I agree with Mouse .. Focus was one of Meat's finest roles .. he brought such subtlety to a role which could have been played simply and superficially. For me .. and I susoect for Meat, it's not size of role that decides whether he wants to d it. It's about what challenges it brings, what truth he can find and bring to life on the screen .. and in that so many of his films have been impressive. Meat can bring something really special to the smallest cameo, and that's the mark of the man as an actor. Sure he's done some films which may have simply been for fun and for the taking part .. but to dismiss him as an actor, or downsize in any way his skill because a role has had few pages of script, is to do him a great injustice as an actor imo. He has also successfully managed a busy career combining music and touring as well as filming .. and I'd guess that the demands of the former may well have prevented him from accepting other, bigger roles he will have been offered.
Other noteworthy roles have been in Blacktop (where he brought real depth to a character that could have been simply played as a psychopath), Wishcraft, and Citizen Jane. There's also the new unreleased film (name escapes me) where he plays a small cameo as the motel desk clerk/owner .. and even in that he brings something special to the role. I guess it comes down to .. do you judge on pages of script, or on the skill brought to every line. Outside Ozona may not have had pages of script .. but there's a scene where his character is reminiscing, which is riveting imo ..
Meat has that skill of being able to say one thing, and at the same time convey what the character is actually thinking or feeling in contrast and at odds with the spoken word. That is acting craft at its best .. I have seen that in so many of his movies. Just as it always impressed me with Guinness, it never fails to impress me when I see Meat do this. That's imo what he means by finding the truth in a character .. and he brings it to the screen in a way that is wholly truthful and realistic.
Caryl
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