Now that Jonathan Majors appears in two Netflix movies, Da 5 Bloods and The Harder They Fall, which performance do you prefer? Let’s unpack how these two roles compare and contrast. 

Majors plays David, the loyal and compassionate son of former Vietnam soldier Paul (Delroy Lindo), in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods and a bitter, wronged son in The Harder They Fall. Up front, we should say that the two movies have one amazing connection: Majors co-stars with Lindo in both, and the two actors give great performances in both.

However, as Lindo’s son in Bloods, Majors plays a young man with a much milder temper. As a college professor sporting retro T-shirts and caps worn backward, he is at first fully uninterested in his father’s trip back to Vietnam to try to right a wrong and find a hidden fortune. Yet Majors follows him there, trying to reason with his angry father and get him to see that he has mental health problems as a result of fighting in the Vietnam War.

As the story unfolds, Majors’ character begins to show his frustration with Lindo’s ongoing antics. It’s here that audiences get to glimpse a bit of the smoldering movie persona Majors is rapidly becoming known for. Whether he’s trying to cajole his dad to seek help or flirting with his potential love interest (Mélanie Thierry as Hedy Bouvier), it’s a slow burn. Eventually, that explodes into a performance equal to Lindo’s portrayal of his big-feeling pop. 

In The Harder They Fall, Majors is again dealing with daddy issues. As Nat Love, he’s an embittered outlaw whose parents were killed in front of him by the outlaw Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). Love stoically carries a scar carved into his face by Buck as a reminder of how awful and sad life can be. Lindo also stars in THTF, as legendary lawman Bass Reeves, a friend and erstwhile mentor to Love. Unlike the tension-filled character Lindo plays in Da 5 Bloods, Reeves is easygoing and completely confident. This time Majors has a trigger temper, though it comes out mostly when Buck is seen or mentioned. Again, the chemistry between Majors and Lindo is on point as the two actors play men willing to watch each other’s backs and stay loyal to each other. 

However, this time it’s clear that Majors is one of the primary co-stars: He’s a full-on likable hero (or antihero) leading an outlaw gang, rescuing his love and avenging his loss. 

In Da 5 Bloods, Majors has few scenes where he fights or saves the day. Interestingly, though, in both movies his characters’ vulnerabilities are what drives the story forward. In Bloods, it’s his possible fatal injury that brings father and son closer. As he lies injured, still pleading with his father to calm down, the seriousness of the situation temporarily brings Paul back to Earth. 

In THTF, it is after that classic western trope: The big showdown that brings him face-to-face with Buck reduces Love to brimstone anger and a ugly crying breakdown. In those minutes, you see the range of emotions Majors calls upon — which may be why he’s now getting considered for so many projects. As in Bloods, he has a love interest (Zazie Beetz as Stagecoach Mary) in THTF, but this time the flirtations are the familiar ones of a couple who, despite some estrangements along the way, are already in love. Here, the physical attraction is on full display with clutches, kisses and one scene where they are about to make love before being interrupted. Da 5 Bloods has lighter fare, with the sexual innuendo between Majors and Thierry indicated through glances, full-on smiles, casual conversations and cute jokes. 

In both movies, the endings are bittersweet. (Spoilers ahead.) In Da 5 Bloods, very sympathetic characters unexpectedly die, but the catalytic cause of the movie has a highly positive outcome. In THTF, characters sympathetic and unsympathetic die (though Jeymes Samuels’ writing plus the actors’ unique characterizations make all of them likable). He’s the victor of the big showdown during the film’s climax. In either role, we can only classify Majors’ characterizations as sweet.