For a few years now, Ben Foster has been one of the best kept secrets in Hollywood. An inventive actor, Foster is unrecognizable from one role to the next and constantly steals scenes from more famous actors (as he did to Bruce Willis in 2005’s Hostage and Justin Timberlake in 2006’s Alpha Dog).
And if all you know of Foster is his brief role as Angel in X-Men: The Last Stand, you will be pleasantly surprised by Foster’s turn in 3:10 to Yuma. Foster plays Charlie Prince, the second-in-command to Russell Crowe’s (A Good Year) gang leader, Ben Wade.
The relationship between Prince and Wade is one of ferocious devotion, and vicious killer territory is familiar for Foster, who has played roles like this before. In Hostage, Foster was the perverse and deranged Mars Krupcheck and in Alpha Dog, the manic and wild Jake Mazursky.
As Prince, Foster tones himself down and restrains his intensity until the last moment – when he finally strikes, it’s similar to a taut, coiled spring finally snapping into action.
In an interview with The Diamondback, Foster said he thought of Charlie Prince as a “glam-rock mountain cat matador.” As crazy as the description sounds, more surprising is all the influences that can be detected in Foster’s performance: Foster said he saw Prince as a “predator” and a “cat,” and even “like a samurai or a matador.” By bringing all these varied ideas together, Foster was able to nuance his performance into a multi-varied one.
Surprising choices like those make Foster such a captivating actor to watch – and he has high hopes for 3:10 to Yuma, Foster said.
After wrapping 3:10 to Yuma, Foster will next be seen in the vampire film 30 Days of Night and with Matthew Perry and Hillary Swank in The Laws of Motion.
diversions@dbk.umd.edu .
