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      M. Emmet Walsh, ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Knives Out’ Actor, Dies at 88

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      His roles in films like “Knives Out” and “Blade Runner” were sometimes big, sometimes small. But he invariably made a strong impression.M. Emmet Walsh, a paunchy and prolific character actor who was called “the poet of sleaze” by the critic Roger Ebert for his naturalistic portrayals of repellent lowlifes and miscreants, died on Tuesday in St. Albans, a small city in northern Vermont. He was 88. His death, in a hospital, was announced by his manager, Sandy Joseph.The most enduring praise Mr. Walsh received also came from Mr. Ebert: He coined the Stanton-Walsh Rule, which asserted that “no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.”In “Straight Time,” a 1978 film featuring both Mr. Stanton and Mr. Walsh, Mr. Walsh played a patronizing parole officer to Dustin Hoffman’s teetering ex-con. Mr. Walsh’s performance caught the eye of two brothers who aspired to be auteurs and were writing their first feature-film script.The unknown Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the pivotal character of a detective in “Blood Simple” for Mr. Walsh. To their surprise, and despite offering little more in compensation than a per diem stipend, he accepted the role.A performance by Mr. Walsh in “Straight Time” led to a role in “Blood Simple” (1984), the first feature film by Joel and Ethan Coen.River Road Productions/Circle — Sunset Boulevard, via Corbis, via Getty ImagesReviewing “Blood Simple” for The New York Times in 1984, Janet Maslin said that Mr. Walsh had captured “a mischievousness that is perfect for the role.” Writing in Salon on the occasion of the release of Janus Films’ digital restoration in 2016, Andrew O’Hehir praised Mr. Walsh’s portrayal of a “sleazy, giggly and profoundly disturbing private detective.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Liam Cunningham Is Now in ‘3 Body Problem’

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      Born and raised in Dublin, Liam Cunningham speaks in Joycean streams of consciousness that often have no discernible beginning, middle or end. He talks with his hands and taps his feet, salting his anecdotes with friendly F-bombs, catching his breath only long enough to take a puff of his distinctively scented e-cigarettes. They aren’t very popular on the set.“They smell like if you took the cardboard that comes with a dry cleaned shirt and held it over a burner,” said D.B. Weiss, who, with his production partner David Benioff, has given Cunningham choice roles in “Game of Thrones” and now “3 Body Problem.” A heady new science-fiction series, based on a trilogy of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, “3 Body Problem” premieres Thursday on Netflix.In it, Cunningham plays Thomas Wade, the no-nonsense spy master who leads a team of physicists chosen to save the world from a very slow-moving but ominous alien invasion. Unlike Davos Seaworth, the emotionally vulnerable knight Cunningham played in “Thrones,” Wade is gruff, bellicose and secretive, an enigmatic authority figure whose back story left even Cunningham with questions.With Benedict Wong, right, on “3 Body Problem,” Cunningham plays a no-nonsense spy master who leads a team of physicists.Ed Miller/Netflix“So little about him is known, and everybody you talk to that’s seen this thing is like, ‘What’s his story?’” Cunningham said on an Austin hotel patio during the South by Southwest Film Festival, where the series had its world premiere. “He’s got the U.N. Secretary General on the end of the phone, and people do what he tells them to, and you go, ‘Who’s giving him this authority?’ And the funny thing is, I never felt the need to talk to the boys” — Weiss and Benioff, that is — “they never offered, and I never asked, which probably is not a good thing to say, I should probably say to everybody, ‘Oh, I know everything about him, but I’m not telling you.’”Breath. Puff.Cunningham, 62 with salt-and-pepper hair and bright blue eyes, came to acting relatively late in life. He worked as an electrician until he was 29, spending a chunk of his 20s in Zimbabwe bringing electricity to rural communities. “You know the song ‘Wichita Lineman’?” he asks, referring to the ’60s country hit by Glen Campbell. “That was me, except I was the Zimbabwe lineman. For an Irish, pale-skinned elf from Dublin, it was mind-blowing.” For a time he worked in a national park, “the size of Belgium and with 16,000 elephants.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Theater

