1/ American Gigolo

Step aside Richard Gere, there’s a new gigolo in town. And he’s got all the swagger, intensity and sex appeal that one would expect from a modern-day male escort. Enter: Jon Bernthal, as he prepares to light up the small screen as leading man, Julian Kaye, in the hotly awaited American Gigolo reboot coming to Paramount+ on September 10th. Bring it on – we’ve never been more ready for this.

2/ Daredevil

The man is a super hero for goodness sake! Bernthal’s first brush with fame came thanks to his epic role as Frank Castle (AKA The Punisher. Ooh-er) in Marvel’s Daredevil before landing his own eponymous spin-off. Equal parts terrific and terrifying, he had us hooked.

3/ The Walking Dead

Never one to shy away from meaty action roles – he’s well-acquainted with the make-up department and rarely seen in character without cuts and bruises. So zombies, eh? All in a day’s work for Bernthal who played Shane Walsh, the hard-man rival to Andrew Lincoln’s Rick. Making the zombie apocalypse palatable, one episode at a time.

4/ King Richard

While much of the attention around this Oscar-winner may have been on Will Smith and his right hook, it was Bernthal’s memorable turn as Rick Macci – the coach who helped Venus and Serena Williams to tennis success – that secured him critical acclaim. We’ll even forgive him the moustache. Just this once, mind.

5/ The Wolf of Wall Street

Did we mention he’s nailed comedy too? A hilarious turn as Brad, the drug dealing friend of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo Dicaprio) in the darkly comic tale of corrupt New York stock brokers sees him more than hold his own among megastars like Leo, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie. Bad behaviour looks good on him.

6/ Wind River

It’s a blink and you’ll miss it 10-minute cameo but you really don’t want to miss it. Bernthal perfectly complements the utterly epic mountain panoramas of rural Wyoming in this mystery thriller. Our only complaint is that he doesn’t have more screen time.

7/ Baby Driver

Start your engines please, because this pacy car chase extravaganza is the brainchild of Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and it’s quite possibly when we see Bernthal at his moodiest best as Griff. Excellent soundtrack, epic stunts and all the thrill of the chase. Forget passing the popcorn, you’ll need a gin.

Stream American Gigolo on Paramount+ now.

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