Top 10 Movie Drug Dealers
#2
Frank Whiteplayed by Christopher Walkenin King of New York (1990)
Abel Ferraras King of New York was very nearly included on my recent Top 10 Gangster Films list but sadly I couldnt justify leaving out any of the films that made the top 10 there. I have such problem here though as King of New Yorks Frank White is one of cinemas most memorable drug dealers, trumped only by the man who Im sure youve all guessed by now is at number one. Christopher Walkens performance as drug lord Frank White is one of his best of all time, he is menacing, ruthless and brutal but still displays a great deal of that trademark Walken charisma. White seems to think of himself as some sort of twisted, modern day Robin Hood, trying to fund a dilapidated Bronx hospital with drug money and remarking to narcotics cop Bishop that he never killed anyone who didnt deserve it. King of New York has a starry cast for an independently made film, with Wesley Snipes, Steve Buscemi and a brilliantly unhinged Laurence Fishburne all present, but it is Walken who engulfs the screen during his every scene. Like much of Ferraras work the film courted controversy upon its release, but it has stood the test of time and in the almost twenty years since its release has become a cult classic. Much like our number one, King of New York has also been heavily referenced in hip-hop culture, with the Notorious B.I.G even referring to himself as the black Frank White.