callum keith rennie; a post for the clueless by a relative newbie.

[phineasjones]

before we start, let me tell you that it took a LONG TIME to put this post together. if no one reads and/or comments, i might cry. ;)

CKR

i think the easiest way to introduce the clueless to the wonder that is callum keith rennie is to retrace my own happy journey of discovery and take you along with me.

i will cut this because it is image-heavy and also because it is likely to contain vague spoilers for bsg, due south, wilby wonderful, hard core logo and last night. but they will be vague, i promise. just a few character details and general plot outlines. if you want to know about ckr but need to stay virginally free of anything resembling a spoiler, let me know and i can try to send you an edited version.

that's just a little something to get us started. i mean... look at him! sigh.

ok, sorry. i'm taking you on my journey and all that, right.


well, the first time i encountered callum (that i know of) was in battlestar galactica. i did not know who he was. callum plays leoben. a cylon (bad guy, for the clueless) with some freaky religious convictions and an obsession with a hotass pilot (and who could blame him?).

he gets beat up by the pilot, spouting his freaky convictions the whole time.

he is bad, there is no doubt. but he is also oddly compelling.

even the hotass pilot thinks so. that was pretty much my entire impression of him at that point.


next was due south. madmadharri and hominidj came to visit last summer and harri brought her due south season 3 dvds. and every day i say a little prayer of thanks to the big caribou in the sky that she did. i'll break it down for you:

1. what is due south? a tv show from the 90s that was canceled and reborn many times. it features a mountie from the far north partnering up with a cop to solve crime on the mean streets of chicago. in its 3rd season - after a considerable hiatus - it returned with the same old mountie and a new cop (sort of, long story), played by our boy, callum keith rennie.

2. why do i care? well. the show is great in an off-beat humor kind of way. it's canadian. the mountie (played by paul gross) is very attractive:

and he is partnered with ckr. now, ckr in battlestar is weathered and full of character and handsome (imo). ckr in due south is much younger, shinier and just beautiful. observe:

3. why else should i care? because! the show is slashy with a capital SLASH. i mean, look at the two of them! and the show makes it abundantly clear that they are soinlove. and mfeo and all that. if you don't mind being spoiled for an episode, check out this clip. it doesn't get much slashier than that. well. without being overtly gay.

so, having pointed out the pretty, now i would like to point out another great thing about callum. he is a tremendous actor. even with only two sources so far, i was figuring that out at this point. in due south he plays ray kowalski. ray is jumpy, cranky and hyper-kinetic. he speaks in his own special vernacular. he can't see well enough to shoot without his (thick and ugly) glasses which he never wears. he is a little sad when we meet him, a little beaten-down by life. but he just keeps trying. he keeps doing the best that he can and that makes him intensely lovable. basically, a 180 from the only role i'd seen before - leoben. and, just look at his face and his range of emotion as ray:

at this point in our journey, i was already caught - hook line and sinker. but you may need more convincing. so we'll continue.


next, i netflixed wilby wonderful, a movie i'd heard people talk about for a long time and had recently discovered featured callum. and i fell in love. with the movie and with callum. like, before it had maybe been a crush, an infatuation. now it was love. in ww, ckr plays duck macdonald. duck is quiet, introverted. he's a handyman on the island of wilby, where he - and most of the other inhabitants - grew up. and he moves through this movie full of people dealing with their troubles like an angel, making things a little better wherever he goes. but there's something he wants too. and it's great. i dare you to watch this movie and not fall in love with duck. and then, by extension, callum. the role is once again completely different from the others i'd seen him in. but, watching him, you forget that he was ever anything else. he is both captivating and convincing. here is callum as duck:

he's older here, of course. not as skinny as he was as ray. but personally, i think the years have treated him very well. i love the lines in his face. i don't think he could be half as expressive and convincing as he is without a face that showed time and experience.


but. lest i forget that he was pretty pretty pretty when he was young, the next movie of his i watched was hard core logo. i was conflicted after i first watched it. it was kind of harsh and hard to watch (though when i later watched it with friends, it seemed much more darkly humorous). and it seems to suffer from a conflicted identity. it thinks it's a punk mockumentary. but it's a love story. it really is. and callum plays one part of the love story, billy tallent. the other part, joe dick, is played by hugh dillon:

suffice it to say, i think callum is once again brilliant in this role. and here are some shots of the pretty young callum:

ok, now, the other very important thing about hard core logo in relation to the wonder of ckr, is that it is the source of some truly fantastic rps. callum/hugh (hugh dillon, remember? ::points up::). the slashing is inevitable because:

1. their roles in the movie. oh, god, the tortured love!
2. according to noel baker (the screenwriter for the movie, who published his notes in hard core roadshow), the two of them instantly became incredibly close when they met to work on the movie. not only that, but callum toured with hugh's band to prep for the movie. toured with his band. hi, tour bus sex.
3. they are still friends. hugh likes to talk about this. a lot. in interviews, in the commentary for the movie... probably over breakfast and while he pees too.
4. they're just really hot together.


the last film of ckr's that i watched was last night. and really, it's just icing on the cake. i knew i loved him. i knew he would be great. and he did not disappoint. nor did the movie (sandra oh!). AND. there is naked callum butt in this movie.

so that was my callum-loving journey. and it continues. every time he is on bsg (not enough, lately), i squeak with excitement. there are a lot of movies of his i haven't seen. partly because he seems to have so many creepy bad guy roles. what can i say, he does it well. but there is so much he does well. i mean, that's not just infatuation speaking. i think he is an amazing actor and i urge you all to witness that for yourselves.

also, the callum that we see in interviews is pretty adorable. he either is on the shy and quiet side or he plays that off really well. he is a recovering alcoholic. he plays golf. he loves the word process and pronounces it with a hard o - "PROcess." and, holy crap, i can't believe i haven't even mentioned the fact that he's canadian yet. he's canadian!

i give you links to other people's love for callum:

mrsronweasley enumerates his many fine features. and many more of his fine features.

brooklinegirl calls upon her friends to show us that callum is aging beautifully.

the due south blooper reel for seasons 3 and 4 (ckr's seasons). much cuteness. and... gay.

and, in closing, more callum:

a note on the images: most came from stormy's media index. the ones from other sources, i didn't document when i originally saved them. if you are the original poster of any of these images and you would like credit, please let me know. i will be happy to give it.


seasoned lovers of ckr, feel free to chime in with you own pics or your own reasons to love him.

♥

Comments

[ruthless1.livejournal.com]

rrroowwrr! Thanks for doing such a lovely post. He is just so delicious.

[phineasjones.livejournal.com]

it was my pleasure! and yes, he really is.