I Have Become Better Of These Pictures ☆

[thesunshinemaria]

The photo that People Magazine chose to present Fichtner as the sexiest 50-year-old alive, was from his appearance at the premiere of Christopher Nolan's The Prestige in 2006:

A brilliant choice.

The basis for sexy was Prison Break season 2.

[thesunshinemaria]

You know when you’re especially gorgeous?

When the director of photography happily makes note of it in a professional manner ❤️

Literally the person who studied the visual arts most of their life…..photos/films of people, creatures, objects…..for the purpose of creating excellent cinematic imagery.

THAT’S the person who you’d want to tell you who’s born beautiful.

[thesunshinemaria]

One of the things I was looking forward to the most when I bought the script of episode 10 in season 3 of Prison Break, was to physically own the "Never gets any easier"-moment.

On paper, in writing.

Also to finally read how the writers figured that Mahone should have that moment with Michael instead of Michael and Lincoln. You'd think they'd go for the obvious route of two brothers finding solace with each other instead of the two natural rivals.

Well, guess what?

"NEVER GETS ANY EASIER" IS NOT IN THE SCRIPT

And yes, they did go for the obvious route of two brother finding solace in each other:

Mahone wasn't supposed to say anything at all. He was only to give a "knowing look" like every other character in this whole series. Neutral, detached, collegial...

And Lincoln was supposed to try and comfort Michael with a joke. Even though Lincoln would've had no idea what trauma Michael just went through, Michael's comment alone would've set alarm bells off with Linc that he needs to reassure Michael of his good soul.

Yet it became this:

Lincoln ends up saying NOTHING.

And Mahone ends up saying EVERYTHING.

But this clearly was never the obvious choice for the writers. Yet when it got switched around, the writers loved it. As a matter of fact, they kept writing this in season 4 to further support the bond between Mahone and Michael.

But going back to 310, the reality of the situation...storywise...has become that when Michael kills a person for the first time ever, and he's mentally sinking into the abyss...

Lincoln basically went like "Eh, he got himself into that. He can get himself out."

Whereas Mahone goes in after Michael, no hesitation. And pulls him out.

Cause in that moment of "Never gets any easier", Mahone says so much more. He lets Michael know that he'll always understand him without Michael having to say one word and especially when everyone else around him doubts Michael. AND he let's Michael know that his refusal to kill people was from a pure place, a good place. And Mahone knows that good soul never deserves to go through this.

One of the things I praise William Fichtner for the most is how much you can count on him to take on these moments of true emotional depth in stories. A visual badass, yet capable of the most emotional depth out of everyone. It's magical.

If you watch Prison Break with a non-killer angel like Michael Scofield, the moment he kills for the first time, you're in need of someone in the story acknowledging the gravity of the moment. And give it the heart it deserves.

Fichtner does that.

Always.

Flawless.

[thesunshinemaria]

Gemini-updating also works on this photo of Fichtner as Colonel Sharp from Armageddon (1998).

Absolutely stunning!

[thesunshinemaria]

This Gemini-restored photo of Fichtner as Sully in The Perfect Storm is so freaking flawless, I could cry.

(Though I had to flip the original 90 degrees for Gemini to work)

[thesunshinemaria]

Fichtner in a pretty cool shadow shoot with Chris Cooper, Ron Eldard, Dylan Baker and David Morse.

He wears his own jacket. It's the same one as in the photo shoot with the 1970 Road Runner, so now I consider it Fichtner's signature jacket.

Unfortunately it's not named in the little liner notes....like with his cool ring in the red shoot where he wears Gucci, where it just said "his own ring". These magazines don't make it easy tracking down his fashion, lol.

But this could mean that a pro stylist approved of his fashion sense. They dressed some of the other guys but with him it's like "You're already perfect" :)

[thesunshinemaria]

Also drew Fichtner's Law tattoo from Albino Alligator (1996) for the same reasons as the last one.

