There is a
holy trinity of B actors:
Eric Roberts,
Billy Zane; and of course, the illustrious Jeff Fahey. Never heard of these
freaks, you say? Well. Each actor has released over 15 feature length films... Thing is, most films have gone
directly to video. And most of these films are
God-Awful,
soul-sucking horrendous. God I love Jeff Fahey.
You might remember Fahey from his supporting roles in movies such as "
Silverado" and "
Wyatt Earp," or maybe even "
The Lawnmower Man." But you might not know that Fahey is a certifiable movie star
overseas, top-billed in dozens of thrillers and action films (search the Net and you'll find numerous Web sites paying homage to the hard-working actor). Strolling through the hallways of the
Loews Hotel, where distributors at the
AFM hawk their wares, you'd have seen posters for some of his latest: "
The Sculptress," "
Blind Heat" (co-starring the venerable
Maria Conchita Alonso) and "
Epicenter."
To me, Fahey's most famous role to date has been that freaky guy from "The Lawnmower Man." Yeah, that one "
your ass is grass" movie. His character, a
simpleton given terrible powers, is exactly the opposite of his usual
fare.
Jeff Fahey is the last true
action hero. Tougher than
Jean Claude, more
vulnerable than
Arnold--Fahey just has this look. He takes no
guff, no way no how... but he's also
broody as all hell. The
Shannon Tweed of made for cable, Fahey was
trained as a dancer. (They're all trained as dancers.) Studios love him because he's cheap and
extremely prolific. Evidently, there isn't a screenplay that he's turned down. Maybe he needs the broody wonder of being an action god to keep on going... Hard to tell.
Hmmm. There must be something more for me. Sorry if this is sounding way
trite, but I just can't get my finger on it... Maybe it's because Jeff Fahey does not descriminate between "
Silverado" or "
Crackerjack 2: Hostage Train." There's something so pure about that. Hell.
Maybe I'm on crack. :D