Six Essential Performances of…Bob Hoskins

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1978), LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1980), SWEET LIBERTY (1986), MONA LISA (1986), WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988), LAST ORDER (2001)

In the first of what we hope will be a new feature, we’ll be saluting some of the great character actors with a primer on their greatest performances. With the passing of Bob Hoskins earlier this week, it seemed only right to pay homage by kicking things off with a salute to the actor’s remarkable career.  Hoskins referred to himself as “5 foot six and cubic”, a self-deprecating way of describing the unique appearance of an unlikely star. From a working class upbringing, Hoskins became the quintessential “working actor” who just happened to fit into a few leading roles and made a big impression as both intimidating bad guys and charming leading men. Like a throwback to the classic anti-hero stars of 40s Hollywood, he was a welcome presence in more than 100 film and television appearances. Here is a primer to Bob Hoskins very best.

In 1978, the landmark mini-series, Pennies from Heaven combined domestic melodrama and musical, and if you’ve ever watched the six hour series, you know that the show borders surrealist entertainment. But it’s undeniable that Hoskins brought something very special and unique to his music man role. As a sheet music salesman bored with his repressed wife, Hoskins had the challenge of selling musical numbers which required characters to BURST into song. And Hoskins performance perfectly captures the sense of pure joy which made depression era musicals so beloved with audiences, selling every song and dance with the exuberance of a man who idealizes Fred Astaire.

You know an actor is skilled when an actor can go from loveable (which he is in Pennies from Heaven) to cruel and brutal, which he nails in The Long Good Friday (1980). Playing a crime boss losing control of his gang, he does things in this film which are just evil, especially when you see the sick pleasure he gets from enforcing his power and level of violence this “businessman” is capable of. His powerful performance is rivals some of the great gangster bad guys in Hollywood films.

Hoskins’ role in Sweet Liberty (1986) isn’t a leading role, and it might not even be considered a great movie, but in one of his first American films, Hoskins steals nearly every scene, even those he shares with Michael Caine and Alan Alda. As a cynical screenwriter who has failed to capture the essence of a well-written history book, he is a hilarious ball of cynical energy. But the reason his performance is so great is the level of humanity he gives a character who could have been nothing but a vehicle for one-liners and Hollywood cliches. You like him, despite Alda’s exasperation with his limited understanding of history, and Hoskins somehow makes the character completely lovable by the film’s (ridiculous) conclusion.

He was rarely given the opportunity to play romantic leads.  But his masculine energy made his performance in the role of a romantic lead completely realistic, especially when playing roughneck Romeos. In 1986, Mona Lisa was the critical hit he needed to make the move from British actor to become an international name, and the Oscar nomination he earned (along with 10 other Best Actor Wins) was precisely what he needed. Despite appearing with Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane, along with the beautiful Cathy Tyson as his love interest, it’s impossible to take your eyes off Hoskins’s in this Neil Jordan stylish neo-noir. Paul Newman might have been overlooked in the past for Oscar gold, but comparing Newman’s performance in Color of Money with Hoskin’s performance in Mona Lisa in retrospect, it’s a little ridiculous that Hoskins didn’t take home the statue in 1987.

Speaking of Oscar’s being a little short-sided, how on earth did Hoskins not even receive a nomination for his masterpiece of comic acting in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Hoskins, as he did with Pennies from Heaven, committed 100% to playing a hard-nosed detective, despite having no one to act opposite. His interactions with Roger are as good and fully realized as the great comic teams, and one only needs to watch his bizarre sexual interplay with Jessica Rabbit to know you’re seeing genius at work. Even if he had been acting opposite real people his performance would have been considered brilliant, but he is on an entirely different level here.

And in 2001, a gem of a movie, Last Orders. Including Last Orders is almost heartbreaking considering the plot revolves around three friends who take the ashes of their mutual friend on one last journey to their favorite places (and pubs) with the man’s son. Costarring with Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Ray Winstone and Helen Mirren, Hoskins isn’t hard or brutish in this film, but a jolly, sweet man who is morning the loss of his best friend. Seeing Hopkins being so easy and low-key in this film, you’re reminded that great acting isn’t just about being able to play big or explosive, but making everything you do feel completely real. Catch this overlooked British film to pay final respects to one of the greats of his generation.

What was Hoskins’s greatest performance?

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