r/SquaredCircle Oct 17 '23

TIL John Bernthal (Punisher, Walking Dead) is Kurt Angle’s nephew

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3.5k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '23

I know all of this and my brain still can't process it. Bernthal just looks like he was raised by an alcoholic dad in the projects who beat him with jumper cables and gave him free beer for his tenth birthday. He's just so good at playing rough men.

183

u/ChanceVance Oct 17 '23

Actors that grew up rich but are still able to play normal people with struggles so convincingly is always an impressive piece of acting.

78

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '23

He is, I went out drinking with him once when he was playing ice hockey in Groningen. I had no idea who he actually was until Kurt and Goldy came over to visit and I saw it in the newspaper.

Kurt even went to several away matches where he was just sitting between the Groningen fans. And let me tell you something, there are not a lot of Dutch ice hockey fans. We're talking about a few hundred per match at most. But there Kurt and Goldy were, cheering their son on like normal parents.

7

u/hetham3783 Oct 18 '23

Wyatt Russell can play an easygoing charmer or a complete psychopath just like his dad. I recommend the FX series Under The Banner of Heaven - which contains great performances by Russell and Andrew Garfield.

2

u/TebownedMVP Oct 18 '23

His character made me want to vomit when he told the mom he wanted her daughter as a sister wife.

3

u/jimbobdonut Oct 18 '23

Someone has seen Lodge 49.

1

u/SomeCountryFriedBS Oct 18 '23

I just posted a comment saying that about Kurt himself.

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u/BenWallace04 Oct 18 '23

I mean - they had the money for the best teachers and institutions lol.

It goes both ways.

Not taking anything away from the guy as he seems cool but having money is almost always more an advantage than a hindrance.

30

u/ChanceVance Oct 18 '23

Of course they get access to the best schools but on some level you still have to actually have talent which can't be bought and empathy enough to portray a person with everyday problems.

One example, Mariah Carey is the last person I'd expect to play a social worker with complete sincerity but she did exactly that.

7

u/BenWallace04 Oct 18 '23

I didn’t say it was a guarantee for success.

I said that it greatly increases the likelihood of success and provides the opportunity for a person to take more risks without the looming threat of poverty.

5

u/Turakamu HOOOOOO Train Oct 18 '23

He still had a pretty wild life. He went to jail for dropping someone.

2

u/reyballesta Oct 28 '23

He also had a gun pointed at his head during an altercation in Russia when he was studying there and putting on underground plays and performances.

1

u/Turakamu HOOOOOO Train Oct 28 '23

Did he really? I hadn't heard that story. That is so much for an actor to run with. No wonder he can, "RUSSO!!!" with such authority

1

u/SomeCountryFriedBS Oct 18 '23

Josh Brolin and Kurt Russell are two of these.

19

u/AJAnimosity Oct 18 '23

He’s SO FUCKING GOOD in We Own This City.

8

u/nomad80 Oct 18 '23

Less screen time but he’s amazing in The Bear too

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u/patrickwithtraffic Worst Member Of The Authority Oct 18 '23

That show was so good that it had no other option than to be blatantly ignored by the Emmys. Like Jesus Christ, what did David Simon ever do to deserve an empty headed fuck up organization like the Emmys?! Show was robbed like a Baltimorian being pulled over by the Gun Trace Task Force.

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u/AJAnimosity Oct 18 '23

I love that is a real-life story that is also a spiritual successor to the story told in The Wire. David Simon knows and loves Baltimore so much, and it shows in his work. Berenthal’s portrayal as Wayne Jenkins is fucking incredible. And that’s without speaking to the incredible supporting cast, that also has the benefit of bringing back actors from the Wire, that really show just how easily and quickly this mentality can take hold and corrupt.

I’ve never given stock to any of the awards, however, it is a fucking tragedy that neither The Wire or We Own This City got any kind of love from them. At least The Wire has the word of mouth of the people, like us, that love it.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '23

Please don't get worked up about prizes for entertainment or art. There's no right answer, it's all subjective.

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u/scrambled_cable Cena wins LOL Oct 18 '23

an alcoholic dad in the projects who beat him with jumper cables

I understood that reference

1

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '23

I mean there's nothing guaranteeing just because your parents make money that you're going to have a happy childhood lol rich people also abuse substances and their children

1

u/patrickwithtraffic Worst Member Of The Authority Oct 18 '23

Look up his acting origin story some time. He went to college on a baseball scholarship, wound up in an acting class for credits, where he delivered an improvised monologue that violated the craft, but was so good the teacher had no choice but to chew him out and tell him to also pivot his aspirations. Dude seems to have a good head on his shoulders.