Sonny Carl Davis: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Sonny Carl Davis tells the world that rather than invite Donald Trump to a rally, Ted Cruz should kick the president’s ass or remarks Trump has made in the past. The Richard Linklater-directed spot takes aim Senator Ted Cruz’s “Tough as Texas” slogan. The ad was released on October 8, a month before Cruz squares off against Beto O’Rourke in a hotly contested Senate race.

Davis, a Texas-native character actor, channels his role from 2011’s Bernie, where he has a scene-stealing moment in describing Texas’ geography. In the ad, Davis tells the voting public, “I mean, come on. If somebody called my wife a dog, and said my daddy as in on the Kennedy assassination, I wouldn’t be kissing their ass. You stick a finger in their chest and give ’em a few choice words. Or you drag their ass out by the woodshed and kick their ass, Ted. Come on. Ted.”

Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Mark Stanley, a Dallas-based lawyer and founder of the “Fire Ted Cruz” PAC, who created the ad, said, “Sonny’s character really captures what most Texans understand about Cruz: he’s spineless liar who puts his own ambition ahead of doing his job for the people of Texas.” The Morning News report adds that “Fire Ted Cruz” has raised over half a million dollars but operates separately from Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. Davis Said His Role in Bernie Was as a Town Gossip

Richard Linklater told the L Magazine in a 2012 interview that Davis brought a lot of improvisation to his role as a “kind of Greek chorus” in Bernie. The movie deals with an unlikely friendship between a local mortician, played by Jack Black, and a wealthy widow, played by Shirley MacLaine, in the small Texas town of Carthage. The movie was based on a 1998 article in Texas Monthly Magazine. Linklater himself called the movie, “The most purely Texas thing I’ve ever done.” Speaking about his role to the Austin Statesman Davis said, “I play Lonny, and I have my opinion on everything, like the state of Texas. It’s like I’m explaining Texas to a Yankee or something.”

Davis tells the camera during his monologue:

Carthage is in East Texas and that’s totally different from the rest of Texas which could be five different states, actually. You got your West Texas out there with a bunch of flat ranches. Up north you got them Dallas snobs with their Mercedes. And then you got Houston, the Carcinogenic Coast is what I call it, all the way up to Louisiana. Then down south, San Antonio, that’s where the Tex meets the Mex, like the food.

And then in Central Texas, you got the People’s Republic of Austin with a bunch of hairy-legged women and liberal fruitcakes. Course, I left out the panhandle and a lot of people do, but… Carthage,. this is where the South begins. This life behind the Pine Curtain and, truth be known, it’s a good place.”


2. Davis Counts Among His Other Credits, Gingerdead Man Vs. Evil Bong

Davis counts among his many screen credits, Gingerdead Man Vs. Evil Bong, according to his IMDb page. Davis told the Austin Statesman about his role in that movie, which came as part of a trilogy of Evil Bong movies. Davis said, “I play Rabbit, a delivery guy who delivers the evil bong to some stoner dudes.” Other roles that Davis has under his belt are appearances in Thelma & Louise. Davis told the Statesman, “[It was] just another one of that ‘ man at the counter’ (roles), we call ’em, but I steal the show… It’s just a few minutes, but in my delusional actor head, it’s the backbone of the story.”

Davis is on record as saying that he does “big roles in small movies and small roles in big movies.”


3. Davis’ Former Nextdoor Neighbor Was the Sex Pistols Frontman Johnny Rotten

Johnny Rotten

Getty

Davis, a Texas native, left his home state for Southern California in the late 1970s. When he first arrived in Venice Beach, Davis told the Statesman that his first next door neighbor was the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson. When Wilson moved out, he was replaced by Sex Pistols’ frontman Johnny Rotten. Davis told the newspaper that Rotten was “just a nice guy.”


4. Davis Said Hanging Out With Willie Nelson Was Like ‘Hanging Out With Buddha’

Beto Live Stream

Davis IS a friend of fellow-Beto O’Rourke supporter, Willie Nelson. In a 2014 interview with Fort Worth Weekly, Davis compared Nelson to Buddha saying, “What you see is what you get. Willie is everybody’s friend. He spends time with you. When you’re with him, you are the most important person in the world. You get the feeling that you matter. It means something to you that it means something to him. It’s love or peace or whatever you want to call it, but it’s a good place to be. He likes to laugh.” On September 29, Wille Nelson headlined a rally for Beto in Austin’s Auditorium Shores. Nelson told the audience that night, “People will sometimes get upset because I’ve got a vote, too. Opinions are like assholes, everybody’s got one.”


5. Davis’ Anti-Ted Cruz Ad is a Hit on Social Media

Sonny Carl Davis Ted Cruz Ad

Screengrab via Fire Ted Cruz PAC

As the ad spread across the internet, Davis’ role became a hit on Twitter. Here are some of the best responses to the ad:

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