Courtney B. Vance

In Lilo & Stitch (2025), Courtney B. Vance makes Cobra Bubbles a government man whose soft centre is easy to find. That is a familiar use of an actor often cast as lawyers, officers and other people entitled to give instructions. We like the dignity he brings to such parts, though here we were disappointed: his agreeable Bubbles makes a tamer remake less fun. Dean Fleischer Camp gets the warmth, but the character could do with more bite.

His film work began with Hamburger Hill (1987), followed by Petty Officer Ronald ‘Jonesy’ Jones in The Hunt for Red October (1990). John McTiernan’s submarine thriller gives professional competence a proper dramatic purpose: people have to understand one another under pressure. We recommend it with a caveat about the explanations and thinly written characters. Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin make the thinking compelling, while Vance takes his place in the supporting ensemble.

The sustained television role was ADA Ron Carver in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–06). Johnnie Cochran in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) brought greater attention after years of steady supporting work. The part’s need for nuance and historical grounding suited him. His stage background helps explain how comfortably he works within an ensemble, giving a character dignity without insisting on being the whole show. We value that restraint, particularly in an actor so often asked to represent authority.

The reservation is about how that authority gets used. Lilo & Stitch needs more comedy, and making its government man nicer does little to supply it. We would like directors to risk making Vance less agreeable rather than treating his dependability as sufficient reason to cast him. He need not stop playing professionals; they are allowed to be difficult company. Start with Cochran rather than Cobra Bubbles.