William Petersen; greatest actor of our time.

This is a small clip from a relatively unheard of film from around 1995 called "In the Kingdom of the Blind the Man with One Eye is King." It's a cop/mob movie and unfortunately, it didn't make it very big at the box office. It was relatively low budget. It didn't have buckets of blood or 20-minute-long gun battles or epic car chases or much of anything that makes movies really huge.
But in my opinion, it is one of the best dramatic movies ever. And this clip is one of the best cinematic performances you will ever see. This is William Petersen (CSI) playing the part of Tony C. He is a mid level crime boss in NYC, and he has found out that the brother of his direct superior has been murdered in his home. This scene is Tony C telling an old cop friend from his youth that he suspects the cop's brother was in on the murder and how he plans to resolve the situation.
In modern cinema, there are not many extended monologues. For one actor to have the stage for longer than thirty seconds is unusual in today's attention-deficit society.
But this performance is a 5 minute monologue. Petersen is absolutely brilliant. The performance is riveting and incredibly convincing. He varies the emotion level over and over again, bringing it up and taking it back down as he delivers, until finally he reaches the climax of the scene, and then, with an ice-cold glare, looks at Al, the cop, and says: "nobody is gonna be safe." Chilling!
Buy this movie, rent this movie, steal this movie. You need to see this one! Enjoy!

[@peddlerofbombast6982]

Many younger people dont realize how in demand Petersen was in the 80s. He may have been the most sought after actor since Brando.

[@buddhull]

I appreciate your enthusiasm but have a hard time following. I love Petersen and after TLADI LA and Manhunter specifically I constantly wonder why he went so underutilized in bigger productions. He’s done a good amount of features, but seemed to be at his peak popularity during the CSI years. But correct me if I’m wrong, of course. Peace.

[@swevicus]

@@buddhullFrom what I understand, he prefers choosing roles that suit him instead of going for the big shot every time, and he doesn't like to spend too much time away from his family - hence his rather late blooming into stardom.

[@GuitarGangsterArmi]

@@swevicussounds like Ralph Macchio. Macchio turned down Back to the Future.

[@WMJCPA]

Another film that highlights Petersen's talent is the 1986 "Manhunter" where Petersen portrays Will Graham the agent who caught Hannibal Lecter. This was several years before the Silence of the Lambs franchise and a wonderful film. It was remade as The Red Dragon with Anthony Hopkins and Ed Norton, but Manhunter is great. If you watch it, pretend you never saw Silence of the Lambs.

[@67maverick]

I love the scene when he realizes how the killer finds his victims. The music does half of it

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

I read somewhere that Scorsese wanted Petersen to play Henry Hill in "GoodFellas".

[@PTSDRemission-PRENEUR]

How tf did I not have a crush on this guy till Feb 2022??? I just watched Young Guns 2 and hello....pair of tight black cowboy pants rocked by William Petersen....then I'm like hang on he's spunky as heck? What was I in a coma in the early 90s????? And I remember him in CSI which I didn't watch much of.....anyways Gard dang ! Haven't had a crush in long time - William Petersen 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@OnafetsEnovap]

Having seen this movie, I have to admit that Billy P is the best part of it.

[@jameswaldrop9053]

Incredible is not a sufficient adjective.

[@scarletclearisil5554]

Mickey is right.

[@mickeydougal]

Hey, you're entitled to your opinion. Are you an actor yourself? That's my guess as to why you would be so critical. Plus, if you see the movie and see the scene in context, it might change your opinion.

[@mickeydougal]

Great! Let me know what you think! Meanwhile, I'll contact Amazon for my commission, hee hee. Enjoy!

[@missebbs6024]

What movie is this

[@Themdamdjawgas]

Just type in - in the kingdom of the blind - on Amazon - the name is a bit longer but u will c it - I don't remember the rest of it - but yeah - I'm a Will Peterson junkie - and this movie is one of my favorite of all

[@GeppettoProductions]

He was so brilliant in To Live and Die in L.A. I think he deserved at least an Oscar nom.

[@conorsmith8551]

That was one intense film

[@LBPreviews]

Played brilliantly against Dafoe. 10/10 film.

[@robinh.rogowski9660]

God he's beautiful.

[@rocknroll20024]

Yes yes he is

[@n8rm]

This guy played the shit out of Stud Cantrell in “Long Gone” my favorite Baseball movie.

[@jameswaldrop3605]

Peterson never got all the kudos he deserved. Peterson is humble and what Tony C says is true.

[@5eurocups2005]

Great Acting............He was Exceptional in Manhunter and To Live and Die in La

[@rudyvargas9518]

Petersen is truely one in a million ...

[@diamondkillswitch]

The guy has an amazing talent to elevate just about any movie he's in, regardless of the movie being good or bad. I'd say he's right up there with Jimmy Stewart as one of the best.