      Hollywood Actors Are Leaping Into Video Games

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      Onscreen stars have increasingly been going virtual. Jodie Comer and David Harbour are making their video game debuts in a remake of the 1992 horror game Alone in the Dark.A stream of actors who built their careers in Hollywood are making their digital presence felt in video games, a once stigmatized medium that is increasingly seen as a unique storytelling platform with the ability to reach large audiences.Some are voice acting, transferring skills they may have honed in animated movies or TV shows, while others are contributing their likenesses through advanced motion-capture technology that can replicate furrowed brows and crinkled cheeks.Last year, Cameron Monaghan led Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Megan Fox portrayed a character in Mortal Kombat 1, and Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves provided the backbone of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.In this month’s remake of the 1992 horror game Alone in the Dark, both Jodie Comer, who won an Emmy for “Killing Eve” and a Tony for “Prima Facie,” and David Harbour, known for his work on “Stranger Things,” are making their video game debuts. They are among the group of actors meeting younger generations where they already are.“I hope that people are still watching two-hour movies decades from now, but I know they will be playing video games,” Harbour said in an email.In a behind-the-scenes video by the game’s publisher, Comer said that working on the movie “Free Guy,” set in a fictionalized video game, gave her a newfound appreciation of the industry. “It’s so incredible to be able to kind of step out of what you usually do and explore something new, and kind of challenge yourself,” she said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Wonders About the Past 2 Million Years

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      The “Game of Thrones” actor, now hosting a documentary series on climate change, is captivated by genetics research, algorithms and tiny art.Nikolaj Coster-Waldau wants people to step away from the abyss when it comes to climate action.“It’s a very difficult balance,” said the Danish actor, who portrayed Jaime Lannister in “Game of Thrones.” “You want to get people aware, you want to inspire change. But I think we’ve gone overboard by making it into this doomsday.”“It’s exhausting for everyone,” he added. “And it’s not quite true, actually.”In “An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet,” a documentary series from Bloomberg Originals, Coster-Waldau meets with scientists, activists and ordinary folks who have developed ingenious solutions to global issues — things like sargassum that captures carbon on St. Vincent, worms that eat plastic in Spain and a zero-waste village in Japan.It’s an insane endeavor, Coster-Waldau said, but he predicts bluer skies ahead.“The biggest resource, and we keep forgetting that, is that we need each other,” he said. “What humans can do when we pull together, it’s incredible.”In a video call from his home north of Copenhagen, Coster-Waldau — who will play William of Normandy in the upcoming “King and Conqueror” series — discussed why George the Poet’s podcast, miniature art and “3 Body Problem” have captured his attention.These are edited excerpts from the conversation.1Eske Willerslev and His Genetics ResearchWhat he’s doing is understanding who we are by looking back in time. Now they can actually extract DNA from soil samples, so they picked down in northeast Greenland and were able to go back 2 million years. And that means now you can see how this world of ours has changed dramatically many, many times.2‘We, the Drowned’ by Carsten JensenIt’s an amazing novel that I just revisited about Marstal, a small town in Denmark — a seafaring town, a fisherman’s town — and the riders of freight ships from this town. It’s a historical novel, but it’s incredibly well told.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, and Paul Mescal Spark a Thirst for the Irish

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      Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal and Cillian Murphy are among a crop of Irish hunks who have infused popular culture with big Irish energy.Sabrina Carpenter may already be dating an Irish hunk: The actress and singer attended the Vanity Fair Oscars party with the Irish actor Barry Keoghan last Sunday, adding fuel to rumors of their romantic involvement.But any feelings Ms. Carpenter may have for Mr. Keoghan did not stop her from saying she had eyes for Cillian Murphy, another Irishman, in an interview with Vanity Fair filmed before the party. Ms. Carpenter joked that if she saw Mr. Murphy at the event, she would leave with him.After a video of the interview was shared on Instagram, Mr. Keoghan left a comment. It had no words, only two emojis: a person with a hand raised and a shamrock. Another user commented, “She has a thing for the Irish just like me.”Mr. Keoghan, 31, and Mr. Murphy, 47, along with Paul Mescal, 28, and Andrew Scott, 47, have recently infused popular culture with big Irish energy by starring in the films “Saltburn,” “Oppenheimer” and “All of Us Strangers.” As a result, those actors have ushered in a moment for Irish crushes.The film “All of Us Strangers” featured a double dose of Irish hunks: specifically, Paul Mescal, left, and Andrew Scott.Ryan Pfluger for The New York TimesSome of them seem to have leaned into their reputation. Mr. Keoghan appeared on a version of the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue butt naked. His body was only slightly more clothed in a Valentine’s Day campaign by the dating app Bumble; those images, when shared on social media, had some people drooling in the comments.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In the Oscars Audience, Candid Photos From the Ceremony

