It’s kind of hard to think that people might know who Frank Whaley is, but it could be that they just don’t know his name, which is pretty common. But the guy has been in so many movies and has guest-starred on so many TV shows that he’s been kind of a permanent fixture in show business. He managed to get his start back in the 80s and has taken on a lot of different roles that have seen him as a protagonist and antagonist depending on the movie, but to be fair he’s kind of hard to take as an antagonist since for a long while his youthful looks really painted him as more of a babyface than anything. This was something that people might have counted on at one point since he has been kind of a surprising talent in some movies while in others he’s been absolutely great since he can be funny and dramatic in equal measures, even if he does look like the kind of guy that might end up playing characters that get overwhelmed easily and are taken advantage of on the regular. His credits kind of speak for themselves since he’s acted alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood and has held his own quite often, either because he plays smaller roles or because he’s just that good. Personally, I tend to go with the latter reason since having grown up watching the guy it’s easy to say that he’s a great actor that hasn’t received enough credit at times.
If you can remember, he played Archie Graham in Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones, the young kid version of the aging doctor that had once dreamed about stepping into the big leagues and winking at a major league pitcher to let him think that he knew what he was about to throw. That story was kind of saddening since Archie did get his chance to see what he could do against a major league pitcher, but not too long after he had to cross the line, leave the field, and help Costner’s on-screen daughter as she was choking on a hot dog. Once he did that, however, he reverted back to his older form, and as a result, couldn’t go back. The fact that the character didn’t regret anything though helped to further the story immensely since it spoke to the audience about the love of the game and the choices that people make in life, how they pull us away from what we love, but how they’re still important no matter that our dreams are left behind.
A lot of people might not realize that he also played the role of Boy in Little Monsters, the demonic-looking leader of the monster world that was attempting to get Fred Savage and his friends to submit and remain in their world for good. That was a rather creepy role to be certain, but it’s also one that was fairly brief since Boy didn’t show up until the latter half of the movie. Another interesting role to see him in, even though the story of Jimmy Hoffa has been told and retold and done again and again in ways that many people continue to argue about, was that of the kid that shot Jimmy Hoffa and his advisor near the end of the movie. This was another short role and one that a lot of people would likely argue over since it doesn’t appear to vibe with the actual story of Hoffa and how people think he met his end. His role in Swimming with Sharks he has a much larger role and it’s great since he has to run through a gamut of emotions thanks to the vicious role that’s played by Kevin Spacey, who plays Whaley’s sadistic boss, a role that Spacey apparently feels comfortable with considering how many times he’s acted like this in the movies. Hey, it was an interesting point.
As short as the role in Pulp Fiction was we still can’t forget his time as Brett, especially since he had to endure a vicious interrogation by Samuel L. Jackson, which would be enough to make a lot of people feel about an inch high when he was over and done with. But poor Brett didn’t get to feel anything after Pip was done since he and Vincent unloaded their guns into the poor guy as a way of showing the others that they meant business. Frank has been working pretty steadily for decades now and he’s appeared in a lot of well-known titles as well as a few that haven’t really earned that much attention. His roles have usually been pretty solid since the guy knows what he’s doing and he knows how to make the audience feel one way or another when it comes to his roles. That’s why he’s worth checking out if you have the chance.
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