Jon Bernthal has starring roles in this summer’s two biggest films, “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” His presence in both just further cements Bernthal’s status as one of Hollywood’s most reliable character actors, a place he has been working toward reaching for well over a decade.
In the years since his breakout turn on AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” Bernthal has given memorable supporting and lead performances in movies made by the likes of Martin Scorsese, James Mangold and Taylor Sheridan. That does not even include his television work, which also includes a few scene-stealing turns in some of the most beloved and acclaimed shows of the past few years.
All of which is to say that, while his typically gruff screen presence has made Bernthal an unlikely meme generator online, there is a reason why he has found so much success. So, in honor of the actor’s roles in “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” this summer, here are his five best performances to date, ranked.
5. Shane in “The Walking Dead”
No list looking back on Jon Bernthal’s career would be complete without his turn as Shane on AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” the performance that effectively launched his career. Bernthal made an immediate mark in the opening episodes of the apocalyptic zombie series as the former police partner and best friend of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick, and he frequently stole scenes throughout the show’s first two seasons.
As Shane, Bernthal got to show off the same hyper-masculine persona he has always been adept at adopting on screen, while his character’s growing rivalry with Lincoln’s Rick allowed the actor to layer more and more notes of bitterness and desperation into a performance that already had more than enough messy, lived-in humanity to spare. He might not have been a part of “The Walking Dead” for long, but his performance is still keenly felt by fans of the show.
4. Brad in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Bernthal may not be one of the principal stars of Martin Scorsese’s raucous, punk-rock 2013 black comedy epic “The Wolf of Wall Street,” but his performance in the film is still one of his best-known. There is a reason for that. As Brad, a local drug pusher recruited by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort into his notorious, fraudulent scam ring, Bernthal gets the rare chance to lean into the comedic side of his macho-man screen persona.
Sporting an outrageous handle bar mustache, not only does Bernthal get some of the film’s funniest and most quotable lines, but he also perfectly embodies the kind of nonchalant, effortless greed and conman energy that “The Wolf of Wall Street” spends over three hours exploring. In case that was not enough, he nearly steals the entire first half of the movie with a salesman scene that, according to Bernthal, was almost entirely improvised. “Supply and demand, my friend.”
3. Sam Rossi in “Sweet Virginia”
Bernthal gives a mesmerizing, against-type performance in director Jamie M. Dagg’s supremely underrated 2017 crime thriller, “Sweet Virginia.” Bernthal leads the film as Sam Rossi, a former bull rider-turned-motel owner whose glory days have left him with a limp, chronic pain and enough emasculated energy to send him into a quiet, internal spiral. He is forced to confront his own, nagging violent impulses when he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Elwood (Christopher Abbott), an unhinged, unchecked hitman staying at his hotel.
Abbott gets to give the flashier performance in “Sweet Virginia,” but it is Bernthal’s understated, frustrated lead turn that crystalizes all of the film’s themes about the corrosive nature of toxic masculinity and violence. It is one of the most unique performances that Bernthal has ever given, and one that shows he is capable of making just as much of a mark even when he is not playing the loudest or most violent voice in the room.
2. Frank Castle in “The Punisher” Season 1
Few could have ever expected when Bernthal was cast as Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, in Netflix and Marvel’s “Daredevil” Season 2 that he would still be playing the character a decade later. Throughout that time, Bernthal has not only gotten to play the character both before and after a massive television reset at Marvel but also been given the chance to explore just about every shade of Frank Castle’s motivating, horrifying personal traumas. He gave his strongest performance as the character in “The Punisher” Season 1.
Imperfect and yet underrated within the scope of Marvel’s television canon, the first season of “The Punisher” finds Bernthal’s Castle at his most resigned, betrayed and terrified. He is an explosive, walking wound throughout the season’s 13 episodes — just as violent and vindictive as fans have ever seen him. That said, “The Punisher” Season 1 holds a unique place within Bernthal’s Marvel tenure. It is one of the only shows or movies to date that has given the actor the opportunity to portray not just Frank Castle’s rage and merciless nature, but also the fear and loneliness that the character tries his best to hide. Bernthal, unsurprisingly, rises to the occasion.
1. Michael Berzatto in “The Bear”
Bernthal has just two scenes in “The Bear” Season 1. But in his later appearances throughout the FX dramedy’s subsequent seasons, Bernthal gradually turned Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, the deceased older brother of Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy, into one of the series’ most heartbreaking and unforgettable figures. He might not wear a skull on his chest in “The Bear,” but Bernthal is as volcanic as he has ever been on screen as Mikey, whose mental health struggles ended up claiming his life.
He gives a one-episode performance for the ages in the show’s standout Season 2 installment, “Fishes.” He does so not just by devouring every explosive moment written for him but also by packing in enough instances of unspoken pain and inner turmoil that he makes the complete expanse of his character’s volatile, tormented psyche bracingly clear to the viewer. His turn in “The Bear” is, in other words, the perfect Jon Bernthal performance, one that is just as loud and in-your-face as it is nuanced and deeply felt.
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