Reply #305: That face! That range!

[CBHagman]

It's saying something that Postlethwaite could make me despise his character in one of the Richard Sharpe series and then turn up as an ordinary decent bloke in something like Brassed Off or In the Name of the Father.



Here's a tribute from writer/director Jim Sheridan:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pete-postlethwaite-remembered-director-jim-68052

Every day he had the whole crew laughing. He'd have the crew in the bar, and you wouldn't be able to find him. He lived life to the fullest. He liked to drink -- he wasn't a saint -- but he was always really professional. He carried around a big child inside of him. He would say, "I don't love you, it's pure lust," and grab you and shake you.

He was one of our best actors. I think it's his craggy look. He wasn't a matinee idol. Pete's looks were never going to get him roles as the good-looking Hollywood star. So he was a great actor.

When you play hide and seek with kids, they never want to be lost, they always want to be found. That's what In the Name of the Father was for Pete: the moment he was found. The breakthrough performance when he jumped out and said, "I'm here."