Fichtner made this "psycho" so three dimensional. I've never before watched a physically imposing sociopathic main villain.....who's so sincerely adamant to view "the hero" of the film as his alpha. Combine that with fear of prayer and the "mama" complex.....you'll have me shook to the core.

Fichtner is a magician of human emotion.

So I found it very fitting that they chose such a beautifully melancholic tattoo. A rose cut down in it's prime, destined to wither away.

Hope I did it justice.

[thesunshinemaria]

I drew Fichtner's Sullivan tattoo from The Perfect Storm (2000).

I intend to use it to commemorate his perfect performance in this film....maybe print it as a card or poster.

[thesunshinemaria]

William Fichtner and his dream car, the 1970 Roadrunner.

[thesunshinemaria]

I bought a revised version of the script of Prison Break season 3 episode 10 "Dirt Nap"

Someone changed Mahone from Michael's ally to Michael's protector.

I wonder how that happened...

It'd be kind of weird if this overt change happened in the writers room, since this is a version of the script that's already been looked over. And Mahone maintains emotionally disconnected from Michael in both versions...

Who oh who turned Alexander Mahone into a REAL MAN™️ ?

[thesunshinemaria]

You know, by the end of 2006, Prison Break had THREE actors in total featured on the list of People Magazine's 100 sexiest men.

In 2005 it was only Wentworth Miller, with a cute introductory piece:

But in the november 27th issue of 2006:

It was three actors.

Of course Wentworth Miller:

Second, Dominic Purcell featured with the kids:

And finally, WILLIAM FICHTNER

Let me explain my caps-locking here.

Wentworth and Dominic play heroic characters with flaws that are highly acceptable for a sexy list. Heck, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows at this point in the story have no real flaws.

These two characters are always squarely the enjoyable good guys.

But Alexander Mahone?

DARKNESS.

Darkness, darkness, darkness.

On paper, there's no way you look at all three characters in this scene:

And think People would totally fall for the raging FBI agent the same way as they would for the two brave heroes with waterguns trying to save their teenager.

It's the acting. The way Fichtner uses his face, his eyes, the angles towards the camera. He figured that out and it's absolutely stunning.

But then the show throws the motherload of darknesses onto his character. Going from

addiction

to even more rage

to disheveled past murder

to present murder

to all this hostility towards the main hero

It's because with the darkness, Fichtner is peak with everything else too. Being the perfect gentleman:

Feeling everything

Passion

Fichtner's light is so strong that he makes his supreme darkness palatable to a mass audience.

It's the hardest challenge in acting there is. Relying so much on your own instinct, taste, intelligence, ability......to get this outcome.

Basically doing what Breaking Bad (2008) claims to have pioneered, two years before that show even started.

Also love how when I read every article in the magazine, I notice a sense of reverence in Fichtner's interview:

When with the other actors, they talk more about everyday stuff.....like it's a entire photo session of their beach workout routine (Mcconaughey) or their super special hair routine (Ryan Cabrera).....just trivial things.

But with Fichtner they actually ask about his work, the character he plays, the way he plays his character...

It only the question about him staying fit that hints he's getting interviewed by people that put him on a top 100 sexy list.

It's the cutest thing.

[thesunshinemaria]

Scone

Mahofield

MiMa

It's incredible the immediate impact Michael & Mahone had with the general audience right from the get go. That the people felt their chemistry so strong so quickly.

So much so that Sarah Wayne Callies still remembers their response nearly 20 years later.

Maybe that's also why the writers wrote the story to go in certain directions. That the writers knew like "people want this, we need to give the people what they want."

Prison Breaking Podcast 2-1 Manhunt

[thesunshinemaria]

Anyone notice this in Prison Break?

Nearly every character that Alexander Mahone hurts/kills is a character that Michael Scofield either hates, really dislikes or shows some kind of disapproval towards them. Or they attacked specifically Michael in some way.

