The Big Picture
- Ben Mendelsohn’s portrayal of Danny Rayburn in Netflix’s “Bloodline” showcased his ability to add complexity and a dark element to a prestige TV show.
- Mendelsohn’s performance as Danny stood out among his co-stars and added a whimsical quality to a show that needed to take itself less seriously.
- Despite a flawed narrative and plot twists, Mendelsohn’s dramatic sincerity and versatility left a lasting impact on “Bloodline” and inspired other actors on the series.
Between Orson Krennic in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an evil corporate tycoon in Ready Player One, and the Sheriff of Nottingham in 2018’s Robin Hood, it’s safe to say that Ben Mendelsohn has a monopoly on playing over-the-top eccentric villains. Marvel fans would be forgiven for initially expecting his character Talos in Captain Marvel to be a villain when the real twist was that he was one of the heroes! While those films are a great use of Mendelsohn’s ability to steal a scene, they’re not the best representation of his abilities as an actor; he’s shown in films like Mississippi Grind and Babyteeth that he can play complex anti-heroes. Long before he got to wear green alien makeup on Secret Invasion, Mendelsohn proved that he could add a complex, dark element to a prestige television show with his work on Netflix’s crime series Bloodline as Danny Rayburn. It was an Emmy-winning role, and one that the show sorely missed once Mendelsohn had to exit it.
What Is Netflix’s ‘Bloodline’ About?
Bloodline was not a guaranteed hit by any stretch of the imagination; it was actually one of Netflix’s earliest drama shows after House of Cards during a time when streaming television was much less of an established medium. The series focused on the lives of the Rayburn family, a dysfunctional clan that happened to own a major resort in Florida. On the eve of the 45th wedding anniversary between Sally (Sissy Spacek) and her husband Robert (Sam Shepard), their “black sheep” son Danny returns after essentially cutting off contact with his siblings. Mendelsohn chews the scenery, as it’s clear that Danny is there to unravel secrets that the family would like to forget about.
The impressive quality of Mendelsohn’s work was that he was able to suggest a deeper meaning to phrases and dialogue than what was actually on the page. While Bloodline was an expensive series with a lot of major movie stars in it, the story itself was little more than the type of melodrama that would be seen on a network show. The plot twists about Danny’s childhood and his family’s crimes seemed to drag on with each season, and by the end of the show, it was clear that there was no pre-planned narrative in mind. That being said, it always seemed like something exciting was afoot when Mendelsohn showed up; his ability to treat the material as prestigious is likely what generated so much attention to it.
This was never more apparent than the end of the first season, where Danny’s death forces the other characters to cover up his murder. It didn’t make a lick of sense, but the real downside to the later seasons had nothing to do with the increasingly unbelievable plot. It was the fact that Mendelsohn wasn’t there anymore; without the unpredictable energy that Danny added with each subtle facial tick, there was nothing that made Bloodline worth watching. Ironically, Mendelsohn ended up winning his Emmy for a season where he only appeared in flashbacks and as a ghostly presence!
Ben Mendelsohn Outdid His ‘Bloodline’ Costars
Mendelsohn was also able to hold his own against several television veterans who were cast as his siblings. Before he was cast as Sally and Roberts’ eldest son John, Kyle Chandler had already been on one of the most renowned network dramas of the 21st century with his role on Friday Night Lights, and already knew what it was like to play the relatable lead in a series with many ongoing storylines. Similarly, Linda Cardellini had a rich television filmography behind her before she took on the role of John and Danny’s sister Meg. That being said, Mendelsohn never failed to steal the scene; he added a whimsical quality to a show that desperately needed to take itself less seriously.
While Chandler and Cardellini were channeled into the story itself, Mendelsohn seemed to be the only one that realized that this was a show about bickering siblings arguing about family crimes; he was essentially Roman Roy if Succession was set in the slums of Florida! The show spent a laborious amount of time trying to explain different events in the siblings’ past, but Mendelsohn was the only actor that was able to give any insight into what their interactions may have looked like. He was able to imply a much more interesting dynamic between John, Danny, and Meg than anything that the show’s writers could come up with.
Ben Mendelsohn’s ‘Bloodline’ Performance Offered Dramatic Sincerity
Despite these humorous quirks, Mendelsohn never failed to add genuine menace when he was called upon to do so. One of the most riveting scenes in the first (and only good) season was when Danny takes out John’s daughter Janie (Taylor Rouviere) on a boating trip against her father’s wishes. Even though he’s not doing anything threatening, the very thought of someone with Danny’s dark history having control over a child is a terrifying one. The show was never clear on whether Danny was intended to be a flawed hero or a relatable villain, and it’s a credit to Mendelsohn’s versatility that he was able to make it work either way.
Despite his character’s early death, Mendelsohn’s presence as Danny left a lasting impact on a show that never made up for him. He even managed to inspire a great performance out of a rising young actor; Owen Teague channeled many of Mendelsohn’s idiosyncrasies when he was cast as Danny’s illegitimate son in later seasons, and Teague similarly became the most exciting actor in the series. It’s perhaps the role that earned him a spotlight before he was cast in the It series and the much anticipated Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Bloodline may have been an early victim of the streaming wars, as the Rayburn family infighting didn’t justify three seasons of storytelling. That doesn’t mean that Mendelsohn didn’t add something special to it; he knows from personal experience that sometimes being the best part of a mediocre project is sometimes what makes your career! While, hopefully, Secret Invasion will give Mendelsohn better material, it’s guaranteed that the Disney+ series will be worth watching for his performance alone.
