Inspired by a particular YouTube channel that ranks the roles and filmographies of its favorite character actors, I thought it would be fun to do the same for Tony Hale.
But I'm not ranking all of his roles. I found out right away that it's hard. So I'll just make an outline of a Top 5, and a few "Best Of" picks.
His Top 5 Performances are:
5. Gary Walsh in Veep. The fact that this two-time Emmy-winning role (from an insanely award-winning and nominated series) is only my No. 5 really shows how much his filmography has improved. His post-Veep era is truly sexy. He even showed his full ass-ets afterward.
4. Sirisco in The Decameron. (Also Best Miniseries... and... dare I say... his Best Nudity Scene, considering this is actually the third time he's shed his clothes for television.)
3. Buster Bluth in Arrested Development. (Also his Best Comedic Role.)
2. The Joker in Ninja Batman. (Also his Best Voice-Over Performance and Best Animated Villain role.) He gave 100% (to a point of temporarily losing his voice), so he could portray both insanity and vulnerability, for this unfortunately semi-average, campy yet beautifully animated feature.
1. The Benedicts — Nicholas Benedict and L.D. Curtain ( aka Nathaniel Benedict) in The Mysterious Benedict Society. (Also his Best TV Show and Best Live-Action Villain role.) This is also his most recent Emmy-winning performance.
His other "Best Ofs":
Best Live-Action Movie: Sketch
Best Animated Movie: Toy Story 4
Best Fictional Audio Drama: The Hive
Best Short Film: Trouble and the Shadowy Deathblow
Best Guest Role: Craig Hollis in Elsbeth Season 3 ("Bunker Down")
Best Horror (Supernatural TV): Ghost Stories — "Personal Demons"
Best Thriller (Short Film): Cruel Logic
Best Romantic Role: Sam #2 and Stefan Lane (respectively in HappyThankYouMorePlease and Not That Funny)
And that's really all the "Best Ofs" I can come up with. What he still lacks, though, is a proper live-action action combat movie or series—more so than The Decameron or even Sketch. (Nope, Slade Seksdik doesn't count... you guys do know who Slade Seksdik was, right...? Right?)
Lastly, after reviewing his filmography, I realized that even though he's associated with "emasculated man" roles because of his two most popular characters, he actually plays far more unhinged, creepy (yes, including Gary and Buster), and outright villainous characters. The second most common type is the grounded everyman, followed by a handful of romantic or lovesick men (also including Buster and Gary... hahaha. Look, they're really complex.)
Tony Hale is criminally underrated. He possesses an almost inexplicable vulnerability and expressiveness that many more famous actors simply lack.
So, it's my birthday week, and my gift request is simple: add one or more of the titles above to your July watchlist.
And maybe I can get the man himself to notice this post atleast for my birthday month.
