Open thread: Why are you thankful for Thomas Jane?

With Turkey Day hitting tomorrow for our US readers (Saturday for Europe and Asia) I thought it might be a good time to ask: why are YOU thankful for Thomas Jane?

While I’m obviously grateful that he looks like Christopher Lambert (otherwise I wouldn’t have created a website about it!) I give thanks that Jane is the real deal.

While the Brad Pitts and the George Clooneys and the Will Smiths of the world are blessed with worldwide fame, fortune and the ability to adopt African Children the way most of us run to 7/11 for limited edition Frost/Nixon Slurpee cups: they’re completely out of touch with the common man.

Thomas Jane has none of those things. He’s a guy who makes questionable decisions like all of us and is modestly, at best, compensated for his work.

He suffers crushing disappointment after crushing disappointment (like losing the role of a lifetime as Punisher: Guardian of Tampa to some random extra from an overrated HBO series) yet still manages to dust himself off and try again.

He’s into cosplay. He’s passionate about comic books. He’s into emailing the editors of his favorite internet news sites (Tom: link is in the about section! I promise fair coverage!) because he genuinely likes them.

George Clooney gets to bang a different hot model every night. Jane married a “pretty” girl who let herself go after starting a family. Even though he probably politely suggests they go to the gym, or go hiking or do anything besides shopping when they go outside the house to get some exercise: he doesn’t push the issue. Even though he thinks she’d be stunning if she just would lose fifteen pounds and could fit into that outfit she wore when they went to Newport three summers ago and made love on the beach and didn’t care because they were young and in love and they had their whole lives ahead of them. Then they went to breakfast the next morning and you had a full stack of pancakes and I thought it was just because you were hungry but it was really because you were pregnant…please just fifteen pounds, you can do it…remember when we went to Miami and you wore that bikini and all the guys on the beach were looking at you?

Anyway, he doesn’t pressure her because that’s not what gentleman do.

I am thankful for Thomas Jane is because HE IS ONE OF US: an unexceptional, moderately-talented guy with a shitty career and a fat girlfriend who likes to surf the internet, read comic books and dress up like superheroes on weekends. I love him for that and I know you do too.