If there’s anything I like more than seeing one of my favorite actors land a high-profile role in a successful film, it’s seeing them find their very own special corner of cinema history. I’ve always thought that a lot of actors have what it takes but only the rare few get the chance to really shine. Not all of them reach that level of success and in the case of Thomas Jane, some just revel in being able to work on the kinds of projects they love, no matter where it takes them.

When I first saw Thomas Jane in Boogie Nights as the mustachioed Todd Parker, I thought he stole every scene he was in, even next to newcomer Mark Wahlberg and a wiley-as-ever John C. Reilly. For me, he might as well have actually been a guy named Todd Parker that P.T. Anderson just called in from the streets of the San Fernando Valley. You’d think Jane would find himself amongst a new level of actors after holding his own with such a star-studded cast, and for a while there, it looked like things were on the right track.

After appearing in blink-and-you’d-miss-em parts like in The Crow: City of Angels, Face/Off and The Thin Red Line, Jane played Mickey Mantle in 61*, starred in the rom-com The Sweetest Thing and even found himself in the Stephen King vehicle Dreamcatcher. Even landing a lead role in the Renny Harlin shark-fest Deep Blue Sea was a big step towards the spotlight, but hardly the weighty role that a serious actor would aspire to, what with giant CGI sharks tearing up the joint and all.

Then in 2003, Jane took a detour to South Africa for one of his best roles to date in Stander, portraying real life police officer-turned-bank robber Andre Stander. The confident, unwavering performance was everything an actor could hope for, but unfortunately hit the States with little fanfare. Yet, it proved to be an interesting career move for Jane because it certainly got someone’s attention. A year later Jane was cast as Frank Castle in the long-awaited reboot of The Punisher just as the Marvel invasion of Hollywood was at its peak.

Sandwiched between two of the best Marvel adaptations to date, Spider-man 2 and X-Men 2, The Punisher should have been the movie that made Thomas Jane a superstar. While the Punisher was a lesser-known Marvel property to mainstream audiences, fans knew that the time was perfect for an update. As it turned out, the movie was probably far too dark and brutal to gain any favor with those who just wanted to see another Peter Parker-esque hero. Even though it pulled no punches and for the most part played on the same level as Blade (the only other R-rated Marvel adaptation), it ended up being a tepid performer at best.

The upside, however, to starring in The Punisher was that Jane now had the means to satisfy a serious life-long jones for comics and teamed up with Steve Niles and Tim Bradstreet to form RAW Entertainment. Together, they would write and produce titles like Bad Planet and Alien Pig Farm 3000 as an alternative to the mainstream titles from bigger publishers.

In the last few years, Thomas Jane’s path has taken just as many turns and twists, including an even-keeled performance in Frank Darabont’s throwback monster thriller The Mist (see the black and white version for full effect) only to then turn up in the downright awful and nearly-unwatchable Mutant Chronicles.

Which brings us to Thomas Jane the director and his debut The Dark Country, a strange noir/B-movie take on the typical “couple lost on the highway” thriller. You can see where traces of inspiration try to shine through from Jane’s familiarity with the comics and horror flicks, but none of it really gels, including the 3D effects (which its straight-to-DVD release negate entirely). Despite the obvious enthusiasm behind it, the film is an unfortunate milestone for Jane in that his chance to build an original, interesting work of his own generated such lackluster results.

On the other hand, Jane also made the move to television and took on the lead role in this year’s HBO series Hung starring as Ray Drecker, a down on his luck high school basketball coach who’s just looking to turn his fortune around. After attending a seminar on how to get your act together, he partners with an old flame who convinces him that using his one special talent and becoming a “happiness consultant” is as good a plan as any. If there were ever a semi-realistic, funny and sometimes touching look at what it’s like to be a fledgling, slightly-reluctant man-whore, Hung is probably it. If nothing else, the show has been a good opportunity for Jane to play the everyman and just have fun fleshing out a character without having to rely on the usual whiz-bang seen in his feature films.

Whether its a juicy role in a high-profile film, another fun season as Ray Drecker or even as a celebrated name in the indie comics scene, I hold out hope that Thomas Jane can crank out more quality work and shine with the best of them. Good talent always rises to the top and it’s only a matter of time before the boy from Baltimore becomes a name to be reckoned with.