Quintin Jardine's blog

I don’t like to pan things; I don’t recall ever doing a review for money. Even when I was a  very rookie reporter, sent along to cover the local drama society, I always gave the actors ten out of ten for enthusiasm, even when they had no discernible talent. I was much the same as a football reporter. The good was praised, the rest was overlooked. For example I never reported something I saw at Fir Park on a non-match day, a first team footballer stopping for a cigarette break halfway through a training session.

However . . . last night I tuned in to a Sky movie called ‘Damage’. It was set in the alleged world of bare-knuckle fighting, UFC without the subtlety, and it starred ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. For those who don’t know, ‘Stone Cold’ was a WWE superstar, top man in his time. These days, such guys have to possess microphone skills, and they all play characters. But that doesn’t necessarily make them actors; they can’t all be Duane Johnson, and very few should try. Put it this way. While Vinnie Jones will never appear as Hamlet, ‘Stone Cold’ lacks the skills to play even Yorick. Sorry, Steve, you were a great wrestler.