William Forsythe

William Forsythe is often cast as a man it would be unwise to argue with. His bulk and intensity make that an easy choice, but the more useful quality is his conviction: a lawman is as plausible as a criminal. We value him as a supporting actor, even when the parts offered to him are repetitive. Cockeye in Once Upon a Time in America (1984) and Special Agent Ernest Paxton in The Rock (1996) make a useful pair to start with.

Sergio Leone gave him his breakthrough with Cockeye, though Robert De Niro and Ennio Morricone provide much of the film's feeling. We found Once Upon a Time in America deeply sad, and Morricone's music accounts for much of that response. Our reservation is with Leone's fondness for his gangsters and the sometimes arbitrary plotting; neither is a reason to dismiss the conviction of the men playing them. Forsythe belongs in this company, without being its principal attraction.

In The Rock, Michael Bay puts that forcefulness on the side of the law. The principal pleasure remains Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris making an implausible story good company, despite editing that sometimes makes it harder to follow. Forsythe's Paxton is a useful reminder that he need not play a criminal to be convincingly tough. We would start elsewhere to see what he can do, but an actor who makes his part believable is useful in a film this loud.

Earlier roles give a fuller picture: his Evelle in the Coen brothers' Raising Arizona (1987) allows for comic timing, while The Waterdance (1992) belongs to the independent-film work that sits alongside the studio parts. Later, Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects (2005) draws on his intensity as Sheriff John Quincy Wydell. Television returns him to gangsters with Manny Horvitz in Boardwalk Empire. The repeated casting as heavies has limited what he gets to show us. Start with Raising Arizona if the threatening men are all you know.