It’s been a long, long time since Tom Waits last released an album—15 years, to be exact—due to a number of possible reasons, the most consistent of which is the man simply loves to act. His latest onscreen role? Waits stars in Martin McDonagh’s new movie Wild Horse Nine opposite John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Parker Posey. Watch a trailer for the film below.
Set in the 1970s, Wild Horse Nine follows two CIA agents (Malkovich and Rockwell) who plan to overthrow the Chilean government and travel to Easter Island as part of their mission, ultimately testing their trust and loyalty. Waits plays Malkovich’s brother in the film, McDonagh told Vanity Fair, adding, “As soon as Tom pops up on screen, there’s something iconic and mesmerizing about him.” Wild Horse Nine hits theaters on November 6.
This is the second time McDonagh has cast Waits in one of his movies, the first flick being 2012’s Seven Psychopaths. Since then, Waits has acted in a number of independent and auteur movies, including the Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, David Lowery’s The Old Man and the Gun, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. Most recently, Waits reunited with his longtime collaborator Jim Jarmusch for his family anthology film Father Mother Sister Brother.
Waits’ last album, Bad as Me, dropped back in 2011 — the same year he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Music has been sparse from the gravely singer-songwriter ever since then, be it a Blind Willie Johnson cover or his 2018 Marc Ribot collaboration “Bella Ciao.” However, he was just recently confirmed for the Shane MacGowan tribute album; that song will be Waits’ first new studio recording in eight years.
Revisit Amanda Petrusich’s 2006 interview with Tom Waits and read A Brief History of Tom Waits and Jim Jarmusch’s Creative Bromance.
