10 Subtle Signs Movie Characters Were Getting Smarter

There are few actors able to boast the sheer range that Michael Sheen can, brilliantly portraying drastically different characters across the likes of Frost/Nixon, Good Omens, Underworld, and more. However, arguably one of his best and most accurate roles came in The Damned United.

While manager of Derby County, Sheen's Brian Clough was spurned by then-Leeds United manager Don Revie (Colm Meaney), which kicked off a rivalry of sorts between the two. Perhaps not so much a rivalry, but a vengeance in Clough that wouldn't be satisfied until he beat his counterpart. At first, he thought the key to this was a smart player to control the game, so he brought in Dave Mackay (Brian McCardie). Derby subsequently lost 5-0 the next time they played Leeds.

There was a conversation between Clough and his assistant manager Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) after the game in which they spoke about how their striker John O'Hare (Martin Compston) had been bullied. This was where Clough subtly seemed to pick a new aspect that could improve the team rather than in midfield or defence. 

In the team talk before the next game against Leeds - the only game the manager cared about - Clough gave O'Hare special attention and had clearly been working with him in training. The result was the striker scoring both goals in a 2-1 win against the supposed best team in the country, as Clough learned from his mistakes and, after being embarrassed by Leeds, found a way to win next time.