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      Red carpet photographs are able to convey indelible moments of celebrity magnetism and spectacular glamour. But no step-and-repeat can bottle the crackling anticipation, the eruption of victory, the sting of loss or the quiet exchange between individuals amid a sea of superstars like these candid shots from the audience at Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony.Inside the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, our photographer captured moments viewers may not have caught otherwise. These images offer a peek at the year’s most celebrated actors and filmmakers interacting with one other, and not the camera, as we usually see them. Whether that be Florence Pugh looking intently at Christopher Nolan as she rests her hand gently on his arm; Messi the Border collie sitting poised and unfazed as a man, who is lying on the floor, claps faux paws in his face; Colman Domingo and Danielle Brooks leaning over a seated Da’Vine Joy Randolph with wowed expressions; or Lily Gladstone, Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef standing inches apart, gripping each other, their faces nearly touching.Clockwise from left: Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney. Randolph won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role as a cafeteria matriarch in “The Holdovers.”Amir Hamja/The New York TimesEmma Stone and her husband, Dave McCary, celebrated her best actress win for her role in “Poor Things,” along with her co-star Mark Ruffalo at right.Greta Gerwig, facing away, and Billie Eilish embraced, with Finneas O’Connell behind them. Eilish and O’Connell collected the trophy for best song for “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.”Clockwise from top left: Martin Scorsese; Carey Mulligan; the “Godzilla Minus One” team with their trophies for best visual effects; and Dominic Sessa, a star of “The Holdovers.”Messi the Border collie, a star from “Anatomy of a Fall,” had fake paws held up in front of him to create the illusion that he was clapping.The Gretas (Lee, standing, and Gerwig) held hands.Florence Pugh with her “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan. Their historical drama triumphed on Sunday, winning seven Oscars, including for best picture.Clockwise from top left: Sandra Hüller and Jonathan Glazer, who directed her in “The Zone of Interest”; Cord Jefferson (facing away), director and writer of “American Fiction,” and Jeffrey Wright, its star; Colman Domingo and Zendaya; Christopher Nolan (facing away) and Cillian Murphy.Power players: Steven Spielberg, left, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas. Nolan and Thomas, who are married, produced “Oppenheimer,” along with Charles Roven (not pictured).Robert De Niro, far left. Colman Domingo, who was nominated for the titular role in “Rustin,” and Teo Yoo (in front of him), from “Past Lives,” took a selfie.Colman Domingo and Danielle Brooks chatted with Randolph (seated). Emma Stone leaped from her seat, as John Mulaney presented the award for best sound from the stage.Audience Report is a series that looks at people looking. Produced by Jolie Ruben and Amanda Webster. More

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      Michael Culver, ‘Star Wars’ Actor and Victim of Darth Vader, Dies at 85

