In Character: Mike Starr

Whenever Mike Starr shows up in a film, I know I’m in for a good time. This guy is so priceless in everything, imposing and bruising his way through countless films over the past few decades. But much of Starr’s strength as an actor lies in his unique comedic skills. His humor, often laced with the mentality of a simpleton but the delivery of a seasoned pro, is something I never grow tired of. Below are my favorite Starr performances, but considering this guy has nearly 200 IMDb credits to his name, chances are I left some of yours out. As always, feel free to share them!

Five Essential Roles

The Bodyguard (1992)

Tony

One of the best scenes of Mike Starr’s career is a dialogue free confrontation between him and Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. In the film, Costner’s Frank Farmer has taken over Tony’s job as the head bodyguard of superstar Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston). After a performance at a club turns into a full-on riot, Frank escapes with Rachel, leaving Tony behind. Later at Rachel’s house, Tony confronts Frank and, basically, gets his ass kicked. It’s a pretty nifty scene – wordless, brief and very telling to who Frank and Tony are as men. By the end of the fight, Tony has come to respect Frank in a way he didn’t think he could; an appreciation that is convincingly written all over Starr’s bruised and bloodied face.

Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Harold

Harold is a loyal dog. He stands by dutifully, imposing his large figure on whoever is around him, waiting for his master (in this case, a sly mob boss played by Bill Murray) to order him to bite. But instead of Starr playing Harold as a generic, low-level hood, he is permitted to inject his affable humor into the role, making Harold a pleasingly memorable character. Whether he’s ordering milk at the bar, failing to spot celebrities in public, or attempting to pick a fight with David Caruso, most everything Starr does in Mad Dog and Glory earns a heartfelt laugh. His final brawl with Caruso, in which they hilariously attempt to kick the shit out of each other while not destroying their surroundings, is certainly a highlight of this very funny film.

Dumb & Dumber (1994)

Joe “Mental” Mentalino

Mike Starr is perhaps best known as the guy who tried to kill Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb & Dumber. Mental, or “Gas Man” as he is otherwise known, is an excellent comedy performance. Broad, but honed in; menacing, but charismatic. It’s the kind of role in which the decapitation of a parakeet and the eating of a furious chili pepper carry equal comedic weight. It also helps that Starr’s chemistry with his on-screen cohort, Karen Duffy, is hilarious and authentic. Really, there are not enough words of praise I can throw at Starr’s work here. Like Dumb & Dumber itself, “Mental” probably shouldn’t have worked, but boy does he ever.

Summer of Sam (1999)

Eddie

Starr isn’t in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam for very long, but there’s something about his performance that I absolutely love. He fits so seamlessly into the role of a washed-up lounge singer in ‘70s New York – playing poker in a pastel tuxedo, lazing about in his underwear, throwing his troubled stepson, Ritchie (Adrien Brody), out of the house. We never see Eddie on stage, but Starr’s old school charisma sells the character dutifully.

Eddie’s final scene is one of my favorite moments of the film. As a group of local hoods beat the ever loving hell out of Ritchie in the street, out comes big Eddie, firing shots into the air, pointing his luger at the thugs with intent to kill. It’s a powerful, fearful moment, made better by the fact that Eddie plays the whole scene out in his goddamn boxer shorts.

The Ice Harvest (2005)

Roy Gelles

Starr spends most of his time in The Ice Harvest locked in a small footlocker, so it’s a real testament to his abilities as an actor that Roy Gelles is one of his best performances. While en route to certain death, Roy bellows from within the footlocker, which is resting on the backseat of a Mercedes. Up front, Vic (Billy Bob Thornton) and Charlie (John Cusack) debate what to do with Roy’s body, and every few moments, we hear Roy chime in an effort to pit Vic and Charlie against one another. The final confrontation between Thornton and Starr in this film is one of the funniest moments either actor has ever been involved with. Gets me everytime.

The Best of the Best

Ed Wood (1994)

George Weiss

Here’s the thing about Mike Starr: the man fits in. Despite his impressive physicality and thick New Yawk accent, Starr effortlessly slips into whatever time and place the material dictates. He’s present, convincing, and wholly authentic. So it goes without saying that Starr has no problem whatsoever inhabiting shifty ‘50s Z-movie producer, George Weiss, in Ed Wood. As the financier of unbelievably shitty exploitation films, Weiss worked a system of make it for cheap, turn a small profit and benefited handsomely from it. The marvel of this performance is that Weiss is fully aware of how bad his films are. He doesn’t spend time defending them, he simply tries to outsell the market before anyone has a chance to see them. It’s a Hollywood hustle that’s been going on for ages, and Starr nails the sleazy vibe.

With that noted, nothing could prepare Weiss (or anyone else, for that matter), for the profound piece of garbage that is Ed Wood’s Glen or Glenda. And it’s funny, because today, Weiss is best known for producing Glen or Glenda, surely one of the very worst films ever made, and one that he openly detested. You gotta love the way Hollywood comes back around. I would love to know if Weiss ever embraced Glen or Glenda, or if he spent the rest of his days barking profane orders from his silly little office. Maybe we’ll never know, but we’ll always have Starr’s hilarious performance to appreciate.

Other Notable Roles

A cool bit of trivia: Mike’s older brother, Beau Starr, is an actor as well. Here’s a shot of Mike in Goodfellas, as the man who sets up the Air France heist:

And here’s a shot of Beau in Goodfellas, as young Henry’s father:

The Natural (1984)

Radio Days (1987)

Funny Farm (1988)

Blue Steel (1989)

Goodfellas (1990)

Miller’s Crossing (1990)

Billy Bathgate (1991)

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

On Deadly Ground (1994)

Clockers (1995)
Blood and Wine (1996)

Snake Eyes (1998)

Gloria (1999)

Ed (2000-2002)

Knockaround Guys (2001)

The Next Big Thing (2001)

Jersey Girl (2004)

The Black Dahlia (2006)

Black Dynamite (2009)

Kill the Irishman (2011)

The Young and the Restless (2011-2012)

The Mob Doctor (2012-2013)