Why Holly From Crimson Peak Looks So Familiar
Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak resembles fiction from a bygone era, deriving its drama from early high society in 1900s upstate New York. Its screenplay, however, is the original work of del Toro and co-writer Matthew Robbins. Although the script is a contemporary work, its plot could theoretically fit, beat for beat, in the pages of a novel written in the same setting.
Mia Wasikowska stars in Crimson Peak as Edith Cushing, the daughter of Carter Cushing (Jim Beaver), a successful businessman. Tom Hiddleston is Thomas Sharpe, a man who first appears in the film with a pitch for Edith's father, but soon pursues Edith's affection above all else. Though it's initially unclear how or why, Thomas and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) appear to harbor some sinister intentions. While the sheltered Edith remains charmed by Thomas, Carter suspects foul play and hires an investigator named Holly to find out more about the mysterious Sharpe patriarch.
Holly is only on screen for a small portion of the film, but his face should appear familiar to viewers as that of a prominent Hollywood character actor.
Burn Gorman was Owen Harper in Torchwood
Burn Gorman began his acting career with several British TV series, starting with long-running soap opera Coronation Street. He subsequently appeared in Funland, a 2005 adaptation of Bleak House, and EastEnders. The most notable role among his early TV credits followed when he starred in BBC's Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood.
The series is named after its titular alien-hunting organization, the Torchwood Institute. The team at the series' center included, upon its debut, John Barrowman as the immortal Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as police officer Gwen Cooper, Naoko Mori as technology expert Toshiko Sato, Gareth David-Lloyd as comic relief Ianto Jones, and Burn Gorman as medical officer Owen Harper.
Gorman remained a fixture of Torchwood's cast for its first two seasons before departing from the show alongside Mori. Series leads Barrowman and Myles would go on to star alongside a new group of lead actors in subsequent seasons.
Gorman played Stryver in The Dark Knight Rises
Fans of superhero blockbuster movies most likely recognize Burn Gorman from his supporting role in The Dark Knight Rises, arguably the most popular film in which Gorman has appeared. For those unfamiliar, The Dark Knight Rises concludes the trilogy of Christopher Nolan's Batman films by pitting Batman against the genetically beefed-up Bane.
In The Dark Knight Rises, Burn Gorman appears as a minor antagonist named Phillip Stryver. He's an executive assistant to construction company CEO John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) who, despite being entirely human and non-superpowered, attempts to work with Bane and gain control of Wayne Enterprises.
Bane ultimately betrays and kills Daggett. Stryver also dies after Bane frees some of Gotham City's prison population and oversees makeshift criminal hearings for certain Gotham City inhabitants. Stryver is given a choice between death and simple exile from Gotham. Though he chooses exile, he falls into an icy channel near Gotham on his way to the next city.
He appeared as Gottlieb in the Pacific Rim films
Before Godzilla duked it out with King Kong on the silver screen, Americans watched giant robots fight giant monsters in Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. On its surface, the film's premise is about as simple as that of Godzilla vs. Kong's. Giant monsters, called Kaiju (the Japanese word for creatures like Godzilla and in-fiction biological name for Pacific Rim's baddies), exist in the world of Pacific Rim. Certain humans have to pilot giant robots to fight them.
Gorman appears as Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. Together with Dr. Newt Geiszler (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day), Gottlieb performs research as one of the world's leading Kaiju experts. The two form a sort of comic relief duo; while Geiszler is manic and freewheeling, Gottlieb is straight-laced and traditional. Both Day and Gorman would go on to reprise their roles in the sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Gorman portrayed Karl Tanner in Game of Thrones
Burn Gorman's experience in British TV led him to a minor but important role on the HBO behemoth Game of Thrones. He plays Karl Tanner in the series, a member of the Night's Watch tasked with guarding Westeros' Wall. In season 3, Karl joins the Night's Watch on an expedition that finds them spending a night at Craster's Keep, the home of a cautious ally to the Night's Watch.
Tensions rise between the Night's Watch and Craster during their stay, partially due to verbal sparring between Karl and Craster himself. Members of the Night's Watch kill Craster, and Karl takes over the keep in his stead. In season 4, Karl appears to have become as nasty as Craster before him. At one point, he kidnaps Bran and his traveling companions, promising to torture them before Jon Snow arrives to save the day. Snow's execution of Karl Tanner is one of the more grisly deaths on Game of Thrones, even in a show known for its depictions of violence.
Burn Gorman is Adolphus Murtry in The Expanse
Like in Game of Thrones, the principal cast of characters in The Expanse is sizable and spread out over an extensive fictional world. However, while Game of Thrones takes place on a single continent, The Expanse takes place across the explorable universe, in which humans have built civilizations on planets and asteroid belts alike.
Gorman is the villainous Adolphus Murtry in The Expanse's fourth season. He is the chief security officer on the Edward Israel ship owned by the Royal Charter Energy corporation. As a company security officer, Murtry is murderous, resorting to bloodshed in pursuit of profit. He's also outwardly bigoted, showing prejudice toward "Belters," the series' inhabitants of asteroid belts who are poorer than their planet-dwelling counterparts. Murtry remains a villain for the majority of season 4, and disappears afterward.
Unlike Murtry, however, Ben Gorman will not be retreating to the shadows. His role in Crimson Peak was just another example of his excellent character work, seamlessly blending into the story and stealing scenes when necessary.