Battle of the Silken-voiced Scoundrels?

To be honest, I don't really feel the need to write a versus piece on Pryce and Rickman. Still, I came across one (surprisingly, even though both of them ending up in a sexy list was more surprising to me) on the Internet. It seems I already developed my counter weight comparison for these gentlemen (gentlemen, cause for once I'm sure that's what they both are). (Should I add images?)


Alan Rickman vs. Jonathan Pryce
Battle of the Silken-voiced Scoundrels

Why are the most compelling film villains British? From Grand Moff Tarkin to Hannibal Lecter to Scar the cartoon lion, the memorable villains are the ones whose elegantly modulated voices and slightly effete mannerisms disguise their true purpose: Eeeeevil. Of course, now the evil British dandy is such a stock film character that the elegant voices and effete tics are more likely to amplify the eeeeevil than they are to mask it.

Now that Jeremy Irons has left the Die Hard With a Vengeances and Dead Ringerses of his career behind him in favour of concentrating on roles that require him to play repressed men who hook up, somehow, with transgendered Chinese opera stars, Jonathan Pryce and Alan Rickman are left to duke it out between themselves for the title of Designated Urbane-yet-Physically-Unintimidating Criminal Mastermind.


Yeah, that would scare you, wouldn't it?

Pryce can sing, which has meant he's played smarmy bastards in recent operettas like Miss Saigon and Evita. Though no one saw it, he played an eeeeevil Vatican operative in Stigmata. He's also been tapped for that most prestigious of villain roles: Bond Antagonist. Rickman, for his part...well, yes, Rickman's character in Die Hard -- his most striking villainous turn (and arguably among the greatest villains in contemporary film) was German. But he's still British, and uses the accent through most of the film. You think of him as British even though he's called Hans Gruber. You know you do. He also played the eponymous Rasputin, and the svengali Lukas Hart III in Bob Roberts.

All of the above roles should have a few attributes in common: Smooth. Suave. Annoyingly sexy. And here's where the combatants pull away from each other. With his bug-eyes and Brazil cred, Jonathan Pryce has a certain geek appeal, but those few who did see Stigmata didn't come out of it raving about the magnetic pull of Cardinal Houseman; they were jonesing for Gabriel Byrne. When Alan Rickman shows up, even as the embodiment of eeeeevil, he still maintains all of the charm and charisma that were on display in Truly, Madly, Deeply and Sense and Sensibility. Bad teeth and all, he's the mack.

Advantage: Alan Rickman. He has more hair, and he's sexier.

Source: http://www.fametracker.com/2_stars_1_slot/rickman_pryce.php
The sexy list: http://filmreviews7.wordpress.com/2009/05/24/100-sexiest-actors-100-91/

I don't completely agree with the conclusion. Yes, I suppose Alan is more sexy/attractive, but Jonathan can be utterly adorable. Just check him out in Carrington. He plays the gay writer Lytton Strachey. Wonderful character, and Jonathan makes him completely adorable and lovable.