Thomas F. Wilson makes a bully funny without making him harmless. We rate him highly for Biff Tannen’s mixture of physical comedy and menace; the later work has too often asked him to be threatening again.
Fi1m perspective
Biff Tannen enjoys frightening people, and Thomas F. Wilson makes that enjoyment unpleasantly clear. In Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future (1985), he uses his imposing presence and comic timing without letting the bully become harmless. We laughed at Biff and still wanted him kept well away from everyone else, because Wilson makes the intimidation count even when it is funny. The plotting is exact, but he gives it something blunt and recognisable to work with: someone who expects his size to settle the matter.
That was his breakthrough, and the sequels found further uses for the same combination. Back to the Future Part II (1989) gives him both Biff and Griff Tannen; Back to the Future Part III (1990) adds Buford ‘Mad Dog’ Tannen. Playing several members of the family let him keep applying the physical comedy to different characters, rather than merely repeat one part. The subsequent frequency of bully and heavy roles is a limitation worth acknowledging.
His later work includes Coach Ben Fredricks in Freaks and Geeks (1999), alongside extensive work in animation. There, too, menacing and villainous characters recur, with the voice doing a job that his physical presence can no longer do for him. We would welcome more opportunities to see him without that familiar assignment. The danger for an actor so closely associated with a bully is that we stop noticing the comic skill required to play one.
Steven Soderbergh’s corporate caper of 2009 gives him the supporting part of Mark Cheviron. We like that film, though our enthusiasm rests chiefly on Matt Damon’s distracted whistleblower, and it does not change where we would begin with Wilson. Nor should a supporting appearance have to prove that he has finally escaped Biff. Start with Back to the Future, and notice how much less funny it would be if its bully were merely a joke.
Biography
Thomas F. Wilson is an American actor, stand-up comedian, musician and voice artist. He was born on 15 April 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He is best known for playing Biff Tannen, Griff Tannen and Buford 'Mad Dog' Tannen in the Back to the Future film trilogy (1985–1990). He also played Coach Ben Fredricks in the series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000) and has voiced characters in SpongeBob SquarePants and other animated series and films. His other film credits include The Informant! (2009) as Mark Cheviron and The Heat (2013).
