Great little piece about actor Richard Jenkins — Step Brothers, The Shape of Water — in The New Yorker magazine. (Who’s That Guy? from the September 21 issue if you are rummaging through the pile next your bed.)
For its size, Rhode Island has produced an extraordinary number of talented actors — Viola Davis, Peter Gerety, Mena Suvari, Charlie Day, Debra Messing, and, yes . . . James Woods. But Richard Jenkins is in a category of his own — and not just for the hardware he’s brought back — but for the sheer magnitude of his body of work: His filmography would appear to be that of a man ten times his age. It certainly goes to show the wisdom of staking out the “character actor” territory. But surely now, with everything shut down, and nobody filming anything . . .
This month, he appears in Andrew Cohn’s “The Last Shift,” as an aging fast-food worker, and in Miranda July’s “Kajillionaire,” as the patriarch of a family of small-time scammers. (“They’re just awful at it,” he said. “They can’t make two nickels.”)
Jeez, how is he doing this? Nothing stops this guy.
And check out this charming illustration by Portuguese artist and illustrator João Fazenda. Locals may walk right by Jenkins but we know that Fleur de Lys building when we see it, and Providence Art Club gallery manager, Michael Rose, was pretty pumped about the inclusion.
The beard in the illustration was for the upcoming Guillermo del Toro film, “Nightmare Alley.” Both Jenkins and his wife Sharon were anxious for it to come off, so he may not look like this now. I am determined to notice this guy someday.
We can all see Richard Jenkins in Kajillionaire, now playing at the Avon Cinema on Thayer Street.