Jon Bernthal Proves His Range With Tragic Romance Drama Before Highly-Awaited Return in Daredevil
Jon Bernthal is a seasoned industry actor who rose to prominence for his portrayal of Shane Walsh in the famous horror show The Walking Dead. He has been in countless critically acclaimed as well as commercially smash-hit films such as The Wolf of Wall Street, Baby Driver, Ford v Ferrari, King Richard, Snitch, etc. However, his most prominent and well-known role to this day is that of Frank Castle/Punisher in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Daredevil and Punisher.
Jon Bernthal is due to appear in Disney’s Daredevil: Born Again and reprise his role as Punisher. However, his recent tragic romance drama movie Origin’s trailer just came out, and it just proved how much of a range he is capable of on-screen.
Jon Bernthal in Origin shows off a new side to the actor ahead of his return to MCU’s Daredevil
Origin is based on journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, which won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. It is being helmed by Ava DuVernay, who has an Academy Award nomination in her bag for her movie Selma, a biography of Martin Luther King Jr. The movie will also star highly acclaimed names such as Aunjanue Ellis and Niecy Nash alongside Bernthal.
The critics are already claiming Origin to be DuVernay’s most ambitious movie of her career. At the Venice Film Festival, it already received a staggering eight-minute standing ovation from the crowd. Origin made Ava DuVernay the first black American woman to have a selection at the Venice Film Festival.
Neon, the indie level behind Parasite, picked up the movie. Jon Bernthal plays a major role in the movie as the love interest of Ellis’ Isabel, the protagonist of the movie, from whose point of view the whole story would unfold. It almost looks like they will get their happy ending before the rug is pulled from under the feet of the audience with a funeral scene.
Also Read: Industry Insider Debunks Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in Thunderbolts Report
Driven by loss and grief, she embarks on a journey to investigate the phenomenon of caste and the way it fills society with nothing but hatred for other fellow human beings. From Nazi rallies, interjecting them with scenes from India, to finally modern-day America, the audience goes through quite a bit of emotional and intellectual turmoil with the film.
“If he offends you, he just doesn’t care”: Jon Bernthal on Punisher hurting people’s feelings
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jon Bernthal opens up about the moral compass of his character, Punisher/Frank Castle. He said quite frankly that Punisher’s moral code is quite different than the others saying that:
“Matt is a devout Catholic — and you rarely see a character who’s a devotee anything on TV. Frank has Hammurabi’s Code. It’s like letting a great white shark into the water.”
He also said that he does not think his character cares whether people are offended, highlighting the controversial nature of the character.
“This character has resonated with law enforcement and military. He’s brought the war home with him in the worst possible way. And the best thing about him is that if he offends you, he just doesn’t care.”
Jon Bernthal also opened up about how he prepared for the character. He used to walk to Daredevil’s set across the Brooklyn Bridge to get into his character, and people urged him to not mess it up because the character became so popular.
Jon Bernthal’s Origin can probably be streamed on Hulu, as the distributor Neon Films previously partnered with them. The movie will have a wide release on January 19, 2024.
