Philo Gant

"Might I have the pleasure of your name....before I have you run through?" "Course, can't put much stock in a man who spends most part of a conversation talkin' to a bear." "You know what will be said about this in Spain, don't you?" "I collect swords, you see. I take them from the men I've killed." "Childhood's over the moment you know you're gonna die." "You ask God for help and I'll stop the moment he shows up."

WARNING: THERE ARE VIDEOS AND PHOTO GALLERIES ON THIS PAGE AND IT MAY LOAD SLOWLY

It is said that Michael Wincott is an actor who "lives the character" and he himself says, "You have to be careful so you don't make your character dull and predictable. Sometimes you have to bend the script a little". Well, just watch three different movies and you'll see three different characters, but not Michael. He blends in like a chameleon. Mind you, a gorgeous one.

This section of michaelwincott.org delves into some of the memorable characters Michael has so deftly brought to life. There are screen capture photo galleries, Flash videos, and my review of the film.

Paranoid music promoter . . .

Philo Gant from Strange Days

Get Jacked In: Strange Days

A review by Laura

Strange days indeed, those leading up to the turn of the last century, however the end of 1999 as seen through the eyes of James Cameron and directed by Kathryn Bigelow thankfully did not come true. The film "Strange Days" explores a bleak Los Angeles on the eve of the 21^st century where racism rears its ugly head, people have become so sated with standard entertainment that they have to get pleasure from more extreme forms, and cops are the bad guys. This violent and frenzied movie seems dated, yet timeless in its portrayal of human faults and evil deeds.

Main character Lenny Nero, (Ralph Fiennes) is supposed to be the "hero" type, however he's just as sleazy as the "villains." The former cop now hawks things on the black market and specializes in "playback," a kind of virtual reality point of view neurological experience. Intense personal dramas can be your own through the use of a piece of equipment that sends the signals of the movie right into your brainwaves. Yeah, ridiculous for 1995, but not for today, right?

Nero's obsessed with his ex-girlfriend, Faith, (Juliette Lewis) and he plays their happier times over and over on the device called a "squid." He's addicted to "jacking in" which has become like a drug on the streets. Faith has a new boyfriend, Philo Gant (Michael Wincott) who is a music agent/producer of sorts. This doesn't sit well with Nero and when one of Gant's top acts, a black rapper named Jeriko One is killed, Lenny somehow gets involved. However, without the help of Lenny's friend, Mace (Angela Bassett) he would be killed due to his own bumbling ineptitude.

A mutual friend of Nero and Faith was there when the murder went down. She is graphically tortured and killed and her death is recorded. The tape ends up with Lenny. He immediately thinks Faith is in trouble. The plot is a little weak here and seems to mostly be filler for the VR scenes of violence and sexual perversion. In fact, Kathryn Bigelow took a lot criticism for her treatment of women in the movie.

Riots break out because of the singer's death at the hands of LA cops. Because it's the 90s the movie was required to have at least one car chase. This one involves an armor plated limo, so that's a little unique. Bad cops chase good guys. Faith sings poorly in a frenetic night club. Lenny sweats and looks confused. Mace shows off her muscled arms and points guns at people. Tom Sizemore wears one of the worst wigs in recent cinema. The New Year's Eve party looks fun though.

Generally, Cameron and Bigelow were torn between making a Terminator-ish, Blade Runner-esque movie or presenting a way too long music video for MTV. All of the performances were so lackluster it's hard to believe such normally talented people were in the film. The scatterbrained approach to the story, or lack of, made you feel like you spent too many hours hooked into your own "squid" and missed some of real life. Basically it's a disturbing film.

Okay, so a rundown of Michael's part. Philo seems to be a bit of a control freak. He likes to smoke while hanging out in exclusive clubs, has an entourage of odd looking people, and generally abuses his women. Gant doesn't like to wear shirts for some reason, which is fine as it shows off his hot rocker body. He plays guitar and is a paranoid "playback" junkie. His hair is pretty nice and what clothes he does wear are fashionably flashy. If you are a fan this is a good one. Unlike the other actors in "Strange Days," Michael's performance is the best because it's subdued and natural. Ho-hum no surprise there. He's always good.