[@jackhamilton9604]

diamondkillswitch oh much better than James Stewart, Will Petersen acts much differently in each of his roles

[@mattsager914]

JIMMY STEWART??!

[@AlexJEdits]

Nice monologue He did a good job in manhunter I really believed he was an FBI expert

[@kimchen5775]

Love watching him in anything he does

[@rossdiamondthief6627]

It’s just such a crying shame William Petersen didn’t become the major film star he deserved to be. He was apparently offered a lot of major film roles in the 80s and 90s, including Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas and Harvey Dent in Batman. I actually could’ve seen Petersen as Bruce Banner in an 80s Hulk film or Wolverine in X-Men.

[@lonewolfmcquade1873]

True very underrated actor. But i never heard about him being offered to play Dent are you talking about the 1989 version of Batman

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

I think he was actually offered the part of Henry Hill in "Goodfellas".

[@swevicus]

@@lysanderofsparta3708 Indeed. It would have been interesting to see William in the role, but I think Ray in that movie is perfection.

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

@@swevicus I disagree. Ray Liotta had an ugly camera face and an irritating nasal voice. Petersen would have been a much better choice.

[@conorsmith8551]

Wow, William Peterson would have been great in a Batman film

[@wp1953]

He may have dropped his accent, I didn't notice, but I'm quite sure since he was born and raised in Chicago & still has a home there that he didn't have a Southern accent!! I do know the statement "Greatest actor of our time" is most definitely a fitting title for Petersen. There is none better; especially on stage.

[@chericaponetto449]

Very attractive man and a great actor. Not the greatest of all time but a great actor.

[@Tou-Immanuel]

Before I saw the video: That guy from Manhunter? He wasn't that special. After the video: Holy shit!!

[@avenger20sfancasts]

He was great in Manhunter

[@ksbaxter]

After seeing this Billy Petersen is amazing in this scene.

[@jackhamilton9604]

Kyle Baxter you can just say Will Petersen

[@NnyJthm]

O.O Wow. This is... So DIFFERENT from Gil Grissim.. Holy.. ^.^ Wow. THis IS the BEST monologue.

[@conorsmith8551]

If american psycho had been made in the 90s, there are three people who I would have loved to see play Patrick bateman. Alec baldwin, ralph fiennes and William Peterson... Definitely William Peterson after manhunter and this would have been such a cold, intense figure; and based of manhunter and this, wow would have been quite something to see

[@MrCarpen7er]

Petersen

[@conorsmith8551]

@@MrCarpen7er apologies

[@ariannasophea6243]

This way different from the Grissom I know

[@TheSoccer484]

Ikr so different but he's still smoking hot 🔥🔥

[@Snicki1946]

Wow, just... WOW.

[@jfitz1275]

i know im gonna get hounded for this, but... i wasn't a fan. it seemed kitsch and over-acted. it lacked any form of subtlety. and for me, the icing on the cake, right in the beginning, at about 0:41, he looks directly into the camera; that threw off the entire rest of the speech for me.

[@WhocaresWhy44]

I tried saying "Fuck Dion" a hundred times in the mirror hopeless. Petersen nailed it.

[@mickeydougal]

I think it was around '93 to '95. I guess I should have mentioned Petersen wasn't in it all that much. But it's a really good story anyway. Btw, I think we all looked younger and skinnier 15 yrs ago, lol.

[@WhocaresWhy44]

Yup william Peterson is matchless.

[@BrisLS1]

Never seen this film, thanks! Is it streamable? Peterson was under-cast, not enough leading roles, the way I saw it. Live and Die was good, but still a “cops and robbers” kind of story.

[@joewiedmeier6414]

That's my guy

[@deandrec42]

this is my boy. the best..

[@WhocaresWhy44]

The best non Italian playing one EVER!

[@Delya13]

" Awsome ".......... love him ...... .

[@MegaTreblinka]

Is insain....jsut great, i have no words...

[@deborahbesnia6831]

He is amazing!

[@gladehatch]

A solid performance. Would I call it the best acting of our time? Absolutely not. I agree with the other comments that say this performance is really only different levels of anger. It's actually a very stereotypical angry gangster performance. I could mention half a dozen other actors that do twice the job of being a mobster. Also, I must disagree with your comment in the description about actors today not taking the screen for more than thirty seconds, it confuses me actually.

[@ThePitchblue]

I agree, this is shit. it's shallow and forced. but I don;t think it's petersen, because to me it seems that the dude is actually talking to a lamp. the other guy, who's btw cringey as hell, was just thrown in later. look at the angles and synchronisation, and you'll find zero. chemistry as well, none. they never share screen time. why, it's beyond me.

[@FancySilverRobot]

The greatest is correct

[@BillyxRansom]

well fucking said. i'm no actor, never been to school for it or onstage or in front of a camera for it, but i can see every point you made with this.

