I don’t know what has so enamored me of him lately, but I’ve had David Patrick Kelly on the brain. He’s kind of an unassuming guy, and hasn’t had a very prolific career, but his performances always bear the mark of sincerity and intensity, the two traits I value most in an actor. He has studied mime under Marcel Marceau and worked with such illustrious directors as Clint Eastwood and Spike Lee, and while I won’t completely rule out the possibility of future Oscar glory for this man with 3 first names, I think this list will illustrate that his best work lies behind him.
5. Luther – 48 Hours (1982)
“Yeah, I’ve been BUSY!”
I only watched 48 Hours yesterday, strictly for the purpose of completing this list, and the verdict is that it totally sucked. I’ve never seen such an inflated roster of C-list performers in one place before, let alone in some asinine 80s flick with little more to offer than racial epithets. That being said though, Kelly is perfectly placed as a scumbag loser who let’s his old confederates take off with his old lady.
4. Howie – K-Pax (2001)
“Blue bird! Blue bird! Blue bird!”
What struck me the most about this role was how old Kelly had gotten since The Crow. I’m sure the folks in makeup contributed to this a little, but I bought into his uncharacteristically understated performance anyway.
3. T-Bird – The Crow (1994)
“Abashed, the Devil stood and felt how awful goodness is.”
I consider this to be my first David Patrick Kelly experience, and I went several years without seeing him in anything again. It never made sense to me. He was such a badass, had great stage presence, and could totally whistle so well. His mix of gangsterness, sudden outbursts of “fire it up!”, and quoting odd religious poetry while overseeing the rape and murder of a young woman managed to weave a whole new character that could have easily been rehash of something he’d already done before.
2. Sully – Commando (1985)
Matrix: Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last?
Sully: That’s right Matrix, you did!
Matrix: I lied. (Drops Sully)
He’s little more than a prop that let’s John Matrix deliver a one-liner, but what a line! For the death of a mere henchman, it doesn’t get much juicier than feeding straight lines to Schwarzenegger. Kelly dialed down the intensity and cranked up the sleaze for this one and left an impression with many fans of the film.
1. Luther – The Warriors (1979)
“Warriors! Come out to play!”
Kelly’s debut and most iconic performance of his career. As the leader of the Rogues, he’s the catalyst that sends the Warriors on their New York odyssey back to Coney. The coolest thing about this performance is that the line that the film is best known for (even if people don’t know the film) was totally improvised by Kelly himself when Walter Hill asked him to come up with something cool in lieu of what was scripted.
Honourable mention: After scouring every corner of the internet for photos, I came across a movie called Dreamscape that appears to feature DPK prominently. I’ll dig around and see if I can find it, and possibly switch out Luther from 48 Hours if it’s warranted.
Like to see DPK get his due here. (However I do disagree with your assessment of 48 hours–but I realize this is not the time to have this discussion as it distracts from the DPK topic at hand)
As far a Dreamscape goes-He made a good villian, please allow me to provide the quote until you get one–
Tommy (DPK):Sounds like she had a bum ticker, fuckin’ shame, I know I don’t look it, but it really effected me.
Alex: Looks like it didn’t effect your appetite.
Tommy: I eat to forget.
The man has definitely earned a little more of the spotlight – and having watched Dreamscape now, he completely gets props for the ninja outfit and skull head nunchucks. There’s no doubt 48 Hours was a higher profile film, but Dreamscape was such an excellent role for him to lope around like a sociopath.
Love that quote! That film was rife with cornball eighties delivery.
God..i get soo tired of these wannabe film critics who have no background or love for film. This clown has not even seen Dreamscape!! If your going to comment on the films of David, BE SURE YOU HAVE WATCHED ALL OF HIS FILMS BEFORE YOU COMMENT ON HIM!!! God, i give up. Todays youth have no interest in film or its history..just what they can download off the internet…
Um, welcome to the Film Cynics, Old School Movie Fan… Not sure what kind of reaction you were looking for with a post like that, but if you had bothered to read through the comments here, you would have seen that I’d actually gotten around to watching Dreamscape and said that it totally deserves a spot on this list.
Not sure how much of the rest of this site you’ve read, but there are no wannabes here, nor do we tend to get any visitors who don’t love film. We do tend to get the occasional commenter who doesn’t know what the heck they’re talking about… but they don’t stick around long. I suggest the next time you decide to try to stir the pot at a site you’re not familiar with, do a little more reading so you know who you’re calling out before you make yourself look foolish.
A film critic not liking 48 Hours is like a food critic not liking thin-crust cheese and banana pepper pizza with Tabasco sauce. There’s a new sheriff in town. And his name is Reggie Hammond!
Welcome to the Film Cynics, RC!
Your point is well taken, sir! I just don’t think I get what was so magical about this movie that it had to have a whole sequel made. It can’t hold a candle to Lethal Weapon – for sure!
His role as Jerry Horne in Twin Peaks deserves mention! Though it’s tv and not film.
Looks like I’ve put off watching Twin Peaks for far too long. Really worth watching?