Pruitt Taylor Vince brings an unusual sympathy to characters who might otherwise be dismissed as frightening or merely childlike. We rate the care he takes with them, even when the part is small.
Fi1m perspective
Vince's Victor Modino, the lonely cook in Heavy (1995), is a useful place to start: the performance takes a man who could easily be overlooked seriously. It was his first lead, after years of supporting work. The sensitivity makes sense of an actor whose parts can alternate between childlike figures and threatening men. We value the sympathy he finds in both, particularly when a character's capacity to frighten might have been enough for another performer.
His earlier appearances in Jacob's Ladder (1990) and JFK (1991) put him in films whose leading actors must hold together a great deal of confusion. As Paul in Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder, he is part of a nightmare that retains a human centre through Tim Robbins. We were frightened by that nightmare because Robbins gives us someone to care about inside it. Bruce Joel Rubin's insistence on explaining the religious ideas is less persuasive; the film would be stronger if it allowed the fear to stand without so much explanation.
In JFK, Vince plays Lee Bowers for Oliver Stone, again in support of a more prominent central performance. Kevin Costner keeps our attention through the mass of claims, even as Stone leaves too little space for doubt. We find the thriller absorbing, but the pressure to agree with it can become wearing. These two films helped bring Vince notice and are good introductions to the tense material that often employs him. Neither gives him the space of a leading role.
Nobody's Fool (1994) also places him beside an established lead, Paul Newman, as Rub Squeers. Heavy then gave him more room, while Identity (2003), his second collaboration with director James Mangold, made Malcolm Rivers central to an ensemble thriller. Those are useful alternatives to treating him simply as a familiar supporting face. Start with Heavy to see what he does when the lonely man gets the lead.
Biography
Pruitt Taylor Vince is an American actor. Born on 5 July 1960 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he attended Louisiana State University and began working in film in the late 1980s.
He appeared in supporting roles in Mississippi Burning (1988), Jacob's Ladder (1990) as Paul, and JFK (1991) as Lee Bowers. Other film credits include Natural Born Killers (1994), Identity (2003) and Constantine (2005). His first lead role came in Heavy (1995).
On television, Vince played J.J. LaRoche in The Mentalist (2008–2015) and has appeared in series including Stranger Things, The Walking Dead and House. In 1997 he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Murder One.
