John Wick: Chapter 4 Knows How Much We Love Clancy Brown Just Saying Stuff
This post contains spoilers for "John Wick: Chapter 4."
Movies and television are, of course, primarily visual mediums; having looks that kill goes a long way for an actor's career. However, one must not discount sound completely — having an extraordinary voice can also make an actor that much more desirable.
One of the world's greatest living voices belongs to Clancy Brown, and he's been handsomely rewarded for it (rightfully) with a lengthy and storied career. Brown's honeyed, dulcet tones have graced the screen in everything from "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" to "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," and his versatile character voices have turned up in animation as varied as series like "Gargoyles" and "Spongebob SquarePants."
Director Chad Stahelski is certainly well aware of Brown's prowess as a character actor, including his formidable presence and commanding voice. The actor brings all of this to his performance in "John Wick: Chapter 4." Although Brown's character of The Harbinger doesn't get to mix it up physically with Wick or anyone else, his role in the film couldn't be more perfect, giving Brown the opportunity to just say stuff with that impressive voice of his.
Brown's screen persona lends The Harbinger extra weight
In the world of "John Wick," the characters from the High Table and the rest of the underworld all have a unique quality about them, the better to fit in with the films' graphic novel-like aesthetic. That goes double for an action epic like "Chapter 4," which sees Keanu Reeves' Wick travel to multiple continents while meeting an entire slew of new faces.
Clancy Brown doesn't have a huge amount of screentime in the movie, as his character of The Harbinger is typically found lurking in the margins around the far flashier Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). Yet Brown doesn't need a ton of time to establish his presence or his character — in a lot of ways, he lets his screen persona do the legwork for him.
Throughout his career, whether visible or only vocal, Brown's portrayed a lot of heavies. There's just something quintessentially hard-boiled about him, leading to his casting in films like "Extreme Prejudice," "Blue Steel" and "Starship Troopers." Even his "Spongebob" character of Mr. Krabs is an imposing figure, a money-grubbing crustacean who treats his employees in a Scrooge-like manner.
What fans of Brown know is that, at any moment, the actor may be asked to turn on the juice and see what shakes loose, and it's that volatility that keeps his performances (even the quieter ones, like his guest shot on an episode of "Lost") dynamic. When Brown goes full-tilt, as he does playing the Kurgan in "Highlander" or Gus in "Pet Sematary II," he's utterly electric and genuinely dangerous.
The Harbinger is what a John Wick of the Future may look like
"John Wick: Chapter 4" sees Clancy Brown in a regal mode, with an undercurrent of threat thanks to his position at the Table. An additional note in his performance, however, is that of the "Wick" films' signature melancholic brooding, one which Brown conveys with full intention, cleverly linking his character to John's.
As Brown explains in the movie's official production notes, the Harbinger is "what John Wick is in danger of becoming. Like Wick, the Harbinger can't get away from The High Table, ever. Unlike Wick, the Harbinger is old. He limps and has scars. So, instead of being an assassin for that organization, he conducts its business."
In contrast to Asia Kate Dillon's cold, investigative, and businesslike Adjudicator from "John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum," The Harbinger shows up only as the bearer of bad news, telling Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick) that their Continental has been deconsecrated, and later presiding over the terms of the duel to the death between the Marquis and John.
As his name and Brown's take on the character indicate, he also doubles as a warning to Wick about his fate should he never escape the Table — a one-time feared and powerful warrior (which the Harbinger's scars and injuries attest to) who has been reduced to observing and delivering word of the Table's continuing atrocities, powerless to stop or escape them.
Brown makes The Harbinger a voice of reason
One of the major themes in the "John Wick" series involves obedience to the High Table's rules and code of conduct, which are as Byzantine as they are constricting. Just about every character in the movies seeks to bend or break the rules, manipulating them to serve their own ends.
The Harbinger is no exception to this unwritten rule, especially when it comes to serving the arrogant Marquis in "Chapter 4." As Clancy Brown states in the production notes, "The Harbinger is a watchdog and advisor to the Marquis, who is rich, elegant, smart, ruthless — and horrible. The Harbinger has been around a long time, as a go-between. He gives the Marquis enough rope to hang himself, but he will always enforce The Table's rules."
Although his name and demeanor may appear to make him the voice of doom, Brown's performance makes The Harbinger more of a voice of reason. His advice to the Marquis is as sound as it is unheeded, and his adjudication over the final duel between the Marquis and John makes the verdict feel as fair as it is final. It takes an actor with a total command of tone to convey the many nuances that Brown does in his performance of The Harbinger; his subtle pleasure at declaring Wick the victor of the duel makes the Marquis' defeat all the sweeter. Even if "Chapter 4" were, God forbid, filled with less action, the film would still be a pleasure to watch just for Clancy Brown saying and doing such cool stuff.