Willy DeVille 'the actor' - a filmography

Except that the music of Willy "Mink" DeVille appears in dozens of soundtracks Willy himself also played a few times in a movie. Yes Willy DeVille was an actor, usually as himself in musical documentary's, concertfilms and TV shows (Saturday Night Live) but also a few times as an (supporting) actor in films. Which twice with New Yorker Mickey Rourke, the two liked each other. These were always tough gangster films and thrillers in which both played rebellious antihero characters. A brief overview:


Va Banque (1986)
Writer: Diethard Küster
Genre: Comedy | Crime
Willy DeVille as Hustler
Plot: Va Banque is a lively drama about three ordinary and disillusioned citizens who decide to rob an armored car.


Homeboy (1988) [Dutch]
Writer: Mickey Rourke (screenplay)
Genre: Drama | Romance | Sport
music: Eric Clapton
Willy DeVille as Moe Fingers' Bodyguard
Plot: Johnny Walker is a cowboy and a boxer. He is very shy and a bit of a fool. He is in love with Ruby, but he cannot tell her. He is also a bit old to keep on boxing, but its the only thing he does well.


Body & Soul [Satans Clipfabrik in German](1988)
Runtime: 33 min (TV film)
Director: Gianpaolo Tescari
Genre: Musical | SF | Short
Actor & Composer: Willy DeVille as Willie, with Solomon 'Body' Burke, Fausta Maria Rigo as Nina and Tomas Arana as Heller.


Bullet (1996) [Dutch]
Writers: Mickey Rourke and Bruce Rubenstein
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama
Willy DeVille as Willy Lookout, w/ Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur
Plot: Butch "Bullet" Stein is a Jewish junkie from the mean streets of Brooklyn, is paroled after eight years in prison. Butch rips off a runner for local drug dealer, Tank, and is soon right back into his old habits of snorting coke and shooting up heroin with his best friend Lester.

This movie is in 9 HD episodes (about 10 min.) at Youtube: starting with 'Bullet 1 of 9'.
In 'Bullet 4 of 9' (at 3:50) Willy Lookout shows up for a few secs.


Beautiful Losers (TV 1997)
Director: Diethard Küster
Genre: Documentary
Willy DeVille as Himself with the band and with Leonard Cohen, Marianne Faithfull Jack Nitzsche and more
Release Date: 29 July 1997 (Germany)


Born to Lose: The Last Rock and Roll Movie (1999)
Director: Lech Kowalski
Genre: Documentary
Willy DeVille as Himself with Johnny Thunders, Wayne Kramer, Dee Dee Ramone, John Spaceley, Sylvain Sylvain, Mick Webster
Plot Keywords: Misery | Band | New York City | Mysterious Death | Concert


Cypress Edge (2000) [Dutch]
Writer: Serge Rodnunsky
Genre: Drama | Thriller
Willy DeVille as Alfred Waxman, with Rod Steiger and Brad Dourif
Plot: Reeling from the news of his sister's suicide, Beau McCammon returns home to his family after a long absence. His father, who has just barely won another term as senator, doesn't take things well when Beau approaches him with the sinking suspicion that the suicide may have actually been a murder.

Overview of Willy DeVille's complete filmography including soudtracks and music department at The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)


Assassin Of Love footage from Satan's Clipfabrik (thanks to Aggie)


Willy DeVille - Talking about Johnny Thunders in Born To Lose (thanks to Aggie)


Willy DeVille - Beautiful Losers - very interesting documentary by Diethard Küster.
[Thanks to Aggie]
Willy DeVille - Beautiful Losers part 1
Willy DeVille - Beautiful Losers part 3

Soundtrack In The Land Of Women (2007) | Mink Deville – Spanish Stroll

(this article was previously published at www.vdh-online.nl)