I've Got the Brains, You've Got the Looks: Why Joel Edgerton Is the Next Big, Foreign Thing
By Cindy Davis | Posted Under Seriously Random Lists | Comments (21)
I finally caught Animal Kingdom (if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you rectify that right now) and it made me realize I’ve been seeing Joel Edgerton all over the place lately—and with good reason. He’s one of those actors who’s been flying under the radar, but every time you catch him in something, you say, “Hey, that guy’s really good.” So, I’m predicting he’s the next big, foreign thing—like, he might even be the dude to knock Fassbender off his golf cart (sorry, Jo!). Hell, maybe the two should have a little tourney to see who’s better with his…club? It’s about time for some new (hot, accented) blood and I’ve always had a soft spot for Aussies. Here are the top five reasons Joel Edgerton should be on your radar:
5. He’s Hot. Voted GQ Australia’s Man of the Year, 2011.
4. He’s Smart. Edgerton has been doing what most actors do after they make it big—branching out. He writes, directs, produces, does fight choreography and has been a camera operator. He wrote and executive produced the 2008 film The Square (directed by his partner and brother, Nash Edgerton), which won “Best Australian Film” from The Australian Film Critics Association. He’s sold his latest script, One Night Stand to New Regency and will also executive produce the film: “It’s literally a movie set in one day and evening and the following day after a one night stand. [It’s] about two very damaged people who happen to find each other for all the right and the wrong reasons, and it’s kind of a love story in a way, but it’s not shellac-ed with schmaltz…it’s a comedy,” Edgerton explained. “I wanted to make a movie that was kind of a tribute to the way I feel when I watch a John Hughes movie. Or Jason Reitman is the latest kind of guy [with that sensibility]. You can laugh throughout, but at the end of the movie you’re also left with some resonance of human feeling, some empathy, some kind of pathos.”
3. He’s Loyal. Edgerton plans to keep making and promoting films in his homeland. He’s written another script, described as “…a crime drama that’s kind of ‘Rashomon’ style, but it’s set within the police force…” which he intends to make in Australia this year. Edgerton and his brother own the production company Blue Tongue Films, which has already produced twenty films.
2. He Cares About Making Good Films. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the actor spoke about his disdain for big, blockbuster “shit movies obviously made just to make money. I’m like you - I just love good movies. And not every movie you’re going to end up in is always going to turn out right, but at least walk into it with the right intention. I have an issue with the commercial aspect of moviemaking: I don’t see why a movie can’t make a lot of money and also be good.”
1. He’s an Excellent Actor. If you’ve seen Animal Kingdom or Warrior, you can’t help but be impressed; Edgerton’s style is subtle, but powerful. The actor just completed filming on Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby (he plays Tom Buchanan),
The Odd Life of Timothy Green and he’s currently promoting Wish You Were Here at Sundance, where it’s getting great reviews. Next up on his slate is Kathryn Bigelow’s (The Hurt Locker) account of the hunt for Bin Laden, Untitled International Thriller, in which he stars alongside Idris Elba, Guy Pearce and Jessica Chastain.
Wish You Were Here Trailer:
The Odd Life of Timothy Green Trailer:
Cindy Davis has claimed Edgerton as her own, so back off, bitches.
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Comments
Posted by: TylerDFC at January 26, 2012 3:07 PM
I thought Edgerton would be a dark horse contender for Best Actor for Warrior. He and Tom Hardy especially were deserving in my opinion. I think Warrior deserved a Best Picture nod too. Especially when tepidly reviewed safe shit like War Horse and Extremely Loud were inexplicably nominated.
You are right, the guy is great. Half way through Warrior I figured out he was the same guy that was in Animal Kingdom and then I started looking up what else he's been in. I've had "The Square" in queue for a while now. I didn't know he wrote it, I'll have to check it out.