James Woods’ Sebastian Stark operated beneath three easy guidelines.
- One: Trial is warfare. Second place is loss of life.
- Two: Reality is relative. Choose one which works.
- Three: In a jury trial, there are solely 12 opinions that matter. Yours isn’t one in every of them.
Appears like a person born to thrive amongst the sludge that’s the D.C. swamp.
Stark was the central determine of CBS’ “Shark,” a 2006-2008 authorized procedural that gave the chameleon-like actor a shot at main man TV standing.
World well-known courtroom sketch artist Mona Shafer Edwards appeared as herself in my collection, SHARK. She’s a beautiful individual with the keenest eye and the sharpest pen. I like to recommend her e book, CAPTURED!, a captivating firsthand view into the minds of the responsible and the harmless… pic.twitter.com/3Dl3QrrNud
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 15, 2019
Woods stars as Stark, an uber-successful protection lawyer — his success is needlessly, however humorously confirmed by the reveal of his personal personal courtroom in his residence. Woods’ character is hated by most police and prosecutors for his success charge and his braggadocious perspective.
Stark finds himself turning within the large paychecks for the lifetime of a prosecutor after he faces an ethical dilemma. He efficiently defends a consumer who proceeds to kill his spouse and expects Stark to save lots of him once more.
“Shark” adopted the beats that each CBS procedural debuting in 2006 wanted to, however creator Ian Biederman and little question producer Woods — crammed every hour with extra taste than exposition. Stark has a teenage daughter — performed by Danielle Panabaker — who challenges his bachelor way of life and dedication to lengthy hours after she strikes in with him.
Woods himself additionally delivered a few of his strongest work in a job that seems like a swimsuit tailored for him.
Sebastian Stark had the cutthroat opportunism of “Videodrome’s” Max Renn and the performative sarcasm of “Hercules’” Hades. He blended that with an evolving morality audiences hadn’t seen numerous from Hollywood’s go-to film villain.
“Shark” went into manufacturing with fairly a little bit of weight behind it past the Emmy-winning Woods. Brian Grazer, longtime producing associate of Ron Howard, was working behind the scenes and he managed to usher in Spike Lee because the pilot’s director.
The “Do the Proper Factor” auteur was recent off the success of the Grazer-produced “Inside Man.” That movie proved his greatest industrial hit and it helped clarify why he would direct an hour of tv for CBS.
“It’s the lengthy arm of Think about and Brian Grazer,” Lee stated on the time, in keeping with Selection. “We had an excellent expertise on ‘Inside Man.’”
What additionally gave the impression to be working within the present’s favor was the truth that Woods was associates with then-CBS head Les Moonves. That, nevertheless, didn’t save the present from getting the axe after two seasons. Woods chalked up the failure to the 2007-2008 WGA strike and time slot modifications by the community.
Does anybody bear in mind the short-lived collection Shark starring James Woods? pic.twitter.com/Ehu28MLLQZ
— Kaiser Cowabunga (@KaiserBunga) April 16, 2022
“I feel most likely the strike was as devastating to our future because it was to many different reveals. It appears, looking back, to not be a really fruitful endeavor for lots of people to be on strike. However notably on us as a result of our time slot had been moved towards soccer for the primary half of the season. After which we must always have emerged and proven our energy within the second half of the season when the strike occurred, some by no means obtained an opportunity to show our mettle,” he stated after the cancellation, in keeping with the LA Instances.
“Shark” opens sturdy with Woods and Lee firing on all cylinders and giving a cinematic scope and tempo to community tv. Woods will get lots to play off of, working particularly effectively with Jeri Ryan, who performed a district lawyer within the present’s first season after which teamed with Stark within the second.
Whereas “Shark” acquired a untimely loss of life, the present’s dedication to being extra cinematic and cumulative than different procedurals pays off in offering a multi-part story that gave the collection finale a way of precise decision.
Billy Campbell appeared in three episodes as Wayne Robert Callison, a serial killer who carefully studied Stark’s authorized profession. Callison acts as his personal protection lawyer in “Wayne’s World” the place he will get the possibility to query a girl he brutally attacked.
It appears far-fetched, however hey, it’s CBS and it really works.
After matching wits with Stark, Wayne returns in “Wayne’s World 2: Revenge of the Shark” the place he’s now an acquitted killer with a bestselling e book all about outwitting Stark. Woods and Campbell play off one another like seasoned musicians with every pushing the opposite to the restrict.
Woods confirmed a person breaking down and crossing strains, satisfied it’s for the proper motive, whereas Campbell captured Wayne’s icy, but charming shell.
The tit-for-tat culminates within the collection finale, “Wayne’s World 3: Killer Shark,” the place issues get extra private and determined for every character. Although the ending teased extra may come between the pair, the three episodes act as a powerful trilogy representing what may have simply been a mail-it-in authorized drama.
Talking after the present’s cancellation, Woods stated the collection did an incredible quantity for him personally. What he partly meant was it got here at a susceptible time in his life.
Woods was filming the second episode of “Shark” when he realized his youthful brother, Michael J. Woods, handed away. Manufacturing shut down for 3 weeks. The loss of life got here simply days after the brothers accomplished a cross-country journey collectively.
The third episode of “Shark,” titled “Dr. Feelbad,” was devoted “in loving reminiscence” to Woods’s brother.
“That was their thought. After they first confirmed it to me, I actually was very shocked and simply so moved by it. It broke my coronary heart. I by no means thought I’d consider him when it comes to ‘loving reminiscence’ — that’s for certain. However it was very considerate,” Woods instructed the Seattle Instances whereas nonetheless within the midst of taking pictures “Shark.”
Woods has defined in recent times how his political activism damage his Hollywood profession. It’s laborious to consider somebody with such an eclectic and prolonged filmography can be so shortly forged apart however that seems to be the state of issues since his agent dropped him in 2018, overtly due to politics, in keeping with Woods.
The actor’s final sizable live-action function was in 2014’s “Jamesy Boy.”
The actor has reinvented himself whereas nonetheless remaining as outspoken as ever on X. Woods took to writing an album with Shooter Jennings and helped produce Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” — a truth he was requested to maintain quiet throughout awards season due to, you guessed it, politics.
The actor did recount turning down one gig after being dropped by his illustration and transferring behind the scenes. Woods slapped down a proposal to participate in “Household Man’s” Resistance porn episode the place Peter Griffin bodily fights President Donald Trump.
I used to be just lately provided one other #FamilyGuy episode and reluctantly turned it down for comparable causes. It was so mean-spirited, so completely political, and (worst crime of all) merely not humorous. The rabid hatred of conservative values has ruined comedy. #Unhappy https://t.co/WRDV1s7Bvn
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 30, 2018
It’s unlikely we’re going to see Woods turn into as prolific in entrance of the digicam as he as soon as was — and who the hell would need to after producing “Oppenheimer?” “Shark,” nevertheless, is a few of his final and most interesting work as a performer and proof he may do much more than simply play colourful dangerous guys.
Woods commits to the Stark function so effectively {that a} CBS procedural in some way felt just like the fruits of the profession of an artist who minimize his enamel for many years with cinema’s most interesting administrators. Assume Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and even Silent Bob himself, Kevin Smith.
Certain, “Shark” was canceled too quickly, however Woods didn’t disappoint together with his time on the plate.
Zachary Leeman is the writer of the novel “Nigh” from writer Gilded Masque and has coated politics and tradition for LifeZette, Mediaite, and others.