You'd think that Lincoln Burrows and Aldo Burrows would definitely break this whole train of thought. But then the show goes out if it's way to make Michael very angry with both of them right before they get attacked by Mahone.

It's almost as if the writers lowkey don't actually want to write something that would cause an actual rift between Michael and Mahone. Which is why Mahone doesn't go near Sara. Or doesn't ever come face to face with Sucre.

It would all make me think:

"Man, wouldn't it be something if Mahone actually killed for Michael. Like what an epic bond that would be. The angel of the show having such a professional killer on his side."

Then the show goes and actually does it!

Mahone literally goes on to fight for Michael. Even kill for him. Over and over and over. He even teaches Michael how to fight.

All the while Michael doesn't know what it's like for Mahone to physically hurt him. Like he actually can't picture Mahone punching him, kicking him, choking him, pistol-whipping him.....it literally never happens.

✨Cause Michael Scofield is so special✨

[thesunshinemaria]

I love watching this scene on Bili Bili.

The comments hyping all over the screen is so fun.

[thesunshinemaria]

"We were just inches away today. Inches"

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[thesunshinemaria]

Michael Scofield sound off your loved ones:

[thesunshinemaria]

You know, there are really spectacular awesome actors......and then there are actual geniuses.

There are some actors who need a script to drive them to their full potential. And then there are actors who can literally make anything into "their full potential".

I'll give you an example of both.

Breaking Bad season 2 episode 13 - ABQ. The scene where Walter White saves Jesse Pinkman from a crackhouse.

I love this show, I adore this scene. The story, the purpose. Specifically the moment where they hold eachother. I love that so much I made a postcard out of it:

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are awesome actors.

Now here's the original script by Vince Gilligan:

Particularly page 15

Vince Gilligan literally describes the whole damn moment for Bryan and Aaron in the script. Beat for beat, movement to movement, twitch to twitch......it's all here.

I wonder what the scene would've even looked like had the script just been this:

And Vince going "alright guys, figure something out"....

Now here's this scene from Prison Break season 4 episode 4 - Eagles and Angels. With Dominic Purcell and William Fichtner (3:02)

And here's this part in the podcast Prison Breaking (54:42)

Sarah tells us that the lighting guys on Prison Break had a trickier time with Fichtner cause he wedges himself between a wall a file cabinet.

Meaning this whole direction right here:

That's Fichtner.

That's Fichtner going "this feels right, this is an awesome place to put myself."

Him hanging on that cabinet in the freakin shadows. It's brilliant.

So the script Fichtner had only gave lines and general scenario. It literally was

"just this"

Because the crew kept being surprised at where Fichtner places himself and they say HE does this every time. Not "they write this in" every time....no....HE does this every time.

And what placement, what body language it is. Look at that shot alone....you immediately understand the darkness Alexander Mahone is in before Mahone ever even says a damn word. And that carries through the rest of the scene, how beautifully he plays it with that wall and that file cabinet.

There's no Vince Gilligan here puppeteering Fichtner's entire body here like he does with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.

Fichtner doesn't figure this out himself, nobody will tell or show him how.

And it's evident over and over again in his career:

Vague description of judge Molridi, yet Fichtner knows immediately how to move

Perfect Storm director tells us he knows what to do, this Great American Actor™️

Fichtner shapes the Accountant from a bland violent character to one everyone says "he should get his own movie"

Boy, after Breaking Bad, the lack of Vince Gilligan really shows with Bryan and Aaron. Bryan has been just hammy old guy (Godzilla, Trumbo, Wakefield, LBJ, The Studio...) and Aaron just earnest young guy (Need for Speed, The Path, Westworld, Black Mirror...).

Somehow they're not transforming into anything anymore without Vince Gilligan. Certainly not into an actual vampire:

If Fichtner chooses a part, it's because HE knows what to do with it. That he can create something. Not because the part is completely written to make him look like a great actor.

Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul = awesome actors

William Fichtner = genius