Richard Brake

In Perfect Skin (2018), Richard Brake makes the obsessive tattoo artist Bob Reid unsettling with little physical fuss. That restraint is the quality we value most in his work: he can be threatening without pushing for our attention. He is often cast as the intimidating supporting figure in a horror film or thriller, and he makes sense in those parts. The reservation is how readily a film can settle for the threat and neglect the person delivering it.

Joe Chill in Batman Begins (2005) established him in a major studio production; independent horror has also given him leading parts. Rob Zombie has worked with him on four films, and 31 (2016) allows a much more talkative performance as Doom-Head. We were unsettled by the extended monologues, because Brake keeps the aggression going until listening becomes uncomfortable. It is a useful counterpoint to the quiet physical work in Perfect Skin, though neither performance asks us to forget his aptitude for menace.

The Rhythm Section (2020), in which he plays Lehmans, is a less rewarding place to look. Reed Morano makes the violence hurt, and Blake Lively gives her assassin an awkward vulnerability worth watching. But we found the plotting muddled and the characters thin, leaving too much of the film dependent on the actors' efforts. There is only so much that casting can do when a thriller has not made its people interesting or its story clear. We would not recommend sitting through it simply to tick off another Brake appearance.

The more promising jobs give him enough space to do something with that familiar unease. A leading part such as Bob Reid offers more scope than another supporting appearance whose main requirement is to look dangerous. We would like more scripts to trust him with that responsibility. Try 31 for a more sustained encounter with Brake, provided confrontational exploitation horror is already your idea of an evening.