Sean Bean is The Root of All Evil

I’ve been a big fan of Sean Bean for a very long time now. The first time I remember seeing him was when he played the bad guy in Goldeneye, where he was a nice mirror to Pierce Brosnan’s new Bond and I enjoyed the almost ying/yang chemistry they had there. His Alec Treleyan was one of the more complex Bond villains we had seen in years and a total breathe of fresh air to the franchise.

Being predominately a British television actor in the 90’s with his series Sharpe he was constantly on my television screen and I came to really admire his acting ability. He had a great likability factor but always with a hidden depth of darkness, which Peter Jackson brought out well in his Lord of the Rings trilogy, no doubt the finest moments of Bean’s career.

I thought he would become a huge star after the exposure of Rings, but he hasn’t really. Yeah he’s constantly working in Hollywood but he is restricted to leading thrillers which barely open in the top five at the box office or type-cast in villain roles in things like The Island and National Treasure. Not quite the leading man roles I was expecting.

Nevertheless, as long as he’s working it’s all good. The latest movie he has signed up for is The Root of All Evil, a psychological thriller examining the truth depths of human nature and how far we can all be pushed into terrible acts of crime and violence when influenced by an outside authority.

Stephen Milburn Anderson has written and will direct the film. Anderson won critical acclaim for his movie South Central 15 years ago but has sparsely worked in Hollywood since despite many claiming him to be a hot prodigy in the early 90’s and as Moviehole point out… he was put in the same breathe as Quentin Tarantino.

8 Comments »

Sean Bean’s presence is indeed strong in cinemas at the moment. Sadly it’s as a voiceover artist in the adverts before the trailers. Stop the silly commercial stuff Sean (even though it pays) and get on with being great in big films!

Comment by James Clayton | September 1, 2007

The US probelm with Sean Bean is that they don’t really know what to do with him. He has unconventional good looks but not clean cut enough to be a leading man in US films. Therefore he is used as a heavy such as the recent remake of the Hitcher which is a shame. I think that he is best in period films ideally with a sword in his hand.

Comment by Chris | September 1, 2007

I agree that Sean Bean’s got a HELL of a lot more range than Hollywood has given him chance to show. He was great as a decent-hearted pilot in Flightplan, the first time I’d seen him not playing a villain.

Personally I think all he needs is one leading role, in a movie that clears 80 million, that allows him be a good guy (since he’s British, and Hollywood is SO narrow-minded the role would obviously be an academic, a la Anthony Hopkins in Shadowlands or The Human Stain, Proof etc…) and that could change the dynamic of how casting directors think about him. I don’t seriously think this will ever happen though, but it should. Bean deserves better.

Comment by JaySmack | September 1, 2007

Ya know, a big missed opportunity was in 2004 just after Troy had played around cinema’s. There was talk of doing a movie based on his character Odysseus but when Troy didn’t make the numbers they hoped for domestically and when it got mixed reactions from critics, that decision was shelved.

Which is a shame as that should have been his leading man chance in a huge blockbuster film.

Comment by Matt Holmes | September 2, 2007

I was an extra on the movie set of the movie The Root of All Evil and was able to see, but not meet, Sean Bean. It was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to seeing the movie !

Comment by Janet Baker | December 5, 2007

i worked the entire “root of all evil” shoot, and while sean is great — the script is definitely lacking. it hasn’t got any buyer at the moment (going a festival route), but i’m doubting this will get any sort of wide release. so good luck on catching it janet :(. that said, Sean, is quite a nice guy. super quiet on set, but fun and talkative afterwards at the bar ha ha.

Comment by good luck! | December 13, 2007

A friend of mine is working on the post side of this film and said it’s looking great. Sean Bean’s got a really great role. They’re deferring to sell this because of its pure potential. Can’t wait!

Comment by Kevin | January 13, 2008

I think Sean Bean is a fantastic actor. He puts a lot of effort in whoever he plays. I think hollywood screwed up not putting him in a leading roll. He is so convincing with the characters he plays. Hollywood missed the boat on that one.

Comment by sabrina | September 21, 2008

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