MoL is having to write something on Charles Bronson. The trouble these days is it has all been said and available on Google.
Bronson is interesting because he was one of the first stars to become a global commodity rather than being just a famous Hollywood actor. There were brighter stars but Bronson was bigger box office, thanks to his following in the Middle East, Asia, especially Japan, and Europe. He saw himself as a product, like a bar of soap, which put him ahead of other actors and anticipated universal branding; more Nike than superstar. He existed beyond acting, offering what he called a presence. Her wasn’t intelligent but he was smart, and a good actor when he had to be, always perfectly balanced. The world might have been different had he taken Leone’s offer to star in A Fistful of Dollars; worst script he’d ever read, he said. He starred three times with Alain Delon, offering a perfect combination of the beauty of beauty/ beauty of ugliness.