Linda Manz.

b. August 20th, 1961.
I had originally planned to get this post done real quickly so I'd have several up in the first week, but this one has proven difficult to write, if only because I really, really admire Linda Manz, and hence the careful balance of filmographic trivia and fanatical raving that I was hoping for with this blog was already looking like it might get skewed in favour of the latter. So I'll get it out of the way straight up: Linda Manz is one of my favourite actors, despite only appearing in a handful of films. I think she's incredible. I promise I'll try and write this without just reiterating that every few sentences.

When she was in her late teens, Manz landed her first starring role in Terence Malick's epically gorgeous Days Of Heaven (1978) Her performance in this film has the same rough-hewn combination of vulnerability and toughness that, to my mind, shines through strongest in her next big role as Cebe, in Dennis Hopper's 1981 film Out of the Blue.

There have been a lot of films which articulate how fucking horrible it is being a teenager, a lot of stars who've conveyed it well - James Dean, Brando, Jake Gyllenhall in Donnie Darko, Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick... most of them are dudes. Teenage girls in films might have troubles, but they tend to have friends or family who support them in some way - they seldom seem as painfully lonely and isolated as their male counterparts. Linda Manz's angry, raw, frustrated portrayal of Cebe is as close as I got as a teenager to seeing a character who seemed as tightly-wound and alone as I felt (which is sorta ridiculous - I had supportive friends and family for Africa; but like everyone else I felt like I was the only one having an existential crisis.) Director Dennis Hopper, as Cebe's drunk ex-con father, gives one of the most unhinged, terrifying, fabulous performances of his career in this film, and I mean, that's a career of playing a whole lot of unhinged, terrifying characters. But Linda Manz wipes the fucking floor with him. Arhg, seriously, just watch the film. It is Pretty Good.

As well as Days of Heaven and Out of the Blue, Manz played Peewee in Phillip Kaufmann's The Wanderers (1979), but after that she pretty much disappeared from movies for a good while. She married Bobby Guthrie, who was the cameraman who put out Michael Jackson's hair when it caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984. They have three sons. After about 17 years away from acting, Manz appeared in Harmony Korine's 1997 film Gummo, playing Solomon's mother. She does that eerie tap dance in front of a mirror. She also gifted Chloe Sevigny (Korine's then-girlfriend) the denim jacked with 'Elvis' sequinned on the back she wore as Cebe. Like I need another reason to be envious of Sevigny's wardrobe.

Before her role in Gummo, People magazine ran a 'where are they now' sort of piece on Manz. In it, casting director Barbara Claman (who discovered Manz for Days of Heaven) explained "Linda was a natural...she was wonderful at being. But there weren't a lot of jobs open for just being." It's a huge pity, because watching Manz 'just be' in a film is such a rewarding experience.

P.S: There is a fanpage for Linda Manz on facebook, and on its wall there is a post which is just....amazing. I'm going to copy and paste it in its entirety, for your edification and amusement: 

 "DO YOU NEED A BODY GUARD MS. LINDA MANZ. I AM AN EXCELLENT DETERENT AND WOULD NEVER CHARGE NOTHING. AN AVERAGE BODYGUARD COST AT LEAST $50,000.00-$75,000.00 PER YEAR FOR A CHEAP ONE. I AM 6ft 6in (78 inches) TALL AND NOT A LINKY STICK BOY. I AM 42 YEARS OLD & I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING. I ALSO HAD OTHER PEOPLE & FRIENDS SAY TO OTHER PEOPLE I AM THEIR BODYGUARD. THAT TOUCHED ME A LOT BUT DON'T MEAN NOTHING. I WOULD MUCH LOVE IT MORE TO BODYGUARD A CELEBRITY OR SIR PAUL McCARTNEY THAT I LIKE AND/OR LOVE. I WATCHED YOUR MOVIE "THE WANDERERS" WHEN I WAS A KID. YOU DONE AN EXCELLENT IN MY BOOK. I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO DATED YOU. I WAS BORN IN 1968 AND A 1980's KIND OF PERSON LIKE YOU ARE. I WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU TO MY 1986 & 1987 HIGH SCHOOL PROM. I GRADUATED IN JUNE OF 1987. THERE IS NOT MANY I WOULD ASK BUT YOU I DEFINITELY WOULD. I JUST WISH I WASN'T OVER 1,800 MILES AWAY. YOU ARE MY TYPE & I DO LIKE YOU. NO LIE! YOU'RE THE BEST. I LOVE YOU PROBABLY MORE THAN RICHARD GERE. I MEAN IT! TAKE CARE."

I hope my obsessive fandom doesn't come across like this.