Best male performances in 'Gunpowder Milkshake' *includes SPOILERS*
As the female stars get most of the attention anyway and all the male characters are more or less sketchy, I'd like to rate the male actors who impressed me most in Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) separately. Criteria are mainly the display of emotions, their impact and engagement in fight scenes (which I regard as a substantial element of the performances in an action-thriller and as especially challenging) but also the impression they left after the end of the film.
The less developed the character, the more challenging the task - meaning if the impact was similar but one character was fleshed out less than the other by the script, the latter has been given preference as the achievement is bigger. Those not engaged in fight scenes rank in order of impact below those who had fight scenes and non-fight scenes.
This list is, of course, very subjective as "presence" and "impact" are hard to explain in a paragraph but my evaluation could probably be based on a more detailed analysis and might see some minor changes then.
The less developed the character, the more challenging the task - meaning if the impact was similar but one character was fleshed out less than the other by the script, the latter has been given preference as the achievement is bigger. Those not engaged in fight scenes rank in order of impact below those who had fight scenes and non-fight scenes.
This list is, of course, very subjective as "presence" and "impact" are hard to explain in a paragraph but my evaluation could probably be based on a more detailed analysis and might see some minor changes then.
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Ivan Kaye is internationally best known for his role as King Aelle in Vikings (2013). In 2022 he took a leading role in the Irish comedy movie Apocalypse Clown (2023). Notable recent work also includes StudioCanal's action film Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) and the Disney+ series Wedding Season (2022).
A remarkably versatile actor, Ivan Kaye already had a successful stage career in London's West End in dramatic and musical theatre before starting his work in television and film in his early thirties.
Born on 1st July 1961 in Northampton, Ivan Kaye recreated TV adverts at the age of two years and performed TV shows with his friends throughout his childhood. After a key experience at age eight, he joined a youth theatre group and took over organizational responsibility in his early teens. His parents were social workers who insisted that he should earn a university degree to give him additional options if his plans for an acting career didn't develop as anticipated, but during his academic education, he used every opportunity to perform in plays.
Hence Ivan Kaye managed to beat the odds and succeeded as a professional actor without a privileged background, any connections to influential players in the entertainment industry, or formal education at drama school.
Starting with theatre and musical performances, he made his stage debut at Sadler's Wells in 1980 in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' as Willie Wonka, appearing throughout the 1980s with the National Theatre in 'The Changeling', 'Ghetto' and 'The Magic Olympic Games', as well as West End performances in 'The Rocky Horror Show' at the Piccadilly Theatre as Eddie and Dr. Scott, 'Serious Money' at Wyndham's and 'A View From the Bridge' at Bristol Old Vic, transferring to the Strand. His most recent theatre appearance was in the role of Tom Kettle in Jez Butterworth's critically acclaimed West End play 'The Ferryman' in 2017/2018 before its transfer to Broadway.
In 1992 he already had his own TV show at the age of thirty: He played the leading role in the name part of detective drama Sam Saturday (1992) and has since been seen as Reuben Starkadder in Cold Comfort Farm (1995), a duplicitous spouse in Bad Girls (1999), an initially questionable doctor in EastEnders (1985) and dim farm-hand Bryan in sitcom The Green Green Grass (2005).
More recently, he has appeared in less than sympathetic mode in productions that have reached an international audience and been dubbed into several languages like Assassination Games (2011) as well as period pieces The Borgias (2011) and Vikings (2013) (on his Twitter page he describes himself as "Villain for Hire"), but also in more lovable parts in crime drama shows like The Coroner (2015) and Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022) and in the mini-series The Woman in White (2018).
Since 2018 he has also put more focus on feature films for the big screen in several genres (comedy, action, and period drama) and has, once again, proven his passion for acting by starring in several comedy short films.
Being a household name at home and having co-starred with Hollywood actors in multiple films, Ivan Kaye's larger-than-life on-screen version of King Aelle of Northumbria has finally earned him worldwide fame. His career received another boost from 2017 onward when he first made a prestigious theatre comeback in 2017-18 and then joined several international film and series projects in 2018-2021 (e.g. Amazon's series pilot for an adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower (2020), the female-led action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) and Disney+ series Wedding Season (2022)). Since 2022 he has returned to leading parts with a role in the Irish comedy feature Apocalypse Clown (2023).
