Character Actors I Like
You know how it goes - there’s a movie on and an actor appears, and you go “who is that guy? I’ve seen him somewhere before.” Sometimes they only grace the screen for a minute or two, at other times they’re central to the plot. What they all have in common though, is a hard-to-ignore presence. Some have gone on to be more well known than others, and quite a few of them have passed away too young. Here is my salute to the humble character actor – the guy who often makes the leads look good!
WILLIAM MACY
Star Turns:
Benny & Joon, Fargo, Boogie Nights, Pleasantville, The Cooler, Bobby
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JT WALSH
Star Turns:
Good Morning Vietnam, Red Rocks West, Hoffa, Slingblade, Breakdown
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BRION JAMES
Star Turns:
Flesh and Blood, Blade Runner, Cherry 2000, Another 48 Hours
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TRACEY WALTER
Star Turns:
Repo Man, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Erin Brockovich
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DAVID THEWLIS
Star Turns:
Naked, The Big Lebowski, Kingdom of Heaven, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY
Star Turns:
Mississippi Burning, Groundhog Day, The Insider, Memento
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CLANCY BROWN
Star Turns
Carnivale, Highlander, Deadly Pursuit, The Shawshank Redemption
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RICHARD JORDAN
Star Turns:
Logan’s Run, Gettysburg, The Mean Season, The Hunt for Red October
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LUIZ GUZMAN
Star Turns:
Traffic, NYPD Blue, Boogie Nights, Out of Sight, The Bone Collector
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WES STUDI
Star Turns:
Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Crazy Horse
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JOHN CAZALE
Star Turns:
The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter
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VINCENT SCHIAVELLI
Star Turns:
Ghost, The People Vs Larry Flint, Tomorrow Never Dies, Man on the Moon
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MAKO
Star Turns:
The Sand Pebbles, Conan the Barbarian, Tucker: the Man and His Dream, Seven Years in Tibet
WILLIAM MACY
Star