
Actor
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), Commando (1985), Innerspace (1987), Power Rangers Time Force (2001) In 1981, a relatively small Australian film commonly called The Road Warrior made its way into American theaters and quickly began to burn rubber at the box office. Its success is largely due to its stunning dystopian visuals with images so strong it molded the term “post-apocalyptic.” Simultaneously, the film's plot provided the violent white male hero of Western mythology who would rid the hegemonic "space" of the "deviants" threatening the dominant elite. It's no wonder the role of Mad Max skyrocketed Mel Gibson's career straight out of Australia into the hands of Hollywood. As The Road Warrior developed into a cult film, its plot was studied by its viewers, its lines were memorized, and replica costumes were created. The characters in the film became iconic, and oddly enough, in the more recent years, a majority of the fans prefer the Marauders, the aberrant savages who took what they wanted and aggressively threatened the status quo and conservative values. Vernon Wells played Wez, the homicidal Dog of War and Mad Max's main rival in the film. The reason his character strikes a chord with people is largely due to Vernon's passionate performance. Viewers become attached to him in first scene where he pulls an arrow out of his arm slowly, while seeming to enjoy the pain. The Road Warrior was Vernon Wells' first film. Four years later, he landed the role of Bennett, a man seeking revenge on Arnold Schwartzenegger in Mark L. Lester's Commando, thus launching his career into Hollywood as well. These days he's been making use of his demure accent, saving people from thinking all Australians sound like Crocodile Dundee, by doing voiceover work.
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