not Cusack’s forte, but sordid wit is. His recent turn as a mostly unseen menace in Grand Piano shows just how much villainy Cusack can bring with his sinister voice. For an actor who used to be one of America’s sweethearts, there is something cathartic in watching the man who was Lloyd Dobler show off his rougher side.