Toby Kebbell

After the gusty silliness of The Hurricane Heist, can Toby Kebbell find a project as sharp as his talents?

s movie debuts go, Toby Kebbell’s appearance in Shane Meadows’ 2004 revenge belter Dead Man’s Shoes was a lightning-in-a-bottle catch. As Paddy Considine’s tormented brother Anthony, who has learning difficulties, Kebbell nailed every note of a role that could have uncomfortably misfired: not bad when you consider he only got the part a day before filming.

But ‘lightning’ gave way to more blustery conditions recently, when Kebbell starred in the high-concept hokum of The Hurricane Heist. With his style and decent-ish US accent, Kebbell hardly shamed himself. But his quick-fire talents deserve better than Rob Cohen’s heavy genre-mash.

An intuitive actor, Kebbell combines a softly spoken intensity with a capacity to land disparate notes in rapid succession. Junkie-scrawny but tasty, his Johnny Quid was the main hit in Guy Ritchie’s RockNRolla. Sweary but deceptively warm, he gave an inspired take on Joy Division manager Rob Gretton in Control, even if Considine had already nailed the role in 24 Hour Party People.

If a swift graduation to bit parts for Oliver Stone, Stephen Frears, Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg testified to his talents, so did Kebbell’s lead as a soldier returning from Afghanistan to a druggy Southwark in The Veteran: here, Kebbell’s face and physique needed little dialogue to speak volumes. And he works similar miracles in mo-cap, notably as Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’ agit-primate Koba and Warcraft:

The Beginning’s soulful orc Durotan.

But the latter turned out to be one in a string of big-budget films where Kebbell was the best in show. From Wrath Of The Titans to Fantastic Four, he has shown consistent dignity fighting losing battles against threadbare material. Kong: Skull Island was more fun, perhaps, but the fact he ended up fielding interview questions about whether he was playing the ape said a lot about how under-utilised he was.

Kebbell did not play Kong, but it seems many viewers are used to him as Mr. Mo-cap, like Andy Serkis 2.0. Without wishing to knock the mo-cap art, Kebbell’s live-wire talent deserves better. He has the kind of earthy but elusive voltage that Hollywood can struggle to channel, just as it struggled with Considine. If he can find a director sensitive to his talents, or a strong homecoming headline gig, perhaps then he won’t get lost chasing hurricanes. KH