A couple of years after Friends ended, there was a sitcom about another group of young white Americans making their way in the city. The Class may only have been watched by about 17 people, and spoiler: we don’t remember it very fondly. But I liked the cast – which included Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who went on to star in Modern Family – and I’ve kept an eye on their careers since. This month, I started watching the second season of Daredevil, and up popped the face of The Class alumni, Jon Bernthal. It was then I remembered just how excellent a face it is.
It’s the nose that does it: a beautiful, big thing that makes his face so much more interesting. Apparently it’s been broken 13 times, and the result is “classic brute” – the solidly built street-tough look, which means you can often divine what kind of character he’s playing. “They’re like, ‘Get your giant nose out of this room,’” he has said about his romcom-starring chances.
But here’s the twist: Bernthal, 39, is handsome with it. Maybe it’s his soft brown eyes with the crinkles, or the crooked smile that makes you think of Bruce Willis in the 80s. His face is disarming, a little incongruent with his hulking physicality. It’s what made him memorable as the conflicted Shane in The Walking Dead, and why his role as a politician in Show Me A Hero was a nice surprise. It’s also why I was fooled by his character in Sicario. I imagine it makes theatregoers lean forward. As the Punisher in Daredevil, he doles out violence, even as his eyes tell you about his pain. The combination of hurt and hurtful is what Bernthal’s face was made for. It’s his greatest asset, that face. I’d keep an eye on it, if I were you.
