If you are a die-hard television fan, then you were probably first introduced to the outstanding work of Boyd Holbrook way back in 2015, when he played DEA agent Steve Murphy in the immensely popular Netflix drama Narcos. Starring opposite Pedro Pascal, Holbrook also narrated the first two seasons of the show and more than held his own as the American agent tabbed with taking down the powerful cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) in Colombia during the ’70s and ’80s.
Since then, Holbrook has broken bad on-screen, and we think that it’s a wonderfully good thing that he has. With television roles including Clement Mansell in the current Detroit-based series Justified: City Primeval and The Corinthian in Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, and in film roles like Donald Pierce in Logan and Nazi lapdog Klaber in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Holbrook has been sharpening his acting chops on some seriously twisted villains, and you better believe we are here for it.
Why Is Boyd Holbrook So Good at Playing Evil Characters?
After gaining international recognition for his work on Narcos, you wouldn’t necessarily have foreseen that eight years later, Holbrook would be working on such a streak of diabolically delicious characters. He must be doing something right, too, because casting directors seem to love him playing the despicable bad guy just as much as audiences are.
We’re not saying that Holbrook has been pigeonholed or a one-trick pony by any means — far from it, in fact. If you find your niche within the exclusive world of famous and successful actors in Hollywood, you might as well ride the wave as long as possible. As long as studios want to keep cutting checks for Holbrook’s dastardly deeds, we think he should take them all and run to the bank with his trademark devilish grin still on his face as he hands it to the teller (yes, it’s all direct deposit nowadays, but run with the imagery).
Boyd Holbrook Has a Way With Wicked Parts
So what is it about the dashing 41-year-old Kentucky native that has us eating out of his hand as the villain in all these successful projects? Usually, we picture foreboding bad guys as not-so-attractive people. Maybe they have a strange and asymmetrical face, or a noticeable scar across their face, something along those lines. Well, with his inherent good looks and winsome nature, Holbrook certainly doesn’t have any of those traits, so it has to be something in his delivery and mannerisms that has us so appalled by guys like Mansell, The Corinthian, Pierce, and Klaber. The easiest aspect of his performances to point at is the unassuming polecat swagger that brings to a part. Even as a robotically enhanced, psychopathic cyborg, like Pierce in Logan, he still reminds us of the good ol’ boy down the road.
Holbrook is as smooth as a 20-year-old scotch and as effortless in his line delivery. You can take the laid-back boy out of Kentucky, but you can’t take the steely suave Kentuckian out of the boy, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. That delightfully dastardly drawl is another part of what makes him so believable. It’s a very natural and organic part of the package that Holbrook brings to the table. Some actors try to mimic a Southern swagger and accent and just don’t pull it off with the silky unctuousness he does. Even the great Robert De Niro didn’t feel right forcing the accent of Max Cady in Cape Fear. It’s something you either have or you don’t, and Holbrook has it. The glib and nefarious smirk on top of the perpetual five o’clock shadow doesn’t hurt either.
Top-Notch Writing Helps Boyd Holbrook’s Performances, Too
Even the best actors can only do so much with subpar lines to pull from the page. Great writing has also been a factor in making Holbrook’s turn for the worse feel like an inevitability. Everything that he has been in over the last decade has come from some of the best writers in the business. Justified: City Primeval is based on an original story penned by the deft touch of the incomparable author Elmore Leonard, who first originated the character of the Oklahoma Wildman.
Meanwhile, Neil Gaiman, who wrote and developed The Sandman, is unquestionably one of the best, most acclaimed writers of fiction over the last 50 years. Getting to act out adaptations based on source material from artists of their caliber isn’t a huge ask — and Holbrook has been able to capitalize on it in recent years. Even Donald Pierce in Logan is attached to the X-Men universe and rooted in a masterful screenplay from Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green. Writing is half the battle, but it’s up to the actor to carry the baton across the finish line and leave us on the edge of our seats. Holbrook is hitting home runs with the material he’s being given to work from.
Boyd Holbrook Has Given Us Some of the Best Villainous Moments On Screen
There are a plethora of scenes and lines to choose from across Holbrook’s performances, including the ones where he plays an eyeball-eating psycho named The Corinthian in The Sandman. While speaking at the serial killer convention playing host to twisted, like minds, he says matter of factly, “We do not murder for profit, We kill to kill. We are entrepreneurs in an expanding field. But no one sees us, except for one weekend a year. Well, I see you. I see you for who you truly are.” You can only imagine the disturbing depths behind those trademark sunglasses.
We’re only three episodes into Justified: City Primeval, but we’ve already gotten some smug one-liners from Clement Mansell. Holbrook channels his inner Jack White from The White Stripes (whose music plays throughout the series, as an homage to the Detroit-born rocker) while singing along to “Seven Nation Army” on his way into Detroit to go on a murderous rampage. Playing a ruthless Nazi is low-hanging fruit for dark moments, but in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Holbrook’s menacing presence as Vollmer’s (Mads Mikkelsen) hatchet man gives him the opportunity to bring a little more physicality and action to a role and drop the Southern accent, and it’s a welcome departure. While Holbrook may have pivoted into particularly villainous parts as of late in his career, the power and charisma he brings to each role on-screen ensure that he’s still one of the best when it comes to being bad.
The Big Picture
Be sure to check out Boyd Holbrook at his sleazy, villainous best in Justified: City Primeval as new episodes drop every Wednesday on FX and next day on Hulu.
