The Accountant 2's Jon Bernthal puts an important spin on the alpha male – and has since The Walking Dead

Whether it’s beer-chugging blokes using podcasts to fuel anger and hatred in real life or soundbite-spewing scoundrels in films and TV, it seems like there’s a fascination with being mad, 'a lad' or just straight-up bad.

It’s a topic that has created heated debate in recent months with the release of Adolescence on Netflix, which dives into how the rise of the 'manosphere' can have a tangible impact on the psyche and behaviour of young men and boys, who with the wrong role models and without adequate support can make grave mistakes, and who after being told that 'manly' men are emotionally impenetrable can fall victim to mental health spirals.

On the surface, Jon Bernthal’s filmography looks like it could be a macho type’s dream line-up, hardly helping to eradicate the issues laid out above.

In The Punisher, for example, Frank Castle’s body count would make Genghis Khan wince. In The Walking Dead, Shane Walsh often shoots first and asks questions later.

And in The Accountant 2, Bernthal’s Braxton Wolff is a rebel who kills without mercy and takes jabs at pretty much everyone he comes into contact with.

Yet digging deeper into his career, it becomes clear that the star is putting an important spin on the concept of the alpha male.

Make no mistake, it’s tough to call many – if any – of Bernthal’s most prominent characters "role models", but the 48-year-old does regularly use complex roles to ask complex questions.

Study most of his high-profile parts, including in his latest project – a largely testosterone-fuelled, fist-pumping action thriller – and you’ll notice a vulnerability, a tenderness almost, that is often absent from the chest-thumping killers we’ve come to expect in the action genre.

In 2016’s The Accountant, Braxton is a relative unknown, only rocking up on the odd occasion and providing little more than a tidal wave of aggression throughout.

In the sequel, though, we witness an evolution of the character, see a depth that makes him feel more human.

He is still a cold-blooded killer when he wants to be (taking the lives of those who 'deserve' it, of course), but there’s more to him this time around, exemplifying that even the most seemingly 'hard' men can still experience sadness, misery and trauma.

Braxton’s emotional depth is laid bare during his introductory phone call, if in a humorous way, as he’s seen practically begging to adopt a puppy so that he has someone in his life to look out for, and who can look out for him.

The character’s vulnerability is hammered home more vividly in a dramatic finale, as his kindness towards the kidnapped children at the crux of the story shines through, with whom he displays a lightness of tone that juxtaposes his mountainous build.

And it’s most touching in a heart-to-heart chat with his brother, Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff, sat atop an RV as the siblings discuss their lives, with Bernthal delivering one of his trademark teary-eyed, fidgety performances that never fail to get under the skin.

It’s important in a film like this, one filled with bloodshed and brutality, that director Gavin O'Connor sets aside beats here and there to get real for a moment, and to dispel the notion that gruff men are always brave and bold, that they have an impenetrable shield that cannot and should not be breached.

In a time of the ever-growing 'manosphere', seeing two 'dudes' being open with and supporting each other sends the right message to the right people – that it’s OK to talk, it’s OK to not to be OK.

While these sorts of moments are rare in the action-thriller sphere, looking through Jon Bernthal’s career, the star has carved out moments and characters like this from the very beginning – often using his roles to interrogate the concept of masculinity, and shine a light on what can happen if it takes a wrong turn.

Look way back to The Walking Dead, for example, and his character of Shane. There’s no doubting that he’s a slightly dodgy dude – there’s a very clear reason he and Andrew Lincoln’s Rick don’t get on too well, after all.

He struggles with his emotions, often exhibiting anger and resentment, even towards those he loves.

But beneath the surface, this is a guy who is trying to protect his people, people that he deeply cares about, even if he’s often too stubborn to admit it.

In many ways, the character is an exploration of what can happen when men are unable to properly process or display their feelings, an issue many face today, and Bernthal expertly peels back the layers of that across two increasingly intense seasons.

And in the Punisher, Bernthal’s most popular role, there is arguably the actor’s ultimate example of the complex alpha figure.

Even from his early appearances in the Daredevil series, he’s more than just a brute – he has heart, he hurts – with the episode Penny and Dime explaining Castle’s motivations in a disarming manner. Bernthal is stunning throughout, his one-on-one with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock providing one of Marvel’s most moving moments.

This follows through to his standalone show. The first season picks up, thematically, from where Daredevil left off, culminating in a harrowing penultimate episode – set in a torture chamber – that proves a masterclass from Bernthal as Frank finally lets his mental guard down and uses his feelings as fuel.

All this is to say, The Accountant 2 is just the latest in a long line of layered, complex male figures from a performer who always wants to say more than the usual "violence is fun", instead aiming to shine a light on the importance of opening up, of being vulnerable, and providing a warning around what can happen if you don’t.

Going this deep on a schlocky action movie and its star might seem a little silly, but injecting humanity into films like this is essential, as these projects often reach the exact audience that needs to see men being vulnerable.

Movies like The Accountant 2 can reel viewers in with violence, gunplay and gore, but they can also leave those same viewers with a different perspective on what it is to be an 'alpha', to be a man – and this is just the latest of Bernthal’s projects to do exactly that.

The Accountant 2 is now showing in cinemas.

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