IAN HOLM: "he seemed to tower under you"

No idea why I didn't see him onstage in The Homecoming in 2001.

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6995-ian-holm-he-seemed-to-tower-under-you

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/obituaries/ian-holm-bilbo-baggins-alien-napoleon

He had a helluva '80s and '90s: his asshole husband in Woody Allen's Another Woman, as the quasi-Paul Bowles in Naked Lunch, the dude in Big Night, as Andy Garcia's dad in Night Falls in Manhattan. Magnificent in his lead roles in The Sweet Hereafter and Joe Gould's Secret. In other words, often a droll pleasure.

fantastic in alien

The only thing I liked about Alien.

Rewatched Big Night and had forgotten his entire role. It's a backhanded compliment, but he sinks so seamlessly into the milieu, everyone else is more "attention getting." This is his usual m.o.

He's way more icy and elusive than 'droll' to me in his best roles.

When I watched Chariots of Fire for the first time about 15 years ago, I didn't think he was anything special. That came in Dreamchild, which Pauline Kael was pretty high on.

I dunno: "droll" in my definition folds in "elusive" and "icy."

doesn’t get enough credit for adding to all the fun in fifth element

And here was me, about to mention "The Bofors Gun" and "A Severed Head".

Potter/Holm 1969 TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3PZiDAh_bI