Lee Horsley

Lee Horsley has to talk like a hero in The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), and that is where the trouble starts. As Talon, he delivers declarations that need firmness or a suggestion that he knows how grand they sound. Too often, we get neither. We grew impatient with him because the laborious phrasing kept drawing attention to the effort of speaking it. The sword-and-sorcery setting allows for some roughness, but its hero still needs to persuade us to follow him.

His first screen role was Archie Goodwin in Nero Wolfe (1981), followed by the title role in Matt Houston (1982–1985). The detective series gave his larger-than-life presence a more suitable home. The Western Paradise (1988–1991), with Horsley as Ethan Allen Cord, also suited his physical assurance. These roles explain his appeal more readily: a capable-looking lead can do useful work in an adventure series without making every entrance an occasion.

There is a limit to how much of Talon's failure we would lay at Horsley's door. In Albert Pyun's film, Kathleen Beller's Alana and Simon MacCorkindale's Mikah are similarly hampered by the writing. This is a cast struggling with dialogue that asks them to sound grand when saying something plainly would be a considerable improvement. Horsley still has the central job, though, and neither the words nor his delivery makes Talon engaging. There is crude entertainment here, but we would not recommend the film on the strength of its lead.

The frontier setting of Hawkeye (1994–1995), opposite Lynda Carter, made use of his ease with period detail. Later, small parts in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015) continued the association with Westerns without putting him at the centre. Those appearances are less useful as an introduction than the television roles that gave him sustained work as a leading man. Start with Matt Houston if his sort of adventure appeals; Talon's speeches can wait.