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When you think of the biggest names of 1991, odds are pictures of people like President George H. W. Bush, Paula Abdul, and/or Roseanne Barr will flash through your mind. Bryan Adams had the biggest song of the year (from the very movie I’m about to talk about), Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley starred in the biggest TV show, and Arnold Schwarzenegger dominated the box office as a catchphrase spoutin’ Terminator.
When talking about the biggest names of 1991, you cannot forget Gary Cherone of the band Extreme. The band scored two absolutely massive hit singles (“More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted”) off their multi-platinum album Pornograffitti, and he played a big part in 1991’s second-biggest movie, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Wait–he didn’t? Gary Cherone did not play Guy of Gisborne in Kevin Costner’s extravagant “historically accurate”-ish update of Robin Hood lore? Are you sure?
Of course I now know that Michael Wincott (left) and Gary Cherone (right) are not the same person. But seven-year-old me–a kid that watched VH1 and Prince of Thieves all the time–absolutely, positively thought that Gary Cherone was pulling a Madonna and translating his music stardom into movie stardom in 1991. And honestly, hot take: Gary Cherone as Guy of Gisborne probably would have gone over way better than Madonna as Breathless Mahoney.
You can see how I was confused! When Prince of Thieves rode into theaters in June 1991, the video for “More Than Words” was in heavy rotation–and with good reason. An acoustic power ballad with killer harmonies and hair? How could you look away?
That all-too-brief post-hair metal and pre-Nevermind period of time was a truly special place, perfectly embodied by the slacker-chic silky voices of Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. This is the Everest of sensitive rock that Jesse and the Rippers consistently failed to summit.
Seriously, the “More Than Words” video was everywhere in the spring and summer of 1991. So when Guy of Gisborne appeared, all cheekbones and a slicked-back-for-the-gods mane, why wouldn’t he be Gary Cherone? Extreme was hot! Prince of Thieves obviously had its finger on the pulse of modern rock, evidenced by the inclusion of Bryan Adams’ eternal wedding slow dance jam “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” on the soundtrack.
But Guy of Gisborne was not Gary Cherone. He was Michael Wincott, a character actor known for playing sketchy dudes in The Crow and Alien: Resurrection. He even popped up as Old Bill on Westworld just a little while back.
While his hairline and cheekbones may be totally Cherone, there’s one major thing that sets Michael and Gary apart: that voice. Guy of Gisborne growls every line, like he gargles with rocks every morning and night. Cherone has the pipes of a rock and roll angel; just listen to that bridge on “More Than Words”! That’s what love sounded like post-Poison/pre-Nirvana. That voice is why Cherone was hand-picked to replace Sammy Hagar as the third, oft-forgotten lead singer of Van Halen.
So yeah, even though they really could have been the same guy (Prince of Thieves dropped right at the peak of Extreme’s hotness), Gary Cherone definitely is not Michael Wincott. Consider this rumor, a rumor that persisted in precisely one head (my own), debunked. But hey–at least writing this piece led me to rediscover “Hole Hearted,” which is still a banger of a ditty if ever I heard one. And yes, it is a ditty.
