One aspect of the show I always had trouble believing was the portrayal of Del as a tough guy and a hard nut.Maybe it was just the fact that David Jason (as good an actor as he was) just didn't have the threat or menace of a genuine hard man and when he did act tough it just wasn't believable or convincing at all.
shareI dont' think he was meant to be a hardman more like a guy who wasn't afraid to get stuck in even when the odds were against him e.g Tommy McKay, the Driscolls. Doesn't Rodney once describe him as a dirty fighter all low and grabbing.
shareAs soon as I watched 'Rock and Chips' a few years ago I also thought that Nicholas Lyndhurst's portrayal of 'hard man' Freddie Robdal was totally un-convincing.
I always felt that David Jason played Del as a passive member of the community who could turn on the aggression like a light switch if he needed to.
It's a mixture of the two replies above. As pointed out in the excelled Strained Relations episode. Most of Dels persona is fake. He's a softy by nature and in that episode is truly hurting inside that Grandad is gone. However he keeps up the "hardman" act to ensure that noone around him can ever perceive him to be weak.
He does this to constantly and consistently protect his family. Something his father never did. He can fight and he can fight well but I imagine it's more of a dirty style fighting. He's a very streetwise character but not so business smart.
My uncle who was a bit of a hard nut back in his day said he always had trouble finding Del convincing when he was threatening people. I think you're right OP, I think David Jason is too charming to be threatening
Nicholas Lyndhurst was as threatening as a bowl of jelly
Love them both though
I never really saw him as a hardnut though.
The only two times I remember him getting in a proper fight (as oppose to just threatening people) were the Driscoll brothers and Tommy McKay. And both times, he got his arse kicked. The point with both of these times were not that Del was some tough guy, but that he got into a fight knowing he was going to get a beating, because he knew it would protect Rodney in some way. That family loyalty to his brother was more what I understood of his character, rather than he was hard.
The only other time he came close to having a fight was with Slater, when Slater came back looking for Racquel. And even then he was held back a bit. We don't know how a fight would've gone because it didn't happen.
In the police collage of 1890, we see the real "Peaky Blinders" - Birmingham bandits who traded in robberies, blackmail, control over gambling and racketeering.
One of the most violent members of the gang was Harry Fowles, nicknamed "Baby Face" - it will not be difficult to find him in the photo. Do you recognize Del boy?
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