We couldn't help but notice some parallels between Guy Pearce's amazing cop role in "Animal Kingdom" and his breakout role in 1997's "L.A. Confidential."
In both he's an honest cop in a terribly corrupt system on deadly streets where shotguns rule. Except this time he's not hiding his Australian accent and he's showing off a killer 'stache -- circa Melbourne, Australia in the 1980s in which "Kingdom" is set.
When PopcornBiz spoke to the film's star Ben Mendelsohn, he too noticed the "Confidential" parallels in the story: "It's a good point," he says.
But most of all he was impressed with the Pearce mustache, calling it "masterful."
"He turned up on the set with a Civil War hero mustache," Mendelsohn laughs. "I didn't have to say much. My eyebrows raised and I gave him a smile and we had a chuckle. And then we went to work."
Of course Mendelsohn couldn't say much playing the twisted head of a dysfunctional crime family.
"I've got a terrible haircut in the film and he's got a bad 'stache," says Mendelsohn. "Guy and I have known each other for a long time. There wasn't much to say."
That said, both performances are fantastic despite the period hair requirements. And Mendelsohn says that Pearce's backing of the film is a big reason the cameras ever got rolling.
"He carries a tremendous amount of weight," says Mendelsohn. "Guy is a real hero of the Australian film industry."