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      Mr. Culver, who was best known for his demise as Captain Needa in “The Empire Strikes Back,” was also a familiar actor on British TV and in theater.Michael Culver, the British actor best known for one of the memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise, died on February 27. He was 85.Mr. Culver’s death was confirmed by Alliance Agents, which posted a statement to social media on Tuesday, and his agent, Thomas Bowington. The agency did not give a cause of death, though Mr. Bowington said Mr. Culver had had cancer for several years.He had a long acting career onscreen and stage that spanned over 50 years and included roles in “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” on TV and the 1984 film “A Passage to India.”But his most lasting impact on popular culture came in 1980, with his brief role as Captain Needa in the second “Star Wars” film, “The Empire Strikes Back.” Needa, after losing track of Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon, apologizes to Darth Vader, who promptly chokes him to death telepathically.“Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” Vader says, walking around the captain’s body and motioning for others to take him away.Mr. Culver also appeared in two “James Bond” films with the actor Sean Connery, “From Russia With Love” and “Thunderball.”Michael John Edward Culver was born on June 16, 1938, in London to Daphne Rye, a theater casting director, and Ronald Culver, an actor, according to Mr. Bowington.Mr. Culver performed in several Shakespeare plays and worked regularly with the British director Anthony Page, his agent said.Mr. Culver is survived by his second wife, Amanda Ward Culver, and his children, Roderic, Sue and Justin Culver.His son, Roderic Culver, also became an actor, Mr. Bowington said.Later in his life, Mr. Culver mostly gave up acting to focus on politics and would have likely pursued a political career had he not been an actor, Mr. Bowington said.He still regularly visited Star Wars fan events, notably one in Chicago in 2019, when “he was lost for words” when he saw nearly 200 people waiting in line to see him, his agency said in its statement.In a 2023 interview on the “Making Tracks” podcast, he recalled that he “knew nothing about” the movie before auditioning, and marveled that its extraordinary appeal meant he was still asked about it well into his 80s.“When I did ‘Star Wars,’ it just seemed to be, ‘Oh, they’re doing a movie about starships.’ So I did it. I just thought, ‘Well, I hope it’s successful,’” he said, adding: “You don’t expect 40 years later to be still signing autographs for it.” More

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      ‘Barbenheimer,’ and an Early Start, Boost Oscar Ratings to 4-Year High

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      ABC’s telecast of the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday drew 19.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.The comeback of live event TV continues.ABC’s telecast of the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday drew 19.5 million viewers, hitting a four-year viewership high, according to Nielsen. The live TV audience was up from last year’s 18.8 million, the third consecutive year that Oscar viewership has grown.The ratings report will prompt cheers at ABC and the academy, which bumped the start of the venerable awards ceremony to 7 p.m. Eastern, an hour earlier than usual, in the hopes that more viewers would stick around through the final categories.That approach appeared to pay dividends, as did the numerous nominations for the big box office hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — a change from recent years when more obscure films dominated the ceremony. Jimmy Kimmel also received warm reviews in his fourth outing as host, leaving him one away from matching another late-night star who moonlighted at the Oscars, Johnny Carson.Nielsen said that Sunday’s Oscars were the most-watched network awards show since February 2020, extending a recent trend where viewer interest has perked up for the kind of mass cultural events that struggled during the pandemic.In February, 16.9 million people watched the Grammy Awards, a 34 percent increase from last year. Viewership of the Golden Globes in January rose 50 percent compared with a year ago. The Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers beat ratings records with an audience of 123.7 million. Even ratings for the 2023 Tony Awards, traditionally the least-viewed of the “EGOT” quartet, rose modestly.At Sunday’s Oscars, Billie Eilish sang her pop ballad “What Am I Made For?” and Ryan Gosling delivered a cheeky yet dedicated performance of “I’m Just Ken.” The choreography, which drew on Busby Berkeley films and the Marilyn Monroe musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” was complemented by a cameo by the thrash-rock guitarist Slash and a bevy of supporting Kens from “Barbie,” including Simu Liu.ABC, which has the broadcast rights to the Oscars through 2028, said that it had sold out its advertising inventory for Sunday’s event. The network did not share prices, but advertising executives said ABC had charged $1.7 million to $2.2 million for a 30-second spot, up slightly from last year. Some of the ads turned up in the broadcast itself, like a plug for Don Julio tequila, in which Guillermo Rodriguez, a Kimmel sidekick, offered the beverage to celebrities in the audience.In 2021, for a stripped-down pandemic Oscars held in a Los Angeles train station, only 10.4 million people tuned in. Viewership rose in 2022 to 16.6 million people, in part because of the bizarre spectacle of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.Still, there is no question that TV viewing habits have changed. Before 2018, the Oscars telecast had never dropped below 32 million viewers. More