The Underrated Work of Thomas Jane, 5 of His Best Roles

A Quick Intro To Tom Jane

In this piece, I will mainly focus on Jane’s performances and not dive too deep into his personal life or upbringing. However, I will give you some insight into the start of his career, at 18 he was homeless and living out of his car, not a new story when you think of how many LA actors have gone through this. However, his debut in film is a bit different from most actors, his first film a Telugu-language Indian film by the name of Padamati Sandhya Ragam in 1987. He had a leading role but you can probably assume it must have been a challenge for a brand new actor, having to work in a foreign film for his first major role. He had a few small roles after this and eventually landed a bigger part in one of the greatest films ever made, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Since then he’s had a sturdy workload pumping out movie and tv roles a few times a year. A lot of actors will tell you, “Do one for the money then do one for the art” Thomas Jane has said this himself, Arrested Development even has an episode making fun of it with Jane guest starring. When Tom Jane “does one for the art” he really does do a great job and he’s a very gifted actor that deserves more recognition. If you haven’t seen some of the films on this list, I really hope you consider checking them out. They’re in no particular order but I will start out with my favorite film of his.

Boogie Nights — Todd Parker

Not a bad breakout role, being a part of one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time, which includes Mark Wahlberg in a breakout performance, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, and Don Cheadle also star in the film. I’d list all of the amazing actors that helped make Boogie Nights but it’s too many to count if you haven’t seen it, I can safely guarantee there is at least one actor you love in the film. Being a part of that amazing cast is one thing, but being a part of the masterpiece’s best scene is even better. He played Todd Parker, the man largely responsible for getting Dirk Diggler more involved with drugs, aiding in his downward spiral. Eventually, Dirk’s decline leads him, Todd and Reed to a drug deal where they planned to sell fake cocaine to a deranged drug dealer, all set up by Parker. The deal goes wrong as expected and it explodes with violence while Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl plays throughout the brutality. Tom Jane really brought his A-game in this film, giving off the high school douche grown drug dealer vibe perfectly. He did such a great job that Paul Thomas Anderson said he wished he could have given him a bigger role in Magnolia, it was even planned but Jane had a conflicting role in Under Suspicion with Gene Hackman, so he couldn’t do more than a small cameo at the beginning. Magnolia is a fantastic movie as well, very similar to Boogie Nights with another great ensemble cast.

The Mist — David Drayton

The second movie in my list is the Frank Darabont adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist, in which Thomas Jane plays David Drayton in a leading role. The Mist is considered by most to be one of the best Stephen King adaptations, Frank Darabont is no stranger to quality King adaptations (The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption) and being a massive horror fan I recognize The Mist as his best work. In the film, David Drayton is trapped inside a local grocery store with a large group of small-town folk having to take shelter due to the surrounding mist being home to mysterious, murderous creatures. It’s a creature feature where the humans inside the store are more dangerous than the Lovecraftian nightmares trying to get in. The movie’s climax is different from the book, for the better. I won’t spoil anything but I will tell you that it is shocking and incredibly sad, Jane’s performance in this scene steals the show, it will leave you thinking and you’ll be inclined to ask everyone you know if they’ve seen the film for that scene alone.

Hung — Ray Drecker

Another role, another plot surrounding a man with an above-average penis. Hung was an HBO show that aired from 2009 to 2011, it had three seasons. Despite positive critical reception and love for the performances given by Tom Jane and Jane Adams, the show was canceled so we never got a proper ending, despite this it’s still worth a watch. David Drecker is a high school gym teacher who’s down on his luck and in need of money so he turns to his friend (Jane Adams) to help him make money through prostitution using his 9-inch penis. The show is hilarious throughout as you watch the ups and downs of an up and coming pimp and her prostitute trying to be successful in the world’s oldest profession. Fun fact: Frank Darabont wanted Jane to play the role of Rick Grimes in AMC’s The Walking Dead but he wasn’t able to due to the contract he had with HBO. To quote Darabont he said, “I never really did compare the similarities, although I’m sure they’re there. I do know one thing, I wanted this asshole to be the star of The Walking Dead.”

Dark Country — Dick

Dark Country is a 2009 mystery thriller in which Tom Jane decided to take a seat in the director’s chair to make an homage to old horror movies and film noir. The movie feels like a fleshed-out episode of The Twilight Zone with a fun twist, that you can probably figure out about halfway through but that doesn’t take anything away from the reveal. Dick and his newlywed wife are driving through the Nevada desert for the honeymoon, after a wrong turn they end up off the beaten path. While traversing a mysterious road they come across an unconscious man in the road and decide to pick him and give him a ride to the hospital as he is covered in bloody injuries. While traveling, the road comes to an end, now they’re officially lost, eventually, the injured man wakes up and craziness ensues. Jane took some risks while making the film but many reviews praised his acting and the flashes of talent from him as a director. I think most can agree that Jane proved his chops with his directing in Dark Country, I’m eager to see what he’ll direct next.

The Punisher (2004) — Frank Castle

Many years before the Marvel universe spun up it was a challenge to find a decent comic book movie being made that wasn’t Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. In 2004 Jonathan Hensleigh made The Punisher, from the comic book series of the same name. The plot of the film was based on two stories, The Punisher: Year One and Welcome Back, Frank. After Frank’s entire family is murdered during a family reunion he moves to the city, to take revenge on the dangerous gang led by Howard Saint (John Travolta). The movie is brutal at times, it features one of my favorite fight scenes from any film where Frank fights off a giant Russian man invading his apartment complex. Jane played the role of Frank Castle perfectly, despite the negative reviews from the critics most praised his performance and dedication to the role. It should be noted that the audience mostly supported the film, understanding it was more of a throwback to classic action movies rather than being another Michael Bay explosion fest. If you enjoy Jane’s performance, you need to check out the short film that he made as a send-off for the character, Dirty Laundry. Fun Fact: Jane trained for nearly 7 months with the United States NAVY SEALS to prepare for the role, talk about dedication!

In Closing

I hope you consider checking out the movies I’ve recommended here, or any of his work. There are definitely other roles I could have put on this list but these five are always the ones that come to mind when I think of Thomas Jane.

Originally published at http://daltonrzepecki.wordpress.com on January 19, 2020.