Eddington made me think of Austin x evil characters. Please find some questionable observations below.
Thinking about Austin playing Vernon, made me think about whether he likes to play evil characters. So, I decided to create a little make-shift overview with a few rudimentary ideas. Just so you know, my hypothesis is that he likes playing evil characters more than good characters, and that he is leaning into that increasingly.
As I went along, I decided that I was lacking the application of a good definition of good and evil. It took me quite a bit of time, looking back into some of the works of for instance Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume and Aristotle (yes, I have my preferences), but failed to find a good definition. I ended up (very lazily) finding this overview article from Stanford, which looked into the many definitions of evil. This one resonated in particular (and this little blog is not an academic piece, so I can make do with that reasoning moehaha):
Card’s theory of evil is “that evils are reasonably foreseeable intolerable harms produced by inexcusable wrongs” (Card 2010, 16). While this account of evil allows for a wide range of motivations, it does specify that evildoers must foresee the harm they produce and lack a moral justification for producing the harm. In other words, for Card, evildoers are motivated by a desire for some object or state of affairs which does not justify the harm they foreseeably inflict.
As I believe that people are inherently good, I will qualify a character as good unless there are reasons for the opposite.
Now, another disclaimer: I have only seen a few of these works of Austin, and I may (will) be completely off with my assessment based on summaries I read online. I have also neglected a few of his earliest roles, simply due to lack of time. Feel free to chip in and start a discussion/correct me.
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2007 – James Garrett (Zoey 101)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Supportive, kind, and does no foreseeable harm to others.
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2007 – Jake Krandle (iCarly)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Charming, tone-deaf singer. No harm intended or caused, sort of.
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2008 – Jake Randall (iCarly)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Positive influence who brings joy. No harm caused.
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2009 – Jake Pearson (Aliens in the Attic)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Protects his family and the planet from invaders without harm.
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2010 – Jones Mager (Life Unexpected)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Acts with kindness and support. No harm is foreseeable.
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2010 – Stone Stevens (Jonas L.A.)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Minor role, with no actions causing foreseeable harm (other than harming that Jonas kid’s feelings about his own body, so maybe he is actually a little bit evil).
Reason: Encourages others. Seems to even foreseeably avoid harm to anyone.
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2011 – Benjamin Gold (CSI: NY)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: Character involved in crime, and makes questionable porn. Maybe I should not look at him considering the fic I posted yesterday; I am forgetting what is canon and what I made up.
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2011 – Wilke (Switched at Birth)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Loyal and charismatic. Actions foreseeably harm no one.
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2011 – Zack Garvey (The Bling Ring)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: Participates in thefts, causing foreseeable harm without moral justification.
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2012 – Cody Beck (My Uncle Rafael)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Honest and kind-hearted.
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2013 – Sebastian Kydd (The Carrie Diaries)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Struggles with personal growth but does no foreseeable harm.
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2014–2015 – Chase (Arrow)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: “Ruthless, manipulative, and highly committed assassin, his previous charm being simply a means to complete his mission of killing a certain person”... do I need to say more?
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2015 – Noah Henry (The Intruders)
Alignment: Good
Reason: I can’t really find a lot about him. (Fuck, even here he kissed… our man was typecasted if his life depended on it…)
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2016 – Wil Ohmsford (The Shannara Chronicles)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Selflessly fights evil. Harm caused is unintended and justified.
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2018 – Thomas Daniels (Dude)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Friend being loyal while navigating difficult situations without causing harm.
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2019 – Jack (The Dead Don’t Die)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Fights against a zombie apocalypse with no foreseeable harm caused.
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2019 – Tex Watson (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: Foreseeably participates in immoral harm (Manson Family murders) without justification.
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2022 – Elvis Presley (Elvis)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Struggles with personal challenges but does no foreseeable harm.
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2023 – Benny (The Bikeriders)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: Some of his actions have caused harm, even if they are contextually complex. I am also inclined to see him not standing up for his gf & leaving for a year as harmful. Such harm is not morally justified.
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2024 – Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Dune: Part Two)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: His Holy Hotness who foreseeably pursues power through harm with no moral justification.
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2024 – Gale Cleven (Masters of the Air)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Fights for justice in WWII; harm caused is morally justified.
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2025 – Vernon Jefferson Peak (Eddington)
Alignment: Evil
Reason: Religious influencer causing havoc through his (online) cult, by having people ‘dig up’ so-called memories. The only words in that sentence that do not scream evil at me are ‘through’ and ‘his’.
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2025 – Hank Thompson (Caught Stealing)
Alignment: Good
Reason: Man takes care of neighbours cat, is drawn into some questionable situations due to that action.
With this overview, please find a plotted overview per year below, and an overall overview at the end, to see whether my hypothesis stands.
Analysis of Roles by Year:
2007Total roles: 3
Good: 3 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2008Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2009Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2010Total roles: 2
Good: 2 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2011Total roles: 4
Good: 2 (50%)
Evil: 2 (50%)
2012Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2013Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2014–2015Total roles: 1
Good: 0 (0%)
Evil: 1 (100%)
2015Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2016Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2018Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2019Total roles: 2
Good: 1 (50%)
Evil: 1 (50%)
2022Total roles: 1
Good: 1 (100%)
Evil: 0 (0%)
2023Total roles: 1
Good: 0 (0%)
Evil: 1 (100%)
2024Total roles: 2
Good: 1 (50%)
Evil: 1 (50%)
2025Total roles: 2
Good: 1 (50%)
Evil: 1 (50%)
Summary
Total roles across years: 26
Good roles: 18 (69.23%)
Evil roles: 8 (30.77%)
With the split being quite even in the last few years, this hypothesis does not seem to be upheld. Intriguing.
