#j.t. walsh

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Red Rock West (1993) John Dahl

March 20th 2025

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J.T. Walsh Roles - Scumbag Scale Edition!

Let's face it, he played a lot of 'scumbag' characters, so I thought I'd collate where I would place some of them on a scale of worst to... least worst!

Starting with who I think was the best of a bad bunch - Ins. Terence Niebaum - The Negotiator (1998). Niebaum took bribe money to help cover up some dirty cops stealing from the collective police pension fund.

Next, Martin Swayzak - Backdraft (1991). Shut down some fire stations, reducing the numbers of paid firefighters, meaning fewer available fighters which resulted in some unnecessary deaths. Again, I think there was money involved.

Then we have Sgt. Maj. Dickerson - Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). A man wound so tight that Robin Williams' character described him as 'in more dire need of a blowjob than any man in human history'. He was just an overall arsehole and his commanding officer called him mean and shipped him off to Guam!

Now we're getting to the larger ego characters - Charles F. Drucker - Crazy People (1990). A man with command and charisma, and very little moral compass as he takes advantage of mentally ill patients who are making him money with their 'honest ads' campaign and getting very little in return.

It was scary how well he was able to play creepy characters, and Cake - Persons Unknown (1996) was definitely a bit of a creeper! Seemed to be playing all angles at once, even going so far as to attempt to assault a woman in a wheelchair.

I wasn't sure where to put Danforth Keeton III - Needful Things (1993) initially, but, he does have a terrible gambling addiction and kills his wife... He's a fabulous character though! This first scene is my favourite!

On the face of it, Wayne Brown - Red Rock West (1993) doesn't seem too terrible, but he does plot to have his wife murdered and did embezzle $2 million...

Lt. Quinn - Black Day Blue Night (1995) starts off by appearing to be chasing down a bunch of bank robbers, only for it to be discovered that he was one of them and has been stiffed of his share! Uses anyone and everyone to track down the money, killing multiple people along the way... Definitely a dirty cop!

Stephen Seldes - Defenseless (1991) starts off as a businessman who unknowingly lets out a building to an adult entertainment company who hires underaged girls to star in their films. It is quickly discovered that not only did he know about the company, he was taking money directly from them and was grooming and pimping out his own underage daughter. Definitely up there in the scumbag rating!

Lt. William Eyler - Gang in Blue (1996) was scummy on a whole other level. He actually starts a baseball team with his partner at some point in the late 60's, early 70's called The Phantoms, using it as a cover to hide racist extracurricular activities against people of colour. His entire department is part of the club and falls under FBI investigation.

Second to last, we have Charles Bushman - Sling Blade (1996). A seemingly sex-obsessed murderer who loves nothing better than to tell anyone who will listen about his exploits before he was caught. The only reason he isn't number one scumbag is largely down to whether any of the stories he told were genuinely true, or if they were embellished...

And, our number one scumbag is... Warren 'Red' Barr - Breakdown (1997). Do we really need to say why?! Kidnapping, extortion, theft, murder... You begin to wonder if there was anything he wouldn't do! He has very few redeeming features, other than the fact that his son seems to idolise him... Which, given what he was spending his time doing, wasn't exactly a good thing...

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Red Rock West (1993)

Directed by John Dahl Director of photography Marc Reshovsky Production design by Robert Pearson Art direction by Don Diers

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The Negotiator, US Lobby Card. 1998

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The Big Picture (1989)

Kevin Bacon comedies in the 80's didn't hit big, however, The Big Picture from Christopher Guest stood the test of time and is a film that still gets in on the conversation today.

[brokehorrorfan]

Narrow Margin will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on June 18 via Kino Lorber. The 1990 neo-noir action thriller is a remake of the 1952 film of the same name.

Peter Hyams (End of Days, Timecop) writes and directs. Gene Hackman and Anne Archer star with James B. Sikking, J.T. Walsh, and M. Emmet Walsh.

Narrow Margin was previously restored in 4K by StudioCanal. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K Ultra HD:

Audio commentary by writer-director Peter Hyams

Audio commentary by film historian Peter Tonguette

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary by writer-director Peter Hyams

Audio commentary by film historian Peter Tonguette

Making-of featurette

B-roll and sound bites

Theatrical trailer

Gene Hackman (The Package) stars as an L.A. District Attorney attempting to take an unwilling murder witness (Anne Archer) back to the United States to testify against a top-level mob boss. Frantically attempting to escape two deadly hitmen sent to silence her, they board a Vancouver-bound train only to find the killers are onboard with them. For the next 20 hours, as the train hurls through the beautiful but isolated Canadian wilderness, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues in which their ability to tell a friend from foe is a matter of life and death.

Pre-order Narrow Margin.

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J.T. Walsh

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Let's have some J.T. Walsh back p*rn!

From Silent Fall 1994

From Why Me? 1990

From Tequila Sunrise 1988

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J.T. Walsh

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Just as with J.T. Walsh, Stephen Lang is another I wish I could have seen on stage. Stage actors make the best film actors.

Stephen as "Rosencrantz" in a 1987 Roundabout Theatre production of the play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

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A bit of Walsh Wednesday!

I don't think I'll ever tire of how soft and silky his hair almost always looked...

From his small role as Dr. Santana in Dad (1989).

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

J.T. Walsh

Physique: Average/Husky Build

Height: 5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)

James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. His many films include Tin Men, Good Morning, Vietnam, A Few Good Men, Hoffa, Nixon, Sling Blade, Breakdown, and Pleasantville. A heavy smoker, Walsh died of a heart attack in 1998, at the age of 54.

A beautiful, burly bear of a man, I first noticed him in the film The Negotiator playing a crooked cop. For a brief, hopeful, moment I hoped that I was actually about to watch a porn about a framed cop getting revenge of the crooked one who framed him�� with his penis. But no such luck. I can't really tell you much about Mr. Walsh other than he has appeared in films such as Needful Things, Backdraft and Miracle on 34th Street.

Pretty woeful researching I know, but there really isn't a lot about him. He was a lifelong Democrat, and an avid reader with a strong interest in metaphysics. He tends to get cast as the villians, which fill a lot of fantasies for me as I love the bad guys. His last films, The Negotiator and Pleasantville, were dedicated to his memory, all of which left daddy lovers wondering what could have been as he was maturing into a fuckable daddy.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

A Few Good Men (1992)

Breakdown (1997)

Pleasantville (1998)

The Negotiator (1998)

Gang in Blue (1996)

Star Struck (1994)

Blue Chips (1994)

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J.T. Walsh

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This shouldn't be that hot... But it really was!