Fans of Paddy Considine’s performance in Paramount+’s well-received gritty crime drama Mobland will definitely enjoy Considine’s latest performance in the action comedy Deep Cover. The latest highlight in a long career as an actor, writer, and director, Considine shined in MobLand as the son of an unstable Irish crime boss running drugs and guns in London. As the oft-overlooked and embittered Kevin Harrigan, Considine delivered a nuanced and passionate performance throughout the entire first season of MobLand, and wound up as a major highlight of the show as the character with by far the greatest growth.
Paddy Considine is one of the most underrated dramatic actors working today, although he’s had a number of noteworthy roles of late. The most significant, or at least the most widely-recognized, is undoubtedly his role as the afflicted king Viserys I Targaryen from HBO’s megahit spinoff of the Game of Thrones series, House of the Dragon. Like House of the Dragon, MobLand allowed Considine to flex his considerable dramatic chops, but the comedy was a bit lacking from his characters in both shows. His latest movie represents a welcome change of pace, and demonstrates Considine’s acting talent on another level.
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Amazon’s high-concept action comedy Deep Cover might be light on narrative escalation, but it has plenty of laughs and a terrific trio of lead actors.
Paddy Considine’s Deep Cover Is Another Gangster Story After MobLand
Critics Are Loving The Star-Studded British Action Comedy
Amazon Prime’s streaming comedy Deep Cover surprisingly debuted with a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, and while that score has dropped a bit as more critics have registered reviews, it’s currently holding at an 88%, with a Popcornmeter score of 81%. The movie features Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, and Nick Mohammed as a trio of improv actors recruited by the police to go undercover in London’s criminal underworld and infiltrate a dangerous gang. Paddy Considine plays Fly, a mid-level drug dealer who the trio inadvertently manage to impress, furthering their cover.
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Deep Cover – Key Details |
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Director |
Streaming Platform |
RT Tomatometer Score |
RT Popcornmeter Score |
Metacritic Metascore |
Metacritic User Score |
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Tom Kingsley |
Amazon Prime |
88% |
81% |
68/100 |
6.2/10 |
While the tones are wildly different, Deep Cover and MobLand share some major parallels, the most significant being the focus on the seedy underworld of drug dealers and gang warfare in modern-day London. In some ways, there are parallels between Considine’s character Fly and Kevin Harrigan from MobLand, in that both are not at the top of the food chain of their respective gangs, but also command some measure of respect. If you enjoyed Considine along with the plot of MobLand, Deep Cover is a no-brainer for your next watch.
Considine Is Key To Making Both Deep Cover & MobLand Work
His Ability To Transition Between Tones Is Unmatched
Perhaps the strongest aspect of Considine’s acting talent is his versatility, which is on full display in Deep Cover. Given how talented a dramatic actor he is, he has remarkable timing, and is capable of being very funny. In Deep Cover he plays his drug dealer character straight, but with a sort of absurd undertone that plays so well with the fumbling antics of the movie’s three main stars. Considine isn’t the one cracking the jokes, but he’s an important backboard off which the others are able to play.
In MobLand, Considine is an important part of keeping the show on the rails when it often ventures too close to absurdity. Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren are so over the top (complimentary) that the show sometimes runs the risk of becoming silly as opposed to gritty. While Tom Hardy’s calm yet intense performance as Harry Da Souza helps steer things back into serious dramatic territory, it’s Considine’s nuanced and emotional performance as Kevin Harrigan that gives the proceedings some real gravitas when they need it.
Paddy Considine Is No Stranger To Gang Stories
Aside from Deep Cover and MobLand, Considine has made appearances in other crime shows/movies that are narratively similar (like Peaky Blinders, for instance). One of the true breakout performances early in his career came in Shane Meadows’ psychological revenge thriller Dead Man’s Shoes, which Considine was a co-writer on. In the movie, Considine plays a former soldier who returns to England to take vengeance on a gang for their treatment of his brother. It’s easily one of the best performances of his career, and is evidence of how good a fit he is in Deep Cover despite the differing tones.
6/10
- Release Date
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June 12, 2025
- Runtime
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100 Minutes
- Director
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Tom Kingsley
- Writers
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Derek Connolly, Alexander Owen, Ben Ashenden, Colin Trevorrow
- Producers
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Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes