Elsbeth is a truly fun and endearing character, with Carrie Preston’s performance still excellent after all these years in the role. But, with so many outstanding guest characters who feature in both The Good Wife and The Good Fight, Elsbeth narrowly misses the top spot. That honor is reserved for Louis Canning, played by the legendary Michael J. Fox.
Michael J. Fox has played many iconic roles throughout his career, often creating beloved characters who have endured in our pop culture mainstream. Canning takes the likability Fox has built throughout his entire career and turns it on its head as he plays against type as this conniving and manipulative lawyer. Even with the long list of famous characters he’s played, his turn as Canning has made one of the biggest impacts on his acting legacy.
Known for Being the Nice Guy, Michael J. Fox Plays Against Type With Louis Canning
Since the 1980s, Michael J. Fox has played many beloved nice-guy roles that people still strongly identify him with. Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties and Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy are the most noteworthy, but the list doesn’t stop there. These depictions are known for their charm and charisma and are often thought of in a wholesome fashion. Louis Canning, who debuted on The Good Wife, is a different sort of part for Fox, as he takes on the role of one of the show’s recurring antagonists.
Canning is a brilliant use of Fox’s persona and likability, turning it around and defying expectations of whom this character is — a serial liar. As a lawyer, Canning would do whatever it takes to win a case, including lying, manipulating, and playing a bit loose with the law. He has a strong rivalry with the show’s protagonist, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), and exasperates her and the other lawyers at her law firm, Stern, Lockhart & Gardner. Even though Fox is playing against type, his charisma is still at the forefront of Canning. Canning is a bit more of an enigma than we’re used to seeing from Fox, with lots of flaws and secrets underneath his shifting demeanor. Canning is well-developed and well-written, with many layers that slowly unfold through each appearance.
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Louis Canning Would Be Almost Irredeemable if It Weren’t for Michael J. Fox’s Charisma
A person as morally questionable as Canning would likely be seen merely as a villain and possibly irredeemable if it weren’t for Michael J. Fox’s unique spin. After years of playing the likable leading man, Michael J. Fox takes advantage of the audience’s perception of him. The actor also uses his real-life physical disability as a character ploy to feed into the development of Canning — taking something that has garnered him sympathy in real life to create one of TV’s most unsympathetic antagonists.
Not only does Canning allow Fox to show a different side to his acting, far from the sort of typical lead role he usually plays, but it also shows a different side to disability. “I wanted to prove that disabled people can be assholes too,” says Fox. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991, while Canning has a condition that causes erratic body movement, similar to dyskinesia, which is a side effect of Parkinson’s. “I just knew this was a perfect opportunity to funnel a lot of my life experience into a character and be coy with it and kind of let it out in dribs and drabs and see if I can make it an effective tool for him to do his job, as opposed to something that prevented him from doing his job,” Fox explains.
Louis Canning Is a Part of Michael J. Fox’s Enduring Acting Legacy
Michael J. Fox’s portrayal of Louis Canning has altered the nice-guy persona of his career’s legacy. His impact on The Good Wife was immediately felt as it was initially supposed to be a one-off appearance, which developed into over 26 episodes that he featured in. With over six years of embodying Canning, bringing him to both The Good Wife and its spin-off The Good Fight, the role has also garnered Fox multiple Emmy nominations.
In his extensive repertoire of beloved iconic characters, Fox has now added Louis Canning into the mix of what he’s known for. Canning is not only a layered and interesting person, but also a showcase of the immense talent that Fox has as an actor. It shows he’s capable of working with a diverse range, which may have been underestimated until his take on Canning. By playing against type and using his disability as a manipulative asset, Michael J. Fox defies expectations. Canning is arguably one of Fox’s most complex and interesting portrayals and a totally unexpected turn late in the actor’s career. Because of the character development, the show’s writing, and, of course, Michael J. Fox, Louis Canning is easily the best character to emerge from The Good Wife and The Good Fight.
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The Good Wife
Alicia Florrick has been a good wife to her husband, a former state’s attorney. After a very humiliating sex and corruption scandal, he is behind bars. She must now provide for her family and returns to work as a litigator in a law firm.
- Release Date
- September 22, 2009
- Cast
- Julianna Margulies , Matt Czuchry , Archie Panjabi , Graham Phillips , Makenzie Vega , Josh Charles , Christine Baranski , Alan Cumming , Zach Grenier , Matthew Goode , Cush Jumbo , Jeffrey Dean Morgan , Chris Noth
- Seasons
- 7
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- Release Date
- February 19, 2017
- Seasons
- 3
The Good Wife and The Good Fight are available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Watch The Good Wife on Paramount+
Watch The Good Fight on Paramount+
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