You can either love him or hate but Ving Rhames is undeniably cool on the set and off. He’s got that smooth, bass voice that makes him sound like someone that might just breeze through life being as chill as possible and that kind of attitude that can be calm under pressure no matter what’s happening in his life. It could be that his life is very different and he’s a different person when the cameras aren’t on, but more or less he seems like a very smooth individual. Throughout his career, and he’s had a great one thus far, he’s been one of the most sought after characters in Hollywood at one point and seemed to almost disappear at another. Whatever the reason for this however it’s always been great to see when he comes back since he’s the kind of guy that you might not want to get burned out on, but are always happy to see when it’s been a while.
A lot of his movies have either gone by wayside at this point and been forgotten or have been immortalized in a way that’s hard to deny. Each and every one of them however has featured his signature hardcase look and demeanor, which you might think would get old but really hasn’t. It’s the way it’s used that makes it so great, and the manner in which he uses it at times that makes it so versatile. You can be a hardcase without having to be a jerk all the time, so long as you know how to use that attitude and cool demeanor to your advantage. There haven’t been a lot of times when he’s appeared to be anything else, but every time he’s used that kind of act it’s been for a purpose and it’s been bolstered by the fact that he can adapt it to the situation at hand. That alone is what makes him such a special actor.
When you can wrap your trademark attitude around any character you play then you’ve got it on lock.
5. Undisputed
He can play the part of a jerk pretty easily and George “Iceman” Chambers is the epitome of that attitude. Making his way into Sweetwater Prison, Chambers is the guy that will gladly seek out the big dog and attempt to humble him in front of everyone. But the problem with trying to intimidate Monroe Hutchins that he’s the kind of guy that will take all that hype, all the talk and the abuse, and wait until he gets into the ring and simply unload. Chambers is tough and has a serious amount of skill when it comes to boxing but on the outside it’s so much easier to enjoy the good life and the perks that come from being at the top of one’s game. On the inside there’s nothing but the pride that comes from being the one left standing at the end of the bout. That’s why Hutchins is a great deal tougher than Chambers, he doesn’t need to talk to make himself seem tough. Of course the interviews that were given made Rhames sound a lot tougher than Snipes in real life.
4. Mission: Impossible
Luther was a fun addition to the team and for the most part he’s been a member of the squad since this first movie. As the tech guy, which seems like an odd role for a big guy like Rhames, he’s one of the absolute best at what he does and is a serious value to Ethan and the others. With the addition of Simon Pegg to the lineup though his role kind of became a little bit superfluous since Pegg became another tech guy that’s just barely good enough with a firearm to be out in the field. But all in all having two guys that know their way around the ever-advancing tech is better than just one since it makes the team that much stronger. Plus you add in guys like Jeremy Renner and other agents that get the job done and it becomes amazing to think that any bad guy would ever have a chance.
3. Con Air
Diamond Dog is seriously a nutcase but he’s also pretty deadly when you get right down to it. Still, next to Cyrus he seems almost cuddly, but when you’re trying to match up to John Malkovich in terms of who can be the creepier and more hardcore criminal it’s kind of difficult to really attain that level of evil. Malkovich can play some seriously bad individuals and can seem to go crazy at a moment’s notice. But for his own part Rhames managed to make Diamond Dog seem like a perfect henchman that had his own plans once everything was said and done. In other words he made this role into something you could believe, as well as something that would probably crash and burn in real life due to Dog’s shortsightedness when it came to planning.
2. Out of Sight
Buddy was a kick to watch because he was a thief with a lot of heart and a conscience. It doesn’t seem like he’d be all that great of a partner to have if he had to confess everything he did to somebody, but keeping him around was still good for morale. Honestly he was more like Jack’s conscience than anything since Jack would do almost anything to get rich and get away with it. But he had a soft spot for Buddy and that was great since it made the movie that much easier to watch. Had Jack and Buddy been as hardcore as Don Cheadle tried to be then the film wouldn’t have been memorable in the least it seems like.
1. Pulp Fiction
Marcellus was a bad, bad man. But in this scene at least he had justification for being so hardcore. The fact that he let Butch go after saving him proves that he has some sense of justice no matter that he’d likely toss it aside if he was in the mood to do so. He seemed like more a practical guy that wanted things to make sense, and when they didn’t he would bash them repeatedly in one way or another until they did. He was about as cool, calm, and collected in this film as he’s ever been, and it was awesome.
He knows full well how to go medieval on someone.
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