Once again, I worry about Guy Pearce

Okay, there’s a new movie coming out called Animal Kingdom. It sounds really good. Australian. Love Australian movies. The plot sounds interesting. It stars Guy Pearce. What could be better? Well, here’s the shallowest reason for possibly not seeing a movie you’ll hear all year – My first thought was: how much does Guy Pearce weigh?

I love him. Have ever since I saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. LA Confidential is the movie that got me through some very bad times. He can be the good guy. He can be the bad guy. He can even be in a movie with the pure awful James Caviezel. I care not. I find him riveting as an actor. But the truth is that he may be a little manorexic. He looked almost mummified in that movie with Helena Bonham Carter. There have been times that I have worried about him as a human being. I can’t concentrate on the movie, or the character he’s playing, because I’m wondering if he’s going to be okay. He seems to be a skinny boy, anyway. But there have been times when he has been downright scary skeletal. Beyond vegan skinny. Like, he should be in a program, skinny. I assume that he has people who love him, who would intervene if things are as bad as they seem. I assume. But if the camera adds ten pounds . . . sheesh.

And this is just one of those weird areas where – I don’t know this person. Yet I have these sort of vague friendly feelings because he’s been in so many movies I’ve enjoyed, and is usually the reason why. I know he kind of specializes in playing the soul ravaged (and you know I loves me them heartbroken boys; give me one haunted look and I’m putty), and this may be a creative choice, but there’s gotta be some kind of limit on what one will do even for art. I mean, isn’t an actor’s body supposed to be their instrument? I just worry he’s going to have a heart attack or do some kind of permanent damage. I want him to be in more movies. Okay. That was a little selfish. I’d also like to think that he’s having a happy and healthy life. When he’s not making those tragic, haunted eyes for the camera.