Commentary — ‘Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters’ Allows For A Unique Character Portrayal
by Frank Martin
It’s not uncommon for different actors to play the same role — especially if the character is being depicted in different periods of his or her life. Sometimes actors are given prosthetic make-up to make them look older, but it’s nice when stories are able to utilize family members to play the same character at multiple periods of their life. This is a rare occurrence that usually happens in different installments of a given series (like The Crown), but Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was able to utilize a father-son dynamic within a single season of television. It’s a very unique situation that allows viewers to see a nuanced familial portrayal of a single character.
Both Kurt Russell and his son, Wyatt Russell, portray Lee Shaw. The character (as played by Russell the younger) is a member of the United States military who, through happenstance, finds himself becoming a founding member of Monarch, the secret government agency that monitors Titan activity all over the world. Because of an accident, Shaw becomes trapped in the realm of the Titans under the Earth’s surface, where time moves slower. When he emerges, twenty years have passed and Monarch is wary of his return. They try to hide him away, but after Godzilla attacks San Francisco, he jumps back into the fray as an older man, now portrayed by the elder Russell instead of his son.
The key to Shaw’s character here is that there is a definitive dividing line between the time Wyatt Russell plays the character and his father. The younger Shaw is a man surrounded by friends and tries to build something from scratch. He’s hopeful and optimistic. But once Kurt takes over the character, his friends are gone and the man has become disillusioned with the organization he founded. He’s on a mission again, but it’s a much different one. Because of this, the nuanced portrayal between father and son is important. There are subtle differences in the ways the younger actor smiles compared to his father’s gruff disposition. It’s a very unique and interesting acting situation that audience’s should pay close attention to.
Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters is now streaming on Apple+.