Stephen Lang on Quaritch and Playing Tough Guys: “I Left the Man Club Some Years Ago”
tephen Lang has spent decades playing some of Hollywood’s toughest characters, from the military enforcer Quaritch in the Avatar films to the Blind Man in Don’t Breathe. But the 73-year-old actor says his personal view of masculinity has changed dramatically over the years.
In an interview with Disney at their Manhattan offices, Lang spoke about leaving the old “man club” behind. “I left the man club some years ago,” he said.
“My sons are beautiful guys, and my daughters are extremely amazing humans, as is my wife. I have no interest in promoting some idea of masculinity that is either aggressive or more important than anyone else. I play it. I love playing it. I enjoy it. But I, I don’t want to ever be thought of as some lunkhead male who’s promoting some form of alpha masculinity ’cause that’s not who I am and not what I want to do.”
Lang explained that even his iconic character Quaritch isn’t meant to be a traditional “alpha male.” “He acknowledges the power of the women in his life, acknowledges Mrs. Sully as one tough cookie,” Lang said.
“His former partner, who is the mother of Spider [Jack Champion], she was a tough cookie. If I’m getting typed in some way, I don’t mind it because the roles are good. But as I’m, in a way, segueing into older roles, for obvious reasons — and I like that too! I don’t mind getting old. I just want to stay old for a really long time.”
Lang has played many roles that might seem similar at first glance, strong, aggressive men with a commanding presence, but he looks for nuance in every part. “Every character has an aspect like that,” he said. “Quaritch is far more interesting because there’s so many good qualities to Quaritch. And yet, there is this streak — more than a streak — of brutality and of callousness and of cruelty.”
He approaches these roles with care, making sure the characters are complex and human. “As humans, we do contradict ourselves all the time. Our behavior is not consistent,” Lang said. “Our loves, our hates, everything like that, they can change. So I just like to stay on my emotional toes with the character to see where it goes.”
Lang’s reflection comes after a long career of memorable roles, including Quaritch in three Avatar films, Yeager Dragunov in the Sisu sequel, and Igor Draganov in Sisu: Road to Revenge. He says what matters most is whether he can find depth and emotional truth in a role.
“If I can’t love them, nobody will,” he said. This philosophy applies to both his tough-guy characters and his approach to masculinity in real life.
Stephen Lang shows that playing strong, masculine characters doesn’t mean living the part offscreen. His thoughts reveal a modern, thoughtful perspective on masculinity, one that values respect, empathy, and complexity over traditional alpha traits.
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