FROM: Why Jim Matthews Looks So Familiar
Hell is a place on earth in MGM+'s "FROM."
Okay, so that might be a bit presumptuous ... it's hard to say what's going on in a show intentionally marketed as having some of the same executive producers as ABC's "Lost," which at least explains the Google-proof title. The story follows an unlucky assortment of travelers who are trapped in a small town somewhere in the middle of America. No matter which way they attempt to leave, reality bends upon itself, forcing its weary victims back into their demented prison without tangible walls. What's worse is that they're not alone. Creatures who take human form flood the town when the moon rises and murder whomever they can get their hands on.
The 2022 original series features an ensemble cast but stars a select few characters, like Jim Matthews, who accidentally drove his family of four into the hellscape. Again, it might not be hell. Maybe it's a dream or a government installation? Whatever the case, Jim is just a regular dad and husband. He didn't ask for any of this, and if he seems familiar, that's because Eion Bailey portrays him.
According to IMDb, Bailey is an American actor with a perfect jawline (we added that bit) and approximately 50 credits to his resume, which spans a little more than 25 years in the industry. He frequently appears, if only briefly, in popular television shows such as "Numb3rs," "Law & Order," and "Emily in Paris," but these barely scratch the surface of his ongoing work. If you've been even tangentially plugged into popular media in the last two decades, you've definitely seen him before. Here are some of his highest-profile roles.
Eion Bailey is Kyle DuFour, a cannibalistic high school bully, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a prime example that good art is not inherently made by good people.
In 1997, The WB released Joss Whedon's supernatural drama series about Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a cheerleader who, you guessed it, is really, really good at slaying vampires. The concept must have been dear to Whedon's controversial little heart because the series is actually his second stab at making it work, the first being a 20th Century Fox film in 1992 that didn't leave anyone particularly thrilled. In Buffy's case, the second time around was the charm — the ABC series became this beautiful, beloved thing among fans, a true-blue, campy cult classic.
Eion Bailey portrays Kyle DuFours in Season 1, Episode 6 ("Pack"). There's no kind way to describe Kyle — he's a high school bully with a limited vernacular, although his table manners do somewhat improve after he's possessed by a carnivorous animal spirit. He never reappears in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" not because Buffy kills him or anything. Rather, this is because the show goes out of its way to emphasize how possession victims remember everything that occurs while they're not in control and it's probably a safe bet that anyone who literally eats their principal would need around-the-clock therapy for, well, years, probably.
Fight Club sees Eion Bailey as a scrappy little guy
The rules clearly state that you can't talk about Fight Club — nobody ever condemned writing about it.
And that's probably why Chuck Palahniuk gets a pass. Well, that and the fact that he literally created the 1999 film's source material back in 1996, so there's that. "Fight Club" is a 20th Century Fox film about a nameless dude (Edward Norton) with serious repression issues, so serious that he creates a violent cult of emotionally stunted man babies hellbent on committing nationwide domestic terrorism ... which they totally do, as part of the twisted, happy ending. Just like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and perhaps even more so, "Fight Club" comes packaged with a passionate fanbase, most of whom seem eager to join their very own underground murder party. And that will never not be concerning!
Eion Bailey portrays Ricky, a Fight Club member who works at Federated Motor Corporation alongside the nameless protagonist. He starts out as this timid, quiet little guy but his extracurricular activities give him the confidence to nearly kill a man for a quick shot of adrenaline. So that's neat.
In Band of Brothers, Eion Bailey feels estranged by an injury
Most middle-aged white men with a World War II obsession are walking red flags but not Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg. Never them.
In 2001, the duo followed up their highly successful "Saving Private Ryan" — a 1999 WWII film which we can never stress enough was partially distributed by DreamWorks — with "Band of Brothers," a WWII HBO miniseries about the "Easy" Company, 2nd Battalion, of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Don't stress all the lingo, it won't come back up again. The HBO production takes its historical accuracy cues from Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 book of the same name, which is mostly comprised of interviews that Ambrose conducted with surviving members of the real "Easy" Company. Hanks and Spielberg must have done something right because "Band of Brothers" landed an Emmy and a Golden Globe for "Best Miniseries."
Eion Bailey portrays Private First Class David Kenyon Webster, the POV soldier of Episode 8 ("The Last Patrol"). Before enlisting, David was a Harvard student with aspirations to become a writer. After enlisting, an injury prevented him from fighting in The Battle of the Bulge. But by the time he's back in shape, "Easy" Company is a different, more somber, and less welcoming group. David accustoms himself to this change and helps wherever he can because getting home is more important than showing off.
Eion Bailey is a real man, and totally not a wooden boy, in Once Upon a Time
Remember that time ABC made a bunch of actors cosplay as Disney Adults for eight years?
"Once Upon a Time" is a 2011 fantasy drama series about fairytale characters who have been cursed to live in the real world under the mayoral thumb of the Evil Queen (Lana Parilla). But the victims of Storybrooke, Maine — a fictional town named with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer — find a hero in the most unlikely of places, a grumpy bail bondswoman (Jennifer Morrison) who's actually the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwyn) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). We in the business like to call that karma.
Eion Bailey portrays August W. Booth. But you might know him better by his given name, Pinocchio. That's right, that rugged, adult, human man is actually Geppetto's pet project. Much like Emma Swan (Morrison), a young Pinoch' escapes Regina Mills' (Parilla) curse because the plot doesn't get to happen if everyone is stuck at the same time. Unlike Emma, though, "August" remembers his life before the Land Without Magic and tries to guide Emma towards Storybrooke from the shadows. So he, uh, kind of stalks her. It's both very heroic and very creepy.
In an interview with German outlet My Fanbase, Bailey expressed ambivalence regarding the various "Once Upon a Time" fan theories surrounding the characters on the show. "Sure, sometimes, I'm happy to hear someone's theory," he said "In person, I like seeing people excited about their own ideas and all the ways it reveals how they see the world, but online there are just too many, it confuses things.
Ray Donovan transforms Eion Bailey into an abusive self-help guru
Sometimes, a pristine image can only be kept with dirty hands, which is just a really dramatic way of saying that rich people tend to hire criminals to maintain a certain status quo.
And that's where Ray Donovan (Liev Schreiber) comes in — the titular character in Showtime's 2013 original streaming series and the subsequent 2022 film. Ray makes his living as a "fixer." He's a menacing middle-man who arranges bribes and threats and payoffs. And he's good at it, too! If Yelp had a black market category, Ray would dominate the charts with a flood of glowing, five-star reviews. He's also a family man ... to his children, at least. His relationship with literally everyone else is complicated.
Eion Bailey portrays Steve Knight for a handful of episodes in Season 2 (Episodes 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12, for the curious). Steve is one of those guys who knows how handsome he is and made it his entire personality. He's a trashy self-help guru who peddles shallow charm. Unsurprisingly, a man with zero emotional maturity turns out to be this abhorrent, abusive, and violent thing. Equally unsurprising is how fast Steve folds when Ray decides to shove him in a trunk like so much unwanted luggage.
"Ray Donovan" doesn't really explain what happens to him afterward, but it probably wasn't pretty. Which is exactly what he deserves.