DEATH SENTENCE is a thriller loosely based on the 1975 book by Brian Garfield. Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is a mild-mannered executive with a perfect life until his son (Stuart Lafferty) is murdered by a gang as part of an initiation ritual. When the murder Joe Darley (Matt O’Leary) is found not guilty, Hume takes the law into his own hands. Now he must protect his family from Darley’s brother (Garrett Hedlund) and the gang’s vengeance.
Matt plays Joe Darley, younger brother of Billy Darley, a gang leader. To be initiated into his brother’s gang, Joe must commit a murder. He hesitates, showing that deep down Joe has a conscious, but the desire for his older brother’s approval is stronger. Matt, as always, brings the comic relief to an otherwise dark film. While standing in the road, cussing at the gang for leaving him behind, Joe is suddenly hit by a car. You would not think someone getting hit by a car would be funny, but Matt pulls it off. Yet at the same time, he still looks like someone you would not want to run into on the street. “I’m always going to be a dangerously underweight guy,” Matt explains in an interview for NWI.Com, “(But in) DEATH SENTENCE, I look bad ass! My character (doesn’t) say many words, but I did see the movie, and afterward, people said, ’You were creepy as hell.’ I kind of fell into the physicality of the character. It blew me away watching the transformation.”
Matt Screen Time
A decent amount in the beginning of the film.
Awards
- Nominated for Best Fight -- Freddy Bouciegues & Steve Ritzi
- Nominated for Hardest Hit -- Nick Stanner
- 2008 World Stunt Awards
- Nominated for Best Performance in a Feature Film for Supporting Young Actor in Fantasy or Drama -- Jordan Garrett
- 2008 Young Artist Awards
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