Denis O’Hare is an American actor who has had numerous roles in movies, TV shows, and theater productions. At the moment, he might be most recognizable as the vampire Russell Edgington on True Blood, but it should be noted that he has received considerable praise for his roles in American Horror Story as well as movies such as Milk and Charlie Wilson’s War.
Here are the top five movie roles of Denis O’Hare’s career in no particular order:
An Englishman in New York
Like its name suggests, An Englishman in New York is about the period of time that Quentin Crisp spent in New York City. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Quentin Crisp was an English writer as well as a raconteur whose unique views on a wide range of subjects made him a source of fascination for the public. In the movie, O’Hare played Philip Steele, which was not a real person but rather a combination of two of Crisp’s friends, Philip Ward and Tom Steele.
Changeling
Changeling tells the story of a mother who returns home to find her son missing. Some time later, the police conducts a public reunion with a boy who they claim to be her son, pressuring her to take him home in spite of her conviction that he is not who they claim him to be. As a result, she is sent to the psychiatric ward against her will, where O’Hare plays the menacing Dr. Steele, who forces her to take mood-regulating pills on the belief that she is delusional. Eventually, the mother is released when more evidence comes out, resulting in a measure of justice being served.
Dallas Buyers Club
In the mid 1980s, AIDS was not just little understood but also stigmatized by most Americans. Dallas Buyers Club is based on the real story of Ron Woodroof, who was diagnosed with AIDS but determined to live as long as possible by finding some kind of treatment to manage his medical condition. His initial experience with an antiretroviral drug under testing in the United States is less than positive, which is why he starts buying another drug that has not been approved for use in the United States, thus leading to the creation of a buyers club alongside other people in need of the same drug. Here, O’Hare plays Dr. Sevard, who seeks to foil Woodroof’s efforts because of how it disrupts the trial that he is conducting on the antiretroviral drug.
Milk
Harvey Milk is still remembered for being the first openly gay person to have been elected to a public office in the state of California. As a result, it should come as no surprise to learn that Milk starts with his move to San Francisco in search of a place that is more accepting, narrates his struggles, and concludes with his murder. In Milk, O’Hare plays a conservative state legislator who sponsors a bill to ban gays, lesbians, and their supporters from working in California’s public schools as part of a nation-wide conservative movement against gay rights.
The Eagle
O’Hare played a Roman centurion named Lutorius in The Eagle, which is the fictional tale of a Roman centurion and a slave’s effort to recover the eagle standard of the Ninth Legion from the far reaches of non-Roman-controlled Britain. Their mission is successful but not without cost. In particular, most of the Roman survivors of the Ninth Legion fail to survive the last battle, but a good argument can be made that they were alright with it because it restored their honor for having lost the eagle standard in the first place.
Shout out to Garden State as well!
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