musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
You should know by now from my ‘Chuck Seniorisms by the Dozen’ Part I and Part II that Charles Rhoades Senior is one of my favorite characters on Billions. He is played by the extraordinary actor Jeffrey DeMunn, who comes from a theatrical family no less! Buffalo News reported in March 2019 that DeMunn’s father Jim DeMunn and stepmother Betty Lutes DeMunn were two cardinal figures for many years in the local Buffalo theater.
Guess what time it is? It’s time for Wags Words of Wisdom, Billions season four. Did you miss our first two dozen that covered seasons one through three? Catch up by reading them here and here.
As I pointed out last time, Mike “Wags” Wagner, played by David Costabile, is my second favorite character on the Showtime hit series Billions-Axe being the first of course. Sure, he’s an acquired taste for some but we gladly claim Wags as our rapacious scumbag. He’s still that pinky ring-wearing, Michter’s whiskey drinking, vintage Mercedes driving, petite handlebar mustache sporting, sharp-dressed man with a childhood affinity for Yosemite Sam, as proven by his ass tattoo of said gun-slinging cartoon outlaw.
Wags continues to be the Chief Operating Officer at Axe Capital-that formidable attack dog, financial consigliere, valet, and leader of the minions. He’s the right-hand man to Bobby Axelrod and just as loyal as the unsullied soldiers are to the mother of dragons.
In Part I of this two part post, I attempted to convey the ways in which Damian is adding subtlety to a character that, on surface, may seem pretty black and white. In short, he’s having Bobby dole out the cruelty and megalomania in a gradient of doses while adding bits of endearing behaviors so that we don’t write him off completely as straight-up evil.
Now for some speculation on the origins of Axe’s personality.
They are shooting episode 5 or 6 of Billions Season 5 in New York, and our favorite show is returning to Showtime on May 3, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT. And now that they have dropped the official teaser for Season 5, I am in such a Billions state of mind that I just sat down and wrote about what to expect when we are expecting Billions Season5!
Continue reading “What To Expect When We Are Expecting Billions Season 5”
In case you missed it, you can read Part V here.
Wendy is totally right when she tells Bobby that Rebecca is a keeper. She brings out the best in Bobby. Thanks to her, Bobby sets Lara and the boys free. Thanks to her, Bobby makes a great gesture to Bruno. Thanks to her, Bobby understands one may sometimes take risks for their ideals. It is obvious that this is a match made in heaven. And it is up to one person to gloriously fuck it up: Bobby Axelrod – a man that lets his childhood shit run him.
While our golden couple takes control of Saler’s thanks to Sanford Bensinger siding with them against Taylor, the new year starts with a new problem for them. Continue reading “Bobby Axelrod: The Boy Whose Dad Never Came Back, Part VI”