Due to his enormous versatility, Ivan Kaye has been featured in a wide array of roles encompassing lead and main parts as well as antagonists, outright villains, and comical characters. Another one of his "superpowers" as an actor is to turn even underwritten side parts into memorable characters by infusing them with a vibrancy that leaves a mark in the minds of the audience.
As a founder and director of Comedy Ink Productions together with actor/writer Douglas McFerran (born May 1958) he has produced and acted as a lead in short comedic offerings such as the mini-series Brilliant! (2007) and short film Sherlock Holmes Confidential (2013). The latest release of his company is his solo short film Acter (2020). Two horror shorts produced together with Douglas McFerran are still in post-production.
Ivan Kaye has a reputation for being especially kind and appreciative towards his fans on social media and in person. He is a supporter of the Hounslow Urban Farm (where 'Green Green Grass' was partially filmed) and, with several other actors, the Justice for Andrew campaign, seeking justice for the murder of a young Liverpudlian.
He has two adult daughters and lives in London.Plays Yankee who is cool and intimidating at times but also funny in his ill-fated endeavour to defeat Karen Gillan's Sam. He displays a range of emotions by facial expressions and use of voice and perfectly masters the challenge to show pain, determination and power all the while laughing and giggling from an overdose of laughing gas. A giant of a man, he is fully engaged with impactful movements in tough fight scenes for a substantial amount of time in spite of advanced age and limited prior fight performances. He even shows a load of emotions during the second, very comical fight scene, making it hard not to sympathize with him while watching him stumble towards his quite memorable end. His on-screen presence and the vividness and vibrancy he gives his character are ace even though he has the disadvantage to be displayed in a less powerful sitting position most of the time (not least fighting from a wheelchair in the second encounter with Sam). His whole performance is a varied treat for the "gourmet watcher" as usual. Yes, I was a fan before but I'm a fan for good reason. Thoroughly impressed once more.- David Burnell IV, the oldest of three children, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on the little island of Oahu. He is the son of David Burnell III, a retired military veteran who was a combat medic during the Vietnam war and Charmaine Burnell retired Senior Accountant for Walmart Operations. David grew up as a military brat for most of his life living in several different locations in 3-year increments. Being exposed to several different cultures allowed David to easily talk in several different accents.
He played football for the East Carolina University Pirates where he was nicknamed "The Flea" because of his height and quickness after graduation, a guy with a nice uniform told him that he could travel the entire world for free. David then enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, Philipines, Thailand, Hawaii, California, Seoul Korea, and Munich Germany throughout his career. Ultimately, David found that the Marines tend to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan a lot and being a cold-hearted killing machine was a full-time acting job for him. When a rocket hit 10 feet outside of the T-wall he realized that he might as well get paid better for his acting career.
He got back to the states and started enrolling in American Ninja Warrior competitions, short films, commercials, then movies while acquiring good agents. David has only begun acting professionally since 2018, but with a couple of promising movies premiering in 2020, David Burnell IV is looking to be a force to be reckoned with.Plays Shocker and manages to come across as intimidating at the start in spite of being rather short. But his energy bursts out of every pore and his movements during the fight scenes are perfectly measured and fast-paced. His comical appeal is even greater and in spite of his very limited amount of lines his part is memorable for the manifold expressions he shows, especially during the second comical fight scene, and for his mastery of funny movements, jumping at Karen Gillan's Sam with full power and speed with the help of his crutches. - Adam Nagaitis was born and raised in Chorley, Lancashire. At the age of 19, Adam left the UK to study acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York. Following this, Adam returned to the UK to study at RADA. Out of RADA, Adam was offered a role in Yann Demanges' first feature film, the BIFA-winning and BAFTA nominated '71.Plays Virgil and gives the character a special touch in the way he moves and holds his head. You just get curious about the source of this quirkiness. He also shows some great expressions just before his one-on-one fight with Madeleine and does a good job during the fight. Definitely one of the memorable characters of the film.
