“How Dan Stevens Got Weird”

I dig Dan Stevens and I make no apologies. But I do make unexpected analogies! I remember reading, I think, Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, Mick Foley’s 1999 autobiography, and I remember Foley writing about Vince McMahon’s habit of getting in the ring and taking chairs to the face and stunners to the face and other violence to the face, and I remember Foley noting that McMahon, being McMahon, doesn’t need to do that kind of thing, but he does it anyway because he loves it.

That’s more or less where my nutty brain goes when I think about Stevens, who could probably have made a career on playing well-heeled good guys in period fare but instead looks for projects like Legion and, most recently (surprise!), Apostle, where he gets to totally act against that type by being bizarre or getting bloody. I respect that. It helps that he’s a very talented actor.

You can read my full thoughts on Steven’s career over at The Week.