[@richardholmes5691]

William Petersen is a classically trained actor and if one cannot discern the Shakesperian chops here, you need to watch this cut again. He may not have always made the right choices for scripts....but he is a master in movies like To Live and Die in LA and Manhunter.

[@WhocaresWhy44]

Let's make Bobby C Chief of Police in Oakland. What he describes in Kingdom is what we have here.

[@WhocaresWhy44]

Daubing the cuffs. Then the "fuck dion!" It's all there.

[@mickeydougal]

Get the movie. It's excellent.

[@DJ.Timski5052]

"I AGREE with you AGAIN people should get the movie to add to their collection I have it". "Of course I also have the movie "Scarface" & "Invasion USA" starring Chuck Norris".

[@OnafetsEnovap]

Not an easy find - the DVD is loooooong out of print, so it's easier to track down a VHS copy, but even that's a challenge.

[@drvannostran3165]

You want to see acting? Watch the great Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness.

[@mickeydougal]

Alrighty then...

[@Vijay-tg7hf]

groovy...

[@mickeydougal]

@jwklbm326 try playing to your audience instead of trying to please your teachers. Based on his career, I'd say Petersen's audience has been quite pleased, no matter what you or your teachers might think. It sounds like just a bit of envy in your criticism.

[@swevicus]

Happy Birthday, William Petersen! :)

[@mortallious1234]

Not by a long chalk, but opinions are like arseholes, we all have them.

[@CptOriginal]

Hes ok but greatest. Bitch please Robbin Williams called, hes attending a party with George Cloony and James Earl Jones

[@dkm4567]

You just listed the two of the most overrated actors of all time. Not including James Earl Jones. Congrats.

[@mattsager914]

guarantee Gandolfini got some inspo from this

[@GuitarGangsterArmi]

He did a good job in the film Fear

[@deadandburied7626]

Shame about the obscenities.

[@dfangirl72]

@mickeydougal was taking a break from quantum leap series " obsession " on KZbin clicked on William Peterson who I've thought was 😍since forever . regardless of yr he's just gorgeous .I've seen him play a lot of " cameo " parts in movies .

[@mickeydougal]

Ha! You know Al peed his pants just a little bit.

[@DJ.Timski5052]

"LOL hahahaha in real life yeah, Al probably would have wet himself". "I would love to be with the woman that played Al's wife". "If I were married to her I would renew wedding vows every year as she is my type of woman & HOTTER THAN HELL!!!!!!". "That's my opinion anyway, No bull sh*t".

[@WhocaresWhy44]

Checking out his shirt cuffs. Yup. Just watched Michael Franzese check his during an interview for White Underbelly.

[@hobbygamer6220]

I seriously want this guy on the Jon-Bonet Ramsey case NOW !

[@mickeydougal]

I was afraid some might think that an overstatement.

[@DJ.Timski5052]

"NOT an OVER STATEMENT AT ALL I AGREE WITH YOU 100%+ the words he used in that scene were proper & realistic of the Mafia". "His attitude, facial expressions & body language was so realistic one would ask themselves was he acting?". "Anyway, I AGREE with you again 100%+ it was ONE of the BEST acting performances in the history of American cinema".

[@DJ.Timski5052]

"If anything it was NEARLY an understatement with the word "Possibly one of the best acting performances in the history of American cinema, IT WAS".

[@mickeydougal]

@BornXinXcostaXrica definitely not a blockbuster film. But a good story nevertheless. Hardly "crap." Could easily take awards at Sundance or Cannes.

[@kristennoelle9447]

My Goodness I loved this man..great actor!

[@mickeydougal]

Not bad dialogue. "I'll eat your soul" works better than "I'd eat your soul," though. Sounds more certain, not so iffy.

[@mickeydougal]

@jwklbm326 Next time I see him, I'll pass on your acting advice to him.

[@bethabdallah6518]

Well damn. I've always been a fan but that was wow.

[@mickeydougal]

Interesting comparison to J.S., but I'll buy it...

[@festyosemtex]

To be honest I think he does very well, but he has very unrealistic dialogue to work with. My opinion only.

[@GaryPvt]

Looks like Gary private.......huh?

[@seandriscoll4544]

04:11 BREAKFAST

[@getlikemc]

i think he overracted there a bit, but that might be the whole point

[@deanmccallum3650]

"greatest actor of our time" a statement like that is going to attract some criticism. It's your opinion and your entitled. Thank you for posting the clip. I enjoyed pieces of it. I was distracted around 2:50 it sounds like he drops his characters accent. It sounds a little southern.

[@mickeydougal]

The title isn't about attracting criticism as much as attracting viewers. And it worked, didn't it? ;)

[@DontPanic2088]

Mob guys don't have facial hair....

[@mickeydougal]

DontPanic2088 You talkin' ta me? You talkin' ta me??

[@CW-dl2dd]

DontPanic2088 No but they have shine boxes

[@DJ.Timski5052]

"NOT TRUE".