And The Name Is Danny Huston!

Man, doesn't this guy look like The Joker when he smiles? Although you know the face, you might not know he's from one of the big showbiz dynasties- namely The Hustons (Walter, John, Anjelica... ring a bell?)...
...so far he's had kind of a classier Peter Lorre career, playing sleazy friends, like here in "The Constant Gardener"...
...or weirdos like Clive Owens' ministry friend in "Children Of Men"...
...but did you know he also played Orson Welles in the little seen "Fade To Black"?
...or a vampire king in "30 Days Of Night"?

Danny Huston was one of those guys I'd heard of twenty years ago because I was reading a lot about John Huston back then and had managed to see an interview done with Danny about his father. At the time, Danny Huston sounded a lot like his dad. Like a clone. A clone that did a really good John Huston impression.

Also at the time he had directed a film from a script by his father, an adaptation of Thornton Wilder's novel "Theophilus North" entitled "Mr. North" and I mostly thought of him as a director... until it seemed like he dropped off the face of the earth (or the earth as defined by show business).

But let's let his own official website tell the story...

Danny Huston - son of legendary director John Huston and the half-brother of Angelica Huston - has firmly assured his place in the family business. He started his career as a painter but soon gravitated towards directing. However, it was as an actor in the indie movie Ivansxtc (2000) that Danny gained international recognition.

Danny has gone on to establish himself as the actor of choice for some of the most interesting and well respected directors in the business with his performances in 21 Grams (2003) appearing with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, The Aviator (2004) starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and as Nicole Kidman's husband in Birth (2004). His performance alongside Rachel Weiss and Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardener (2005) earned him a Satellite Award.

Danny chalked up what must be his most terrifying performance as the sadistic Arthur Burns in the critically acclaimed movie The Proposition (2006) starring Guy Pearce. He recently got to play one of his heroes, Orson Welles, in the movie Fade to Black and can be seen in Sofia Coppola's soon-to-be-released, Marie-Antoinette.

Danny has just completed filming on The Number 23 for director Joel Schumacher.

The thing I like about his acting is that, for a character actor he has a ton of presence. He is someone that once you see him, it's very hard to forget him, which works especially well when he's a villain. If one was looking for, dare I say, an Anthony Zerbe of the 21st century, Danny Huston would be a pretty good match. And yet, there is a great delicacy to his acting that shows itself in films like "Children Of Men" and "21 Grams", which is one of the reasons why I'm reminded of Peter Lorre. Before he became his own caricature, Lorre was an actor who could bring this sensitivity to his roles, even the villains, which always made him someone you couldn't take your eyes off of.

I could totally see Huston in a remake of "M". He is someone you definitely want to look for in a film.