| “ | Well would you look at that... It's a Mexican standoff! But I think we ain't got no Mexicans here, ain't It?! | „ |
| ~ Nathan Van Cleef |
| “ | How the hell did that happen? | „ |
| ~ Van Cleef's last words as he was shot. |
Marshal Nathan Van Cleef is the secondary antagonist in the 2000 film Shanghai Noon.
He was portrayed by Xander Berkeley, who also played Waingro in L.A. Takedown, Agent Gibbs in Air Force One, Corey Mills in Superman: The Animated Series, General Brak in Justice League, Stuart St. John in Taken, Red John in The Mentalist, General Immortus and Warp in Teen Titans, Mysterio in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vic Gigante in Kick-Ass, Morgg in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Gregory in The Walking Dead and Gilad Pellaeon in The Mandalorian.
Biography[]
Van Cleef is a corrupt marshal in league with the traitorous Lo Fong, the film's main antagonist. When Chon Wang and Roy O'Bannon arrive in Carson City to rescue Princess Pei-Pei (who had been kidnapped by Lo Fong), they discover that they are wanted by the cruel marshal of the town, Randy Van Cleef. They both hide inside a tavern and Van Cleef yells out to them to come outside and surrender. Roy eventually faces Van Cleef and they engage in a standoff, but Wang hurls a throwing star into the marshal's hand before escaping with Roy from Carson City.
Later on, Van Cleef and his corrupt posse find Wang and Roy and they take him to Lo Fong. Following the confrontation, Van Cleef has them both sentenced to hang in the town square, but they again manage to escape with the aid of Wang's horse.
Van Cleef appears again when Lo Fong is making an exchange with the Chinese imperial guards in a church. He aims his two pistols at Wang and Roy, saying "Well would you look at that... It's a Mexican standoff! But I think we ain't got no Mexicans here, ain't It?!", soon a gunfight ensues, with Roy unsuccessfully trying to shoot at Van Cleef from behind a pillar. As Wang is dealing with Lo Fong in the church's bell tower, O'Bannon and Van Cleef agree to step out from behind the pillars on the count of three and to confront each other with bravure. Van Cleef fires several shots but is unable to hit Roy, and Roy, having only one bullet left, dives through the air and fires back. Van Cleef stares in shock as he realizes the bullet has penetrated his marshal's badge, muttering to himself "How the hell did that happen?" before collapsing to the floor.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Nathan Van Cleef's name is a homage to the late Western actor Lee Van Cleef, who played Angel Eyes in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and a lot of other Iconics characters during his career.