Brian Thompson is probably one of the most recognized faces in the movies since his portrayal of villains throughout the years has been iconic. He appears so over the top and his characters are so out of control that it’s either funny as hell or just downright creepy. That kind of quality is what’s made him so great though since he’s been the big, savage-looking individual that audience members believe will be taken down several notches and be given the kind of death that so many bad guys in the movies and on TV deserve. His career has taken on a few changes throughout the years since as he continues to age he’s not quite the powerhouse that he was in the past, but he’s remained fairly busy as he’s taken on one role after another. His appearance and build have usually determined what roles he’ll play since to be fair the guy is simply imposing and doesn’t look like someone that could play the part of a geek or nerd in many movies unless someone was willing to push that particular envelope. In fact one of the only times he’s looked like anything but a powerhouse in a movie was during The Terminator when he had a small but memorable role as one of the thugs that confronts the terminator when he comes walking up to trio.
If anyone remembers, and it’s hard not to thanks to the ridiculous nature of the movie, he was in Joe Dirt as a parody of the Buffalo Bill character from Silence of the Lambs. “It puts the Joe Dirt in the hole”, remember? He’s been a part of the science fiction genre as well since he’s been featured on The X-Files and in Star Trek during his career. He’s even played the part of Shao Khan in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, though the movie was anything but a success since even the first Mortal Kombat movie was kind of forgotten once it had come and gone in theaters. There’s a lot more to Brian than his imposing size and appearance, which makes him look like a thug that could possibly break people in half, but those attributes have helped him obtain one role after another throughout the years since he’s managed to appear in some of the most talked-about movies and been allowed to develop his craft as he’s been cast in various shows and movies that have gone beyond the action/thriller genres that helped to make him so popular.
It can’t be forgotten that his stint as the Night Slasher helped make him who he is today since the role called for someone that was going to be able to terrify the audience, and he did just that since even imagining him coming after anyone was enough to give a lot of people the chills. Of course some roles have just been cringe-worthy and not really worth watching but hey, almost every actor has at least a few of those since no one has ever been absolutely perfect in their career. It doesn’t help either that Brian has been kind of typecast over the years into roles that call for a big, scary-looking guy that can so easily intimidate those around him. To date the 60-year old Thompson still looks absolutely imposing but it’s kind of easy to imagine that he’s a teddy bear when it comes to his kids since the flip side of many people that look as though they could chew nails for breakfast is that they’re usually quite the opposite when anyone gets to know them. In fact it’s kind of obvious to see with Brian when he takes on other roles that he has a really funny side to him as well and isn’t just the killer type that’s going to make someone wet themselves with a murderous glare.
To be fair he’s done very well for himself since his net worth is well into the millions and he’s been recognized pretty much everywhere he shows up even if it’s not always understood why he’s been cast in certain roles. The effort to try and take himself out a comfort zone that might have been forced on him though has been admirable since just the Joe Dirt scene he was given was funny enough that it made people look at him in a new light. To date Brian is still working though it might fair to state that he’s slowed down just a bit. It’s likely that he doesn’t need to work quite as much but it’s also likely that he’s a little more selective about his roles these days as his age is creeping up on him and playing the over the top bad guy is no longer as much of a possibility.
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