- Plays Crow who has a good moment of mischievous air just before the first fight of the goon trio with Karen Gillan's Sam. He does a good job in the action scenes and possibly has the meanest facial expressions of the goons, enjoying the violence in a more subtly malicious way than the others. But he somehow failed to make an impression on me as powerfully as David Burnell IV with his Shocker although the latter doesn't have a lot more lines to work with. Still great work in minor role.
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Michael Smiley was born on 29 January 1963 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Kill List (2011), Free Fire (2016) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). He is married to Miranda Sawyer. They have one child.Plays Dr. Ricky who stays at the sidelines of the fight scenes but brings his blasé attitude across as believably as his fear (I wouldn't call it cowardice as a physician witnessing a massacre between hard-core professional assassins and goons can't really be expected to do anything but run and hide). He also has a certain presence if not as impactful as others, at least in this role.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Ralph Ineson was born on 15 December 1969 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for The Witch (2015), The Green Knight (2021) and The Creator (2023).Plays Jim McAlester, the biggest antagonist challenge to Karen Gillan's Sam and probably the most relevant background presence for the story. What stood out to me is his incredibly impressive voice that he puts to good use. It gave me goose bumps. His character also gets most texture on the male side but that means that his achievement isn't as big as that of the others in making an impression - of course, you will react with some sort of emotions to his monologue about his children and his feelings. It would take a rather bad actor to screw this up. His personal presence is good but not as powerful as Giamatti's. However, presence is not performance or acting skill and as his character is a much tougher, more iron-like type than Giamatti's Nathan, hence might simply not have that much of a range, it is hard to decide who should rank on top of the other.- Actor
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Paul Giamatti is an American actor who has worked steadily and prominently for over thirty years, and is best known for leading roles in the films American Splendor (2003), Sideways (2004), and Barney's Version (2010) (for which he won a Golden Globe), and supporting roles in the films Cinderella Man (2005), The Illusionist (2006), and San Andreas (2015).
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born June 6, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut, and is the youngest of three children. His mother, the former Toni Marilyn Smith, was an actress before marrying. His father, Bart Giamatti (Angelo Bartlett Giamatti), was a professor of Renaissance Literature at Yale University, and went on to become the university's youngest president (in 1986, Bart was appointed president of baseball's National League. He became Commissioner of Baseball on April 1, 1989 and served for five months until his untimely death on September 1, 1989. He was commissioner at the time Pete Rose was banned from the game). Paul's father also wrote six books. Paul's older brother, Marcus Giamatti, is also an actor. His sister, Elena, designs jewelry. His ancestry is Italian (from his paternal grandfather), German, English, Dutch, Scottish, and Irish.
Paul graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall prep school, majored in English at Yale, and obtained his Master's Degree in Fine Arts, with his major in drama from the Yale University School of Drama. His acting roots are in theatre, from his college days at Yale, to regional productions (Seattle, San Diego and Williamstown, Massachusetts), to Broadway.Plays Nathan and is appealing in both aspects: presence and emotional impact. However, the emotions displayed are rather repetitive and of very limited range in comparison with those of most of the aforementioned characters, especially relative to the weight or attention he is being given. It is hard to tell if this is due to the script and directing mainly or if Giamatti has failed to infuse his character with more substance that would have come through between the lines. Missing in particular is a moment that would give a feeling of the harder quality of Nathan's personality that would be necessary to rise to such a position in this environment in the first place. For the main male star in the film, the character is surprisingly sketchy and barely involved in the action itself. Accordingly, it is not clear how much of an impression Giamatti's skills would have left with less attention drawn to the character.- Actor
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Samuel Anderson was born on 27 April 1982 in England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for The History Boys (2006), The Lady in the Van (2015) and Gunpowder Milkshake (2021).Plays David, the faher of Chloe Coleman's Emily. He has a very brief appearance with something similar to a scuffle with Karen Gillan's Sam - however, that hardly qualifies as a fight. In the short amount of time, he manages to attract the audience's sympathy and displays desperation and pain quite convincingly. I have the feeling that he might have earned a place on top of Ineson and Giamatti on this list if we had seen more of him.