There seems to be one immutable fact when you talk about Peter Stormare: he won’t ever be a lead character. He’ll be a peripheral character, a character actor, and a strong supporting character, but being the lead character just doesn’t seem to be in the cards. But honestly that seems like it might be for the best since he seems to be in his element when he’s playing the supporting character, especially since he has the kind of skill to step into the skin of just about any character he needs to and make it great enough that you might not even remember it’s him at times considering that he’s been so many different characters in his career. Chances are you’re likely to hear his accent more often than not but he uses it to his best benefit and injects it so well into each character, or suppresses it, that his characters become something unique no matter what they sound like or who they are.
Here are some of his best movies.
5. Constantine
There have been some truly horrifying and epic representations of Lucifer in the movies, but a lot of times they’ve either been red-skinned and horned or somehow demonic and over the top in a way that can’t be missed. But Stormare is one of those that has brought a whimsical lean to the role of Satan and yet has managed to keep the character grounded in a kind of sinister and ultimately deadly mien that hides a dangerous and vengeful side beneath the skin. He’s a lot more playful as the devil in this movie than others have been, but that strange teeter-totter balance between ultimate evil and malicious prankster works perfectly, in fact it’s probably one of the best parts of the movie.
4. 8mm
When Dino Velvet is first seen he seems like more of a kook that thinks he’s more important than he actually is. It’s only when he shows just how dangerous he and his associate, Machine, really are that it becomes obvious that he’s more than just another bottom-feeder that manages to make a living in disturbing, hardcore pornography. He’s the kind of individual that’s deadly, vicious, and cares nothing for anyone apart from himself. He trusts no one except Machine it would seem, and is ready to kill anyone at the drop of a hat if he sees it as a necessary action. His death is kind of a surprise, but it’s also a relief.
3. The Big Lebowski
As a nihilist he’s kind of a comical character in this movie since he’s honestly and truly a kind of dunce that just seems to waltz through the entire story. But honestly that’s what makes his character work in this instance since the movie itself is so hard to take seriously that this character is someone you can see as one of the peripheral villains that disappears until it’s time for him to step up and be noticed again. Peter is the kind of actor that can put on a show and act like he’s zoning out during the film, or he can be immediately on point and right in the moment, which seems to be advantageous in this movie.
2. Armageddon
Russian components, American components, all made in Taiwan! It might seem like a decidedly male thing to do, but Lev knows how to get it done all the same since like a lot of men he decides to bang on the problem in front of him with a heavy object in order to get it in the mood to run. Hey, it works. Lev is kind of a space-case since he’s been up in space for so long that his wits are kind of addled, but he’s still one of the more popular characters in the movie. He’s actually one of the only certified astronauts in the entire movie to be honest, and with this in mind he definitely sees fit to take charge when he needs to.
1. Fargo
Gaear is a psychopath, plain and simple. He’s the quiet type that doesn’t really feel the need to say much, but the danger he represents is very real, and between himself and Buscemi’s character there’s no doubt just who is the more likely to go off and start chopping people up. After all, Buscemi does get shoved headfirst into a wood chipper, after which Gaear starts to rush a cop who ends up shooting and arresting him. It’s interesting how this movie turned out since throughout the entire thing it seemed as though Buscemi’s character would be killed off, which was kind of obvious. But it did seem as though Gaear would have been on the slab next to him eventually. Ah well.
It’s actually fun to see Peter show up when watching a movie or a TV show since it means that he’s going to be doing something great, or something absolutely horrible in the guise of his character.The Big Lebowski
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