The Killer: The evolution of assassins in film and television

Fictional assassins make for some of the most complex, if not intriguing, characters. While in some cases, they would be the central characters or even the protagonists of the story, in most cases, they often take the form of sadistic villains who leave a trail of bodies in their wake. And then of course there are characters such as John Wick or The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo, whose past lives as career criminals come back to haunt them, eventually pulling them back to being ruthless killers. These characters often feature redeeming qualities that endear them to the audience – qualities which are used to provide justification for their actions but also to serve the overarching narrative.

The character that perfectly embodies a killer with a code is Mike Ehrmantraut, played by Jonathan Banks, in the Breaking Bad universe. Unlike some of the more conventional hitmen in film and television, Ehrmantraut is neither a protagonist nor an antagonist but someone who follows a self-serving code. Of course, there are the more chaotic assassins who are essentially anti-heroes often driven by emotion despite their supreme intelligence, and one such example would be Jodie Comer’s Emmy Award-winning turn as Villanelle in Killing Eve. Ehrmantraut and Villanelle represent a relatively modern and nuanced depiction of an assassin in a TV series.

When it comes to traditional assassin characters no one fits the bill better than John Reese in Person of Interest, who is played by Jim Caviezel. Reese is a former black ops CIA assassin who has turned away from his life of killing to a man dedicated to helping ordinary citizens in New York. A flawed and brooding hero with a dark past is a trope that is older than television itself. But the character is well-executed by the writers, show creator Jonathan Nolan and Caviezel. On the other side of the spectrum are the old-school villainous assassins such as Tony Sirico's portrayal of Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri in The Sopranos. However, the most terrifying assassin on television is arguably Billy Bob Thornton’s turn as the cold and sadistic killer Lorne Malvo in Fargo. While Malvo also falls into the category of a conventional assassin, the character is essayed to near perfection by Thornton.

The assassins on film however are a different kettle of fish in some ways, owing to the fact that the shorter runtime of a film offers only a limited window to flesh out their backstories. So in most cases, they are either an anti-hero, a retired assassin, or a sociopathic killer. Complex and nuanced characters like Ehrmantraut and Villanelle are few and far between in films. The cold and calculating hitman is a trope that first gained popularity in the 1940s in the film This Gun for Hire, where Alan Ladd plays the role of an unempathetic hitman. The 1942 noir film is based on the Graham Greene novel A Gun for Hire and is among the earliest book adaptations where filmmakers took liberties with the source material. For instance, the assassin Raven’s harelip is replaced with a deformity on his wrist. This slight modification was to provide more screen presence for Alan Ladd and it appears to have propelled him to stardom, along with his co-star Veronica Lake, as both of them would go on to play lead roles together in six films. This Gun for Hire would serve as an inspiration for future depictions of assassins in films and TV. shows for years to come.

One of the most popular assassins in films would be Jean Reno’s depiction of Léon in Luc Besson’s iconic action thriller Léon: The Professional (1994). The film and Reno’s performance as the titular character paved the way for a new form of anti-hero assassin in films. However, Tom Cruise’s portrayal of Vincent in Michael Mann’s 2004 crime thriller Collateral remains groundbreaking for several reasons. Casting a bankable star like Cruise to play a sadistic hitman opposite Jamie Foxx is revolutionary in itself. It also showcases Cruise’s versatility as an actor, an aspect which is often overlooked. Javier Bardem perfected this version of an assassin in the 2007 Coen brothers film, No Country for Old Men. Bardem slips into the role of Anton Chigurh, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest fictional villains of all time.

Over the past decade, an assassin or hitman has come to take multiple forms across multiple genres in film and television. John Wick symbolises the most contemporary and popular iteration and has inspired several films and TV shows in a relatively short period. Chacha and Hazel in The Umbrella Academy represent assassins who offer dark humour and scintillating action. Whereas Josh Stewart's portrayal of John Pilgrim in The Punisher Season 2 as a ruthless hitman and an alt-right Christian Fundamentalist is one of the most underrated and compelling characters in television, underlying how such characters have evolved over the years.

David Fincher promises a new version of an assassin through Michael Fassbender in the upcoming Netflix film The Killer. The film’s synopsis indicates that it could follow a similar storyline to John Wick but with a unique presentation and Fincher’s signature flair. The film has garnered rave reviews during its film festival run and is arguably one of Netflix’s most anticipated films of the year. The Killer releases on Netflix on November 10.