Dennis Farina: Bad Man, Good Actor

By Sean Murphy July 24, 2013 #Dennis Farina, #Get Shorty, #Midnight Run

And by bad I mean, of course, badass.

Nevermind that he actually was a Chicago cop for many years before he “broke in” to acting (See what I did there?).

He had the face. The voice. The look. His mustache could kick most anyone’s ass.

And he was remarkably and uniquely talented, able to parlay his innate gifts into characters that could be at once harrowing and hysterical.

Here is a nice appraisal of his life.

Here he is, at his best.

Even though his performance in Midnight Run represents his finest work, and epitomizes all of the aforementioned gifts, this epic scene from Get Shorty might be the best thing he ever did on screen.

By Sean Murphy

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