Mark Pellegrino

In Mulholland Drive (2001), Mark Pellegrino plays Joe, a hitman who is not much good at his job. We laughed at Joe’s incompetence; his inability to manage work this appalling is absurd. David Lynch gives him a useful contradiction to play, and Pellegrino lets the humour sit alongside the threat. It is the side of him we most want directors to remember when they need someone to look dangerous.

The earlier The Big Lebowski (1998) gives him the more plainly labelled role of Treehorn Thug. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman are the main pleasure of the Coens’ crime comedy, and Pellegrino’s contribution is a supporting one. The mystery is slack, but we are happy to spend time with this company, including its less welcome visitors. Together, these parts make a good introduction to an actor whose threatening presence is useful in films with a sense of humour.

Television gave him recurring parts and more time to develop a character. He played Paul Bennett in Dexter from 2006, followed by Jacob in Lost and Lucifer in Supernatural, both from 2009. The parts took him from an abusive ex-husband to supernatural figures, while allowing him to keep looking for personal reasons behind their behaviour. His Lucifer is effective because the menace comes with vulnerability and a need to justify himself; sheer intensity would soon become wearing.

The reservation is how often casting has returned him to antagonists. A sarcastic or intense manner can become too easy to anticipate, however carefully the actor has found a human reason for it. We value the effort to make these men understandable, but would welcome more parts that let him be fallible, foolish or simply less certain of himself. Start with Mulholland Drive, provided there is patience on the sofa for its wandering passages.