“I’ll tell you a story…close your eyes”

Did you ever find yourself bumping into a random bit of trivia about a movie you once fell in love with in the darkened hush of a movie theater, then something triggers your admiration for it years later? That happened to me today. And it relates to the actor Lee Pace and the movie “The Fall.”

Who? In what movie? Let’s take the questions one at a time.

Lee Pace. He’s only one of the most versatile, American character actors you might know but you don’t realize you know (yeah, read it again; it makes sense!). Stick with me.

Maybe you’ve seen him on TV looking like this…

“Halt and Catch Fire”

*watches Halt and Catch Fire*

*first minute or so: Lee Pace runs over armadillo*

Me: ._.

*he does the smouldering look*

Me: pic.twitter.com/mBzB2woBLO

— KAI – Comms Open (@ClickClacKAI) September 30, 2016

Or this…

“Pushing Daisies” (which garnered Pace some hefty award nominations, the Internet Movie Database — linked above — tells us)

Since Lee Pace is trending, don't forget one of the best shows in TV history. pic.twitter.com/ZeN0T4VWZY

— 🧟‍♂️zombieslippers (@JesseW8nmbrs) May 16, 2021

And he even shared some news about the now-defunct show recently on his Twitters (along with a clip):

Hey guys.
Looks like #PushingDaisies is on @hbomax.
I wake pies and make the dead. 🥧@BryanFuller @annafriel @KChenoweth pic.twitter.com/i8apJEQYxb

— Lee Pace (@leepace) February 7, 2021

He’s played some wild alien/fantasy types on the silver screen, in…

…The Hobbit trilogy, as his character “Thranduil”

The Hobbit gave us Lee Pace as Thranduil, which makes it the greatest prequel of all time. pic.twitter.com/7S6PNAsLj3

— TheOneRing.net (@theoneringnet) May 16, 2021

Or even, in a couple, little movies you might have heard of like… Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel…

…with his character, “Ronan the Accuser”

Lee Pace is trending and he absolutely always understands the assignment. pic.twitter.com/EOCRFNsTDB

— KB ☆ (@kaylavision) May 16, 2021

And then there’s his role in Tarsem Singh’s “The Fall” (2006). Or should I say, roles…

lee pace is trending / lee pace in one of my fave movies 'the fall' appreciation post ~ pic.twitter.com/lwKXmu4aRb

— cat (@catscarlett) May 16, 2021

The movie is a lovingly-imagined fairy tale, told to a child, as all fairy tales are, and to say more would be a spoiler. Okay, okay, here’s what is fair to reveal, with the description posted at the movie’s page on IMDb:

In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story of five mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality blurs as the tale advances.

Now, readers who love movies are probably more familiar with Tarsem (the one-name director, who is also an actor in the film) for his cult fave, sci-fi movie, “The Cell,” starring Jenny From The Block… I mean, well respected actress and singer who eschews the restraints of human clothing while dancing and stuff at sporting events, Jennifer Lopez. (I’ll spare readers the usual images of Ms. Lopez practically au naturel.)

But, I digress. Take a gander at a few more images of Lee Pace in “The Fall.”

I didn't forget, yesterday was just madness. But anyway, here's Lee Pace in the Fall pic.twitter.com/8qc0qMNEyA

— The Valkyries (@valkyriesblog) May 15, 2021

If you take nothing from this post, at least do yourself a favor and watch The Fall. One of the most beautiful films ever. pic.twitter.com/0z9rhcHQGr

— KB ☆ (@kaylavision) May 16, 2021

So, what’s the deal? You kinda did know him, I’m guessing. Pace is a character actor. Which, well, is sorta the secret sauce of any great TV show or movie, if you really think about it. Consider the regulars in the Coen brothers’ movies, the first one that comes to mind being actor John Goodman.

He’s just as comfortable dabbing on some “Dapper Dan” pomade and dressing to impress in a period film like “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” as he is playing Walter, the easily-confused Vietnam vet in The Big Lebowski. But he’s also Rosanne’s not-so-dapper, Midwestern husband, Dan Connor.

These guys right here. I love Dan Connor, my favorite TV Dad pic.twitter.com/V5QIm1auK0

— MizzStabbers🙏🌧🌍 (@ThatPlaidGirl) December 16, 2017

Or what about someone like Harry Dean Stanton, whom we lost just a handful of years ago, who nailed the amazing lead character role in Cannes Film Festival “Palme D’Or” (Best Picture) winner Paris, Texas (1980). When you can upstage Nastassja Kinski, only one of the most beautiful people on the planet, there’s something special going on.

Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell and Nastassja Kinski. pic.twitter.com/TVfGu6t49K

— MUBI (@mubi) March 12, 2020

And yet, Stanton could transform in other movies into the guy you never noticed at the coffee shop or at the dentist’s office.

Harry Dean Stanton, scene stealer extraordinaire ~ The Green Mile (1999) #botd pic.twitter.com/f4ZXg6Pf1S

— Samuel J. May (@sjmay92) July 14, 2020

And he’s Andi’s dad in “Pretty In Pink,” below in a poignant scene, about what to do when love doesn’t come back to you, with Jon Cryer:

"…you can't make it happen, ether it will or it wont. It's all in the heart."
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Rest in Peace Harry Dean Stanton pic.twitter.com/0n8BzPVyvR

— John Birchman 😷 ⬅️6️⃣➡️ (@johnbirchman) September 15, 2017

But, you might wonder (as readers are full of questions, sometimes), why did I even trip over this topic? I assure you it’s not because Lee Pace’s name was trending on the Twitters with this tweet and others like it…

lee pace is the vaccine https://t.co/7TdEHxgdQX

— alex (@alex_abads) May 16, 2021

…because, who gives a fig (not the word I used) whether an actor or anyone else in the public eye had a medical procedure? Isn’t that private information anyway?

I admit it — kinda dig his cammo shirt, though. He might have been out hunting.

(I was joking about not seeing it on Twitter, of course.) It’s just proof Twitter can be put towards a good (not just evil) use, after all.

For more of my “Essential Viewing” opinions, hop on over to my column in RedState VIP, Higher Culture (see link below). And thanks again for reading, as always.

Watch the trailer for The Fall, now streaming on Amazon (or, you know, available on a DVD your coolest friend has in his collection).