Barkhad Abdi: The Unlikely Movie Star

Casting untrained, untested debutants in substantial film roles is a tricky movie proposition. For every Harold Russell and Haing S. Ngor, there's many examples of risky casting choices of this sort that ended up as failures. Thus, the choice to use amateurs as the co-stars to Tom Hanks' Captain Philips was definitely a big risk taken by director Paul Greengrass, and I must say though I have certain issues with the film's stylistic choices, in terms of casting he could not have done a better job. All four actors playing the pirates do a great job, and Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, and Mahat M. Ali are certainly very praiseworthy for their combined work on this film.

Of them however, one stands out, the one who plays the leader of the pirates Muse, Mr Barkhad Abdi. From the very moment he steps onto the screen, silently ruminating over his mission to hijack Maersk Alabama, and the first time he comes face to face with Hanks' Captain Philips, declaring that he's the captain now, you better believe it. It's one of those great naturalistic performances that just ages so beautifully every time you watch the film. You never feel like Abdi's acting, the desperation and rage of the man against his unfortunate predicament in life and his complete conviction that he'll be able to find a way out, is truly haunting, and succesfully humanizes a character that would so often in a Hollywood production be simply a one-note villain. The $65,000 salary for Abdi was most definitely a huge bargain for production, for he gives a fantastic, movie star-calibre performance that probably should've won the Oscar that year.

It's a bit of a shame then Abdi's career seems to have come to a bit of a standstill in the subsequent few years. I can see why there may not have necessarily been many roles about suited to his unique screen presence. It may be a bit of a Sharlto Copely deal going on with him in that he's such an unconventional sort of performer, although in Copely's case that resulted in a string of deeply underwhelming slices of HAM performances, for Abdi he's been a bit quiet on the film spectrum. Which is why I was so very pleased to see him in Eye in the Sky. His character there, Jama Farah, could not be more different to Muse in terms of the role he plays in the film's central conflict. Where Muse was an adversary, played with such ferocious intensity and menace undercut with pathos, Farah is an undercover Kenyan government operative stationed to spy on terrorist activities on behalf of the British military intelligence operations. In a film which mostly involves dynamic discussions and debates in conference rooms and mission control centres, Abdi is probably the most dynamic, literally dynamic, presence in that his character is the most active as a field agent, bouncing from one place to another, doing all he can to help prevent a disastrous tragedy occuring. He completely pulls you into the intensity of his situation, and I absolutely loved every moment he was onscreen. I must confess, too, that while I'm sure it was far from the intention of the scene, a chase sequence involving him leaping over fences from potential captors made me think, could he have potential as an action hero in the future? I know he's set for a supporting role in the Blade Runner sequel (I hope he gets a plum part), but imagine a film with him leading the fort as the hero. Now that would be something. I nominate: a buddy comedy with him and Christoph Waltz as the lead duo of hitmen with a change in conscience.