How many people realize that Nick Stahl isn’t really that old? He’s only 41 and it would appear that he’s making a comeback after his career appeared to go off the rails since he’s been seen in trailers for Hunter Hunter with Devon Sawa and the mob thriller American Dream. Is this a real comeback or is it just Stahl trying to move back into the public eye after an absence that lasted for a little while. Does anyone recall that he up and disappeared for a while? His wife even reported that he was missing at one point in 2012, but it turns out that he’d checked himself into rehab, which is amazing since a lot of celebrities need to be admitted or need a lot of convincing before they get that point. Stahl’s career has been relatively steady since he was a kid, but he has taken time off in the recent past to work on his sobriety and to spend with his family, which is apparently agreeing with him since watching him in a couple of trailers it would appear that he’s grown a bit as an actor and still has plenty of time left to be someone that people can look up to and enjoy for years to come.
He definitely went the dramatic route when it came to simply disappearing, since people had no idea where he was at. He’s been working since that time, but his career was definitely less of a concern than it has been in the past, and as it might be now that he’s becoming more visible once again. It doesn’t help that some of the movies he’s been in within the past couple of decades haven’t really been that great. There are a few clunkers on his resume and a few that aren’t that well known, such as Disturbing Behavior with Katie Holmes and James Marsden. Even his role in Sin City is one that a lot of people felt the need to cringe at since the fact is that Stahl is a decent actor, but there are some roles that haven’t done him a lot of favors. Another is that of John Connor, which was part of the ill-fated Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. A lot of people still agree that this movie was better off not being made, since the acting talents of those that were in the movie, such as Stahl and Claire Danes, were kind of wasted given that the story was simply rehashing the same old talking points again and trying to build upon them by adding in details that led to Skynet finally launching its attack against humanity. To be frank, it almost feels as though we’ve been subjected to a part of Stahl’s growth as a human being on screen, as he had a lot of promise when he was a kid, started to slip a bit as he got older, and then kind of went off the rails for a while.
Now we’re seeing him come back, perhaps realizing what it is that he values most and able to take on life in a balanced manner that’s not perfect but is definitely worth pursuing as he continues to show up on the screen. This could be said of a lot of actors, but considering that we haven’t seen a lot of him in the spotlight until just last year it does feel as though Stahl is attempting to stage a comeback that will see him regain the prominent position he had in show business at one time. A lot of actors tend to drop off the map for a while, not in exactly the same way that Stahl did but definitely in a way that makes it hard to pinpoint just where they’re at in their career and what they’re doing. But sooner or later, a lot of actors tend to need to step away in order to assess what’s most important and to take some time to themselves. This allows them to breathe, to take the time to wonder if they’re really happy with what they’re doing and to find a way back that can allow them to regain the faith of the fans that were there for them in the first place. It would be great to see Stahl take his place back on the big screen again and start showing up in big productions again, but whether or not that’s going to happen is hard to say since, at the moment, the future of theaters and the idea that he’s going to push for bigger movies are both uncertain.
Some actors hit the indie scene and find that they like it, while others go back and forth at will, thinking to find interesting projects that they can get behind. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of Nick Stahl.
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I have enjoyed the characters he (Nick) has portrayed and definitely found them an interesting watch. I knew about the (absence) above because I had wondered where he had gotten to, at the time. I hope he is doing great and I hope he keeps acting. Whether through typecasting or not he knocks it out of the park (IMHO) as that intelligent / reluctant outsider that resonates with viewers (certainly to my Gen X anarchistic self).
“Disturbing behaviour” he’s the character that knows somethings up but probably didn’t fit in before the “sci-fi” shenanigans, the fact that he represents a loose thread at the end suggests his character’s dangerous hidden potential.
Terminator 3 – Can cyborgs from the future jump sharks? At first I wanted more agency from his John Connor but on reflection I like it more and more. Connor is/was destined to be some great and powerful future leader after the collapse of society and yet here he is in the present; this individual who’s destiny was thwarted and is lost and he played it as a person who could not be more powerless and vulnerable.
Sin City – Hilariously unapologetic evil!
Bully – an actor committed to the role not obviously trying to win audience sympathy or understanding as some others might have done.
I suppose you are only listing movies but hey… Carnivale! I would not have thought of casting him outside of something contemporary but here is Ben Hawkins a guy during the dire times of the 30’s depression era an almost vagrant who ends up in a bizarre metaphysical war for America’s soul. Mind-Blown!
I have to admit I did not think of Carnivale, but you’re right, it’s a good addition to the list. Nick does a great job when he’s on-screen, I think one of the biggest things thats ever hampered him would be the overall story and dialogue he has to take on sometimes, as in some movies it feels a little forced and even hard to deal with since it doesn’t sound entirely natural. But his acting is on point, there’s no doubt. Thanks for the feedback, it’s definitely appreciated.