The Visitor's Star, Richard Jenkins

With The Visitor, 61-year-old Actor Got His First Leading Role

Mar 4, 2009

Richard Jenkins didn't win the Oscar, but after acting in more than fifty movies and television roles, the recognition was more than he ever imagined he'd receive.

Jenkins work is known and respected by many, but unfortunately until now, most people couldn’t put a name to his face. Fans referred to him as “The dead dad from Six Feet Under," or “The gay cop who accidentally took LSD and was running around in his underwear from Flirting with Disaster." He’s a favorite with directors such as the Coen and Farrelly brothers, but always as a supporting character. Until now.

McCarthy Wrote Role Specifically for Jenkins

Thomas McCarthy, the actor-turned director who penned The Visitor, was also responsible for the critically acclaimed 2003 film The Station Agent. After meeting Jenkins and talking to him over lunch several years ago, McCarthy began writing The Visitor with him in mind. When McCarthy showed Jenkins the script, he loved it, but was convinced that no one would give them the money to make it if he played the lead.

Story Explores the Life of the Isolated, Lonely Professor

In The Visitor, Jenkins plays Vale, a lonely professor who lives in Connecticut in a huge house that he once shared with his deceased wife. He works part-time, and is working on his next book. Watching him interact with others, the viewer quickly comes to the conclusion that Vale is only teaching one class so that he can avoid interactions with other people, with the world in general.

Vale co-authored a paper with another professor, and is told he must go to New York and present it at a seminar. He reluctantly agrees to go, and walks into his New York City apartment to find a woman in the bath. He soon finds out that Zainab (Danai Gurira) - the woman in the bath - and her boyfriend Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) have been renting his apartment from someone named Ivan for the last 2 months.

Character Learns to Reach Out, Connect with Others

Vale decides to let them stay until they can find a new place, and he and Tarek slowly become friends. Tarek begins to teach Vale how to play the Djembe, an African drum. After Tarek is unjustly arrested when he and Vale are in the subway, Vale discovers that Tarek and Zainab are in the US illegally, and does everything he can to free his new friend from the detention center.

Jenkins carries the entire film, appearing in almost every scene. His performance is subtle and mesmerizing, as the viewer sees how Walter Vale’s interactions with Tarek and those close to him change who Vale is, pulling him back into the world. Vale sees how isolated he’s become, and finally begins to reach out to others. By the end of The Visitor, Vale is finally living a life of joy and doing something he loves.

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