When Ned Beatty stole the show
Though rarely a leading man, the late, great actor could always be relied on to upstage everyone — here are five times he did just that
1 THE RAPE — DELIVERANCE (1972)
As baptisms of fire go, Beatty’s movie debut takes some beating. He signed up to play loud-mouthed Bobby in John Boorman’s wilderness thriller, a character who is forced to undress by woodsmen and then brutally raped. Beatty’s courage, both in accepting the role and in committing fully to the sequence, paid off, the moment becoming instantly iconic. He would later sometimes express dismay at remaining so closely associated with the moment, but it remains a boundarypushing tour de force. “Ned’s performance in that scene is devastating,” said co-star Burt Reynolds. “He should have won the Oscar.”
2 THE FACE-OFF — WHITE LIGHTNING (1973)
Reynolds had to, in his words, “fight like hell” to get Beatty cast as the antagonist — corrupt sheriff Connors — in this Tarantino-beloved, Southernfried
thriller. Just as well he did, since Beatty makes for a fearsome foe, snapping at ‘Gator’ Mcklusky’s heels like, well, a hungry alligator. There are smashing cars and brawls aplenty, but one of the film’s most memorable scenes is a simple, sweaty, early face-off between the two characters. “Only two things in the world I’m scared of... women and police,” says Gator. “You spend all your time trying to hump ’em both, don’t you?” replies Connors, with an almighty cackle and a mirthless stare.
3 THE RANT — NETWORK (1976)
Beatty never did win an Oscar, and his only nomination (for Best Supporting Actor) came for just six minutes of screentime. But watch his searing monologue for this Sidney Lumet drama, as TV executive Arthur Jansen, and the only surprise will be why he didn’t win the golden gong.
He sells every syllable as Jansen excoriates anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) for scuppering a corporate merger, a chilling prophecy about the unstoppable influence of business on politics: “There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and Dupont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon.” Still chilling, 45 years on.
4 THE INTRO — SUPERMAN (1978)
It’s telling that the John Williams cue named ‘March Of The Villains’ is not grand and sinister, like Lex Luthor, but loping and ridiculous, like Luthor’s sidekick, Otis. Beatty’s Otis comes close to stealing the show (he’s no good at stealing anything else), and even gets his own extended introduction, unwittingly pursued by lawmen through a train station. Beatty, clad in a ludicrously short yellow tie and boater hat, sells Otis’ dopiness in high style, making us agree with Luthor when he sighs, “It’s amazing that brain can generate enough power to keep those legs moving.”
5 THE HEEL TURN — TOY STORY 3 (2010)
Even in his seventies, and with only his voice, Beatty could still make a huge impact. In
Rango he played a villainous tortoise, while for Pixar’s toy-box threequel he voiced a pink, strawberry-scented plaything named Lots-o’-huggin’ Bear. The latter starts off as a genial, warm presence, before revealing his real, rage-filled personality when the toys try to defy him: “We’re all just trash, waitin’ to be thrown away!” Drawing on the New Orleans accent he perfected for a stage version of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Beatty somehow brings complexity, pathos and power to a nice-smelling bear.