These 5 cult characters have never said a single word!
From Michael Myers to one of the villains of the James Bond saga via the elephant Dumbo, focus on five cult cinema characters who have the distinction of never having uttered a single word on screen!
On the big screen, there are very talkative characters, who talk a lot. There are also more discreet ones. And others who say almost nothing. And then there are those, rarer, who do not utter a word! From Michael Myers, currently starring in the feature film Halloween Ends, to one of the villains of the James Bond saga, passing by the Dumbo elephant from Disney studios, focus on five cult cinema characters who never take the speech…
Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees in the “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” sagas
The terrible Michael Myers, back in Halloween Ends, currently in theaters, has never said a single word in the thirteen films of the cult horror saga initiated in 1980. In the reboot of Rob Zombie, we can hear him express as a child, but from the moment he finds himself detained in Smith’s Grove hospital, he is completely mute. Note that Rob Zombie had planned to make Myers speak in his film (he would have pronounced his child’s nickname to Laurie) but that he gave up for fear of demystifying the character too much. Another famous big screen killer, Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th saga, is also completely speechless. At the end of the eighth installment of the franchise, while he is burning in toxic waste, we nevertheless hear the child character beg his mother not to let him drown.
Oddjob in “Goldfinger”
In the cult film Goldfinger, worn by Sean Connery in James Bond, there is the great villain of the same name played by the German actor Gert Fröbe. And there is Oddjob, his faithful ally, played by Harold Sakata. A secondary antagonist very strong in karate, who eliminates his enemies with his bowler hat and who… does not say a word. For the record, Oddjob, who will end up electrocuted following a fight with 007, speaks in the video game James Bond 007 released on Game Boy, the Nintendo portable console.
One-Eye in “The Silent Warrior, Valhalla Rising”
Released in theaters in 2009, the feature film The Silent Warrior, Valhalla Rising tells the story of One-Eye, a warrior imprisoned for years by a fearsome clan leader. One day, with the help of a child, he manages to kill his jailer and escapes. They will then embark on a journey into the heart of darkness. In Nicolas Winding Refn’s adventure film, the character of One-Eye (so named because he only has one good eye), played by Mads Mikkelsen, is completely mute but can express himself through the voice of ‘a boy. For the anecdote, the Danish director had the idea that he does not simply speak following a dream. When he woke up, he hastened to warn his co-screenwriter Roy Jacobsen and the idea materialized a few months later on the screen.
Dumbo
Dumbo, a great animated classic from Disney studios released in theaters in 1941, is the story of a little elephant with big ears who arrives, one beautiful spring morning, in a traveling circus. Rejected by everyone, the poor animal finds in a mischievous little mouse a faithful ally, who will help him turn this handicap into an asset. And all… in silence! Because yes, the character of Dumbo does not utter a single word throughout the film, unlike the other animals and in particular the real chatterbox that is the Timothy mouse. And not to mention, this adorable elephant makes you overwhelmed with emotion…
Ada in “The Piano Lesson”
Palme d’or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, The Piano Lesson has the particularity of having a heroine who does not utter a single word. In Jane Campion’s film, the character of Ada, embodied on screen by Holly Hunter, could express herself but decided not to do so at the age of six, for an unknown reason. She conveys her emotions either by writing, or by sign language, her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) serving as her interpreter, or… by playing the piano.
