If you are a fan of the show Arrow, it is extremely likely that you are a fan of Stephen Amell. Amell plays the shows lead character, Oliver Queen, also known as the Green Arrow. Amell absolutely nails the role as the vigilante who is feels it is his duty to protect his home of Star City. If you have ever heard the saying, “You have failed this city”, it was Amell who made it famous. You also likely say it back in your head in Amell’s voice every time you come across it.
While Amell rose to fame while playing a superhero, the actor has gone on record saying he would one day like to take on the dark side (you can read more here). Usually actors and actresses fit a certain type, which dictates if they fit the good guy or bad guy category. But these comments from Amell become fairly interesting when you consider the fact that his profile does not scream one or the other. Sure he is great as the Green Arrow, but you can totally picture him as a big bad too, can’t you? I know I can.
And it is actually his portrayal of Oliver Queen that leads me to this belief. Oliver Queen is not your typical hero. Like many heroes, he has gone through a very tragic past. Part of his past includes being away from his home for five years, including time on a “deserted island”, time in a Russian mob and overall just always looking over his shoulder waiting for someone to try and kill him.
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Before his time away, Queen was a cocky kid who had it all, as his family was one of the wealthiest around. As a result, he developed a very condescending personality, and frequently took advantage of others. Now he was humbled by his five year experience, but that did not erase all of his ego. Oliver Queen is simply a man who has a hefty ego, but now he is able to hide it and put others first. But it is still there, and still shows through.
He can also be very tough on his friends. In the current season of Arrow, Oliver has been seen as a total hard-ass to his new team Arrow recruits. He does not take it easy on them when he trains them, and it frequently makes him look like a jerk. At the end of the day, he is simply putting through circumstances that he has been through. He does not see his actions as anything bad, but rather a kick in the ass to help toughen the recruits up.
But it are these traits that help showcase Amell’s diversity as an actor. He is not your prototypical good guy who does no wrong. There are aspects of Queen you want to hate, even though you love the character. And these are the aspects Amell can build around to become a big time baddie.
We know he can play the role of cocky billionaire. So I could very easily see Amell in a Gordon Gekko type of role from Wall Street. Now a straight up remake is probably not in the cards anytime soon given they recently did a new Wall Street movie (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps in 2010), but they could certainly model a role around Gekko for Amell.
Amell is such an easy actor to like, especially if you follow him on his social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). His real life fun personality always shines through, and Amell likes to interact with his fans. So can fans truly be against an Amell character? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: Stephen Amell can totally pull off a classic villain role.