Taron Egerton has appeared in numerous films that demonstrate why he remains one of Hollywood’s most promising stars. His versatility has earned him numerous parts, and he always finds a way to stand out. Even though he recently said he was not the right actor to portray James Bond, he was reportedly in the mix at some point, proving that the industry saw him fit to play the iconic spy.
In recent years, Egerton has been prominently featured in action thrillers – the one genre that saw him break into the industry when he played the lead in the Kingsman franchise. The actor has also appeared in a handful of TV thrillers, but there is nothing as memorable as the crime show Black Bird. The six-part Apple TV miniseries arguably delivers Egerton’s greatest performance (yes, even better than his role in Rocketman), and it can be binged in a single sitting.
Based on the novel In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, Black Bird is the true story of Jimmy Keene, an imprisoned criminal who becomes an FBI informant when he accepts a life-changing deal. This journey is the basis for the show created by Dennis Lehane, the author responsible for seminal works like Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Shutter Island.
What Does Real Evil Look Like?
In Black Bird, viewers follow Keene (Egerton), a former football player who becomes a drug dealer after an injury forced him to retire early. Keene is caught by the police during an operation and sent to prison to serve a sentence that’s longer than he initially imagined. However, opportunity knocks at the door.
The FBI offers him a deal – one that represents less time behind bars and a clean record. The charming criminal only has to accept being transferred to a maximum-security prison, where he will have to befriend another criminal. Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) has been linked to various murders, but without a confession about the location of the bodies, the FBI is unable to officially connect him to the crimes.
Given his warm personality, Keene finds it easy to become friends with the suspect. He even starts doubting that Hall could be implicated. However, as he bonds with him, Keene finds out that the soft-talking and seemingly harmless man may actually be a terrifying and monstrous serial killer.
A Realistic and Deeply Unsettling Crime Story With Outstanding Performances
Lehane’s show moves at a very distinct pace. In the beginning, it feels like the average fast-paced thriller with Egerton at the helm playing his usual character. However, it becomes something else halfway through. Hauser’s performance is captivating from the start, and then he becomes the center of a slow-burn, disturbing plot that gets murkier as it reveals the heinous acts Hall may have performed.
Hall is the prime suspect, but his charismatic personality makes it hard to believe that such a monster can hide beneath that suit. You almost want to think that he isn’t capable of the crimes he’s associated with.
Sure, Egerton is the lead in Black Bird, but Hauser? He’s the standout, playing a deeply disturbed individual who is hiding a secret and is seemingly oblivious to the consequences. Or maybe he’s just more clever than we thought.
For his performance as Larry Hall, the extremely underrated actor won an Emmy and a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actor categories. With a critics’ score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, Black Bird remains the highest-rated TV show of his career. It is also Egerton’s highest-rated work on the review aggregator.
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