My 10 favorite Coen Brothers characters:

(out of their films that I have seen thus far, in no particular order)

Walter Sobchak - The Big Lebowski
Sure, Jeff Bridges as The Dude really ties the movie together, and John Turturro’s Jesus Quintana is laugh out loud funny, but John Goodman’s psychotic Vietnam vet is what makes the movie for me. Walter is chaos incarnate. And when he is paired up with Donnie (the Laurel to his Hardy), he lets loose some of the greatest dialogue in the movie.



Eddie Dane – Miller’s Crossing
The Dane is one bad mutha. Johnny Caspar’s vicious, homosexual, seemingly 10 foot tall enforcer is quite the presence on screen. He may well be the second smartest character in the movie, so that only adds to his ferociousness. Plus, you gotta love the venomous barbs he hurls at Gabriel Byrne’s Tom Reagan throughout the film.



Carl Showalter – Fargo
This really was a tough one, seeing as the movie is stacked with top-notch characters. Sweet-natured Margie, Jerry the scumbag, Carl’s mute psychopathic partner Gaear…all great. But when it all came down to it, Steve Buscemi’s character gets the gold star from me. He’s unintentionally funny, sporadically cold-blooded, and a complete failure as a criminal. All these things make him endearing (in a weird, twisted, Coen Brothers film type way). Even his demise is great dark humor. “Are we square?”


Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old Men
It’s always the quiet ones. The creeping death that is Anton makes this film a daunting, nerve-wracking thrill ride. There is a cloud of dread throughout, due to the fact that you never know when Chigurh will show up next (or what he’ll do when he gets there). Armed with some of the most unorthodox weaponry in the history of cinema, Javier Bardem’s character set the bar for ruthless, invincible bounty hunters (a well deserved Oscar win).


Charlie Meadows – Barton Fink
I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around this surreal enigma of a movie (and I don’t think I’m alone there). Nevertheless, John Goodman’s performance is noteworthy in my book. Schizophrenic to say the least, Charlie inspired a wide range of emotions within me during my viewing, with the only constant being fear. He pretty much gave me the heebie-jeebies the entire time, but there were also moments where I pitied or admired him.


Loren Visser – Blood Simple.
The epitome of slimy private investigators, M. Emmet Walsh as Visser made my skin crawl. He was not immediately recognized as a villain, in my opinion. Loren was just kind of a sleazebag with a knack for laughing at his own lowbrow jokes and indulging in his taste for voyeurism. Turns out, that was only the tip of the iceberg. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who have not seen this overlooked gem, but by the end he morphs into a relentless beast of a man.


HI McDunnough – Raising Arizona
The Coen’s second movie will always go down as one of my favorites. Raising Arizona is actually the first Coen Brothers movie I ever saw. I remember seeing it as a youngin’. Of course, I was too young to understand most of the jokes, but that’s not the point. The point is, that it stuck with me since then. There are scenes in the movie that I remember watching as a kid, and I think that is impressive. But the big reason this film sticks with me is Nic Cage’s tame (yet somehow off-the-wall at the same time) performance as HI McDunnough. I would list this in the top 5 greatest performances by Mr. Cage without a doubt. The wild mane, the bad ‘stache, the southern drawl (which works in here, yet in ConAir not so much), they are all the makings of a timeless character. Having HI narrate the movie is a nice little perk as well.
(Trivia! Edgar Wright, one of my favorite directors, lists this as his favorite film.)


Chad Feldheimer – Burn After Reading
To borrow a phrase made popular by the almighty Seinfeld: “he’s a mimbo”. I think we can all agree that Chad is (was) a brainless twit, but he’s a brainless twit to love. In my opinion, this is an example of perfect casting, as part of me thinks that Brad Pitt is a bit of a mimbo himself. His childlike enthusiasm, frosted locks, dance moves, and amateur attempts at blackmail were not only entertaining, but they made him stand out in a bit of a twisted film.


Delmar O'Donnell – O Brother, Where Art Thou
Delmar is a simple man, a dimwit with a heart of gold. I know what you are going to say: “heart of gold? He’s a convict!” I am aware of this, but it was for robbery, and he’s only robbing to help his family farm. It was the depression after all. (I am in no way saying that robbery is not a crime, I’m just saying give poor Delmar a chance!) His character is a great medium ground between the clever yet selfish Ulysses and the brutish Pete, sometimes even acting as the voice of reason. Plus, the man sure has a set of pipes on him, as seen near the end of the film when he belts out In the Jailhouse Now. “We thought you was a toad!”


Wheezy Joe – Intolerable Cruelty
Last but not least, we have Wheezy Joe. While he may not have had a whole lot of screen time, the moments he was on screen were tremendous. An asthmatic giant (hence the nickname), Joe is a hitman hired by George Clooney’s Miles to neutralize…terminate…a business associate. Adorned in a stereotypical mock-Mob jumpsuit, Wheezy Joe is a good example of what happens when you mix guns and asthma inhalers.