Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English film and stage director, producer and screenwriter. In theatre, he is known for his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret (1994), Oliver! (1994), Company (1995), and Gypsy (2003). He directed an original West End stage musical for the first time with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013).
For directing the play The Ferryman, Mendes was awarded the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 2019.
Billy Magnussen on Why He Embraced Playing the Bad Guy in ‘Road House’
variety.comJenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Billy Magnussen always understands the assignment. Whatever the medium or genre, the actor manages to stand out with an impressive range.
He has literally played a Disney prince — twice! — in the film versions of “Into the Woods” and “Aladdin.” (In the latter, Magnussen is hilarious as a suitor spurned by Jasmine, but he’s so likeable in his brief screentime one could argue she made the wrong choice.) He earned a Tony nomination for his role as a dimwitted young lover in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and has stood out in ensemble films like “Game Night” and “The Big Short.” But Magnussen also excels at playing the bad guy, such as the tech billionaire who installs a tracking device in his ex-wife in “Made for Love” to a Nazi officer in “The Survivor.” But never more deliciously than in “Road House,” a reimaging of the 1989 Patrick Swayze classic.
The new version, hitting Amazon Prime Video this week, stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter who becomes a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys.
Magnussen stars as Ben Brandt, a developer who will stop at nothing to acquire the land upon which the bar resides. It’s a fun ride from director Doug Liman, a movie that never takes itself too seriously, and Magnussen manages to come off as both comedic and genuinely menacing — sometimes in the same scene.
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