Michael Beck has a strong presence in an action ensemble, but Xanadu finds him stiff and unpersuasive as a romantic lead. His breakthrough in The Warriors remains the better introduction.
Fi1m perspective
When Michael Beck and Olivia Newton-John talk to one another in Xanadu (1980), the effort to establish an attraction is painfully apparent. Beck plays the artist Sonny Malone with a stiffness that leaves the romance struggling before the writing gets in its way. We felt no spark between them: we could hear what the dialogue wanted us to believe, but his performance gave us little reason to believe it. It is a poor fit of actor and role.
His breakthrough had come with The Warriors (1979), playing the leader Swan in an action ensemble that suited his screen presence. The move from that film to the lead in Xanadu was a substantial change of demands. Looking persuasive among an action cast does not settle the question of whether an actor can make a romance matter. Megaforce (1982) and Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983) followed, before his work shifted primarily towards television from the mid-1980s.
Robert Greenwald's direction of Xanadu must take some of the blame: he cannot turn the roller-disco fantasy into a working musical. Newton-John is more persuasive singing than speaking, and her voice gives the film a sweetness worth acknowledging. Gene Kelly provides pleasure too, while the songs deserve better staging than they receive. That leaves Beck with problems he did not create, but the lack of attraction between Sonny and Newton-John's Kira cannot all be laid at the director's door.
The later work includes the television series Houston Knights (1987–1988) and extensive audiobook narration, particularly of John Grisham novels. Those credits are a reason not to let two early leading roles stand for everything an actor can do. For a first encounter with Beck on screen, though, start with The Warriors and leave Xanadu until the songs are reason enough.
Biography
Michael Beck is an American actor. Born John Michael Beck Taylor on 4 February 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee, he attended Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, on a football scholarship, graduating with a degree in economics. He then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Beck is known for his roles as Swan in the 1979 film The Warriors and as Sonny Malone in the 1980 film Xanadu. He also appeared in Megaforce (1982) and later in television series including Houston Knights, Murder, She Wrote, Walker, Texas Ranger, Babylon 5, JAG and Nash Bridges. He received Razzie nominations for Worst Actor for Xanadu and Worst Supporting Actor for Megaforce.
