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Monday, January 21, 2008

Vincent D’Onofrio – The Man of a Thousand Faces

Vincent is probably best known and recognized in his current role of Bobby Goren on Law & Order Criminal Intent. But he has an extensive background in movies, and frequently he changes his looks – and maybe even his personality - to fit the role.

Most notable was his weight gain for the role of Pvt. Pyle in the Kubrick film “Full Metal Jacket." He gained 70 pounds over a period of 7 months, and lost the weight later over a period of 9 months.

But Vincent making changes in his appearance for his characters didn’t stop with that role. Here are some of Vincent’s other “looks” from some of his other films:


“Adventures in Babysitting” – as the blonde Thor
"Full Metal Jacket", with his weight gain, as Pvt. Pyle


“Ed Wood” where he played Orson Welles



“The Whole Wide World” where he starred as Robert Howard, the subject of the movie:



“Men In Black” as the alien “Edgar”. I think this actually fit Vincent very well.


“The Newton Boys” as Dock Newton:


“The Thirteenth Floor” as Jason Whitney:


“The Cell” one of his creepier roles:


“The Salton Sea” as Pooh-Bear:


"Steal This Movie" as Abbie Hoffman:

Vincent has also changed his look during the Law & Order Criminal Intent years.



Vincent is what I consider a “journeyman” actor; he’s able to fit into many roles, with varied looks, personalities, and temperaments, and he appears more often than people realize. I’ve actually seen many movies with Vincent in them, but never knew it until much later. He blends into his roles so well that it’s almost as if he becomes the character, and ceases to be Vincent. Since he seems to immerse himself in his characters, I find myself wondering how much of the role is his acting, and how much of it is the real Vincent D’Onofrio? Either way, if you see him in Criminal Intent, or a movie, you are guaranteed an intense performance.

To use a tag line from the old game show “To Tell the Truth”: Will the real Vincent D’Onofrio please stand up?


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1 comment:

val said...

He was pretty different in his two roles on TV in The Equalizer, too. Then there was HLOTS, in an emmy-nominated episode called The Subway. Let's not forget The Velocity of Gary, either. He really deserves the title The Human Chameleon. And whatever the look he is SO appealing.