Peter Boyle brought weary authority to supporting parts and a physical comedian's precision to broader ones. We rate the actor highly; the caveat is how often his later films were content merely to have him present.
Fi1m perspective
In Taxi Driver (1976), Peter Boyle's Wizard is a cab driver with a weary, philosophical manner. That gives Boyle something more useful to play than a stock gruff supporting character: a man who has opinions about how life works. Martin Scorsese keeps the film close to Travis, and our reservation is how little room it leaves for anyone beyond its central character. We found Travis's company frightening because Robert De Niro's restraint gives so little reassurance. Boyle's matter-of-fact philosophy is worth attending to even within that restricted space.
That rough authority was established by his breakthrough title role in Joe (1970), which also threatened to confine him to violent or bigoted men. The useful corrective is Young Frankenstein (1974), directed by Mel Brooks, with Boyle as the Monster. Here his imposing presence becomes an instrument of physical comedy, rather than a guarantee of menace. We rate Boyle most highly when a role gives him something to do with that presence beyond looking forbidding. Brooks offers one clear route out of the typecasting; the philosophical Wizard offers another.
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005) gave his comic timing a sustained home as Frank Barone, opposite Ray Romano. His later dramatic work still drew on the hard-edged paternal figure, including Buck Grotowski in Monster's Ball (2001). We would put his comic timing at the centre of any account of his acting, rather than treat it as a pleasant surprise from a man so frequently cast to be gruff.
The limits show in The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), where he plays Rowland. Ron Underwood keeps the lunar gangster comedy moving, but its supporting cast have too little to do and the jokes rarely land. Boyle's presence is no reason to make an exception for a film we found so poor. A familiar performer can be hired without being given a useful part, and his later tendency towards brief comic or curmudgeonly appearances made that a recurring risk. Start with Taxi Driver for the dramatic supporting actor, then try Young Frankenstein for the physical comedian.
Biography
Peter Boyle was an American actor. He played the philosophical cab driver Wizard in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). His other film roles include the Monster in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein (1974), the lead in Joe (1970) and a supporting part in The Candidate (1972).
On television, Boyle won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Clyde Bruckman in The X-Files (1996). He was best known for playing Frank Barone in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005), earning several Emmy nominations for the role.
