A few words about John Ashton
He turned what seemed like forgettable roles into memorable ones.
There’s a universe where the character of Marvin in Martin Brest’s brilliant A Midnight Run is a forgettable character. A rival bounty hunter to Robert De Niro’s lead role, Jack Walsh, Marvin is a step ahead (or two steps) behind throughout the comedy. A dozen actors could have played that part and made it okay or passable, while a couple dozen could have made it seem like a cardboard box that spoke.
John Ashton made it memorable for decades and generations of movie fans, adding enough obnoxious heart and humor to the role in order to make something stick whenever it comes on television. There was a rock star aesthetic to the first time we meet Ashton’s Marvin, where he’s pounding takeout food with a man cuffed in the bathroom nearby. A call comes in to track down the late Charles Grodin’s Duke, and Marvin is off to the races.
He couldn’t keep track of his cigarettes, but knew how to use the butt of a shotgun and the front door in a car in motion as a weapon, and yet was still dumb enough to get outsmarted by the two dumbest members of the mob. In short, he was relatable and human enough to not come off as a minor antagonist in the story. He’s just another working stiff trying to make a good payday.
Ashton helped that all shine through in his work, whether it was Marvin or a cop dealing with Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop or Ed Harris in Gone Baby Gone. Usually a supporting player, he never let the size of the role dictate the effect he could have on a movie. In the latest B.H.C. movie on Netflix, Ashton’s role may be the size of 2-3 scenes, but he makes them all count due to the groundwork he laid in the earlier movies.
You’re waiting for the reunion of Murphy, Ashton, and Judge Reinhold for the entire running time, and when it happens, the screen isn’t long enough. That was what made those movies work so well, and you were left wanting more time with those three.
Ashton always made you want more of the characters he played. Off the screen, according to STL radio legend Kenny “Iggy” Strode, he was a nice guy away from the screen. Strode played in a golf tournament with Ashton, and made a friend for life. He seemed like the kind of fella who could walk into a bar by Arsenal and Smiley, and crack a cold one right next to your elbow. Someone you could complain about the job and the Cardinals with over a handful of beers.
He made you believe in his characters without having to actually leave the common ground of the viewer to go portray them. Hats off to that. Rest easy, Marvin… oh wait, LOOK OUT!