Clifton Collins Jr.is a face rather than a name. A blessing in public, but an obstacle when it comes to casting directors. Surveying his filmography is an exercise of nodding one’s head in the realization of “Ah, he’s that guy.” He’s the American-Mexican Stephen Graham, albeit a less prominent figure in his supporting roles, and not as short.
With a career spanning four decades, thePacific Rimactor boasts a record littered with standout titles. His Central American heritage has undoubtedly been a reliable ally when it comes to landing roles, but an unshakable nemesiswhen it comes to being typecastas that archetypal Mexican or South American cartel hitman. While he’s frequently reduced to auxiliary supporting roles, his performances have always been noteworthy and deserved recognition.
From director Jim Sheridan, who is known for his series of collaborations with Daniel Day-Lewis inThe Boxer, In the Name of the Father, andMy Left Foot, comes the 2009 war drama,Brothers. Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire star in the titular roles of brothers, Tommy and Sam Cahill. The film traverses the effects of the war in Afghanistan and the life as a prisoner of the enemy has had on Sam, and his psyche upon his return to his wife, kids, and ex-convict brother. In his supporting capacity, Clifton Collins Jr. presents Major Cavazos, a member of Sam’s Army corps.
Another product ofA24’s impenetrable portfolio, Trey Edward Shults’Wavesdepicts a modern-day tragedy in an African American family. The low-budget, beautifully poignant, and highly-cinematic picture offers an in-depth character study into the mind of a middle-class high-school student who grips, grapples, and invariably, succumbs to a toxic cocktail of love, anger, and inner rage, as his life uncontrollably unravels. Clifton Collins Jr. appears as Bobby Lopez, the deceased Alexis’ father. Although only playing a minor role, he is wholehearted as a grieving parent.
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Trafficis a feature that claimed Steven Soderbergh a highly-sought-after statuette, as well as Benicio del Toro, Stephen Gaghan, and Stephen Mirrione for Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing, respectively. It sees the lives of four people inextricably intertwined through America’s drugs trade. The film offers a multidimensional perspective from all sides of the drugs table; including angles from a conservative judge, a crack addict, a drug kingpin, and a DEA agent.
Clifton Collins Jr. appears as Francisco Flores, a bellicose, gay hitman for the infamous Tijuana Cartel who is apprehended and tortured. A prominent figure in the Mexican narrative strand, Collins Jr. is riveting as Flores, a man whose nonchalant disregard for life is a poignant reminder of the perils of cartel warfare.
Philip Seymour Hoffman hits unreachable decibels as the famously high-pitched 20th-century novelist, Truman Capote in 2005’sCapote. The screen adaptation of Gerald Clarke’s biographical account of the lateBreakfast at Tiffany’screator concerns a particular segment of Capote’s life.
Before penning his seminal novel,In Cold Blood, the legendary author journeys to Kansas to study the homicide of a family for his new book. Securing interviews with the killers, Capote strikes up a special rapport with one of them, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.). Collins Jr. portrays Perry with such emotionality, sensitivity, and earnestness, a display that is impressive, even if his opposite number in Hoffman is seemingly always unequaled on-screen.
Clint Eastwood is still defying the laws of age, having racked up 90 on the clock, as well as thousands of miles driving through Illinois as a drug mule in his crime drama,The Mule. After being declared bankrupt, war veteran, Earl Stone is enlistedby a notorious cartelto inconspicuously drive millions of pounds worth of drugs through the Midwestern state, banking thousands in the process and essentially, rebuilding a life that had fallen into disrepair. Earl soon learns that as Paul McCartney sings in The Beatles' 1964 hitCan’t Buy Me Love, or in his case, family and reconciliation.
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After the premature death of the cartel’s patriarch, the ruthless, uncompromising, and unpredictable Gustavo (Clifton Collins Jr.) takes charge and begins to tighten the reigns. TheBrothersactor has a disconcerting air of authenticity in this role, slotting in seamlessly.
2021 was a watershed moment for Clifton Collins Jr., having landed the central role in the critically acclaimed indie sports drama,Jockey. His acting talents displayed in many a minor role were rewarded. Starring as Jackson Silva, an aging jockey, whose years in the unforgivingsport of horse racingwere inevitably catching up with him. With his days as a pro numbered, and his health in decline, Jackson embarks on a quest to fulfill his final wishes in the sport he loves; by racing in his last championship.
Not only is he contending with his final hurrah and deteriorating condition, but the small matter of a man claiming to be his estranged son. TheWestworldactor is faultless in his rendition of a man facing up to his own mortality, while simultaneously juggling matters of parenthood, neglect, suffering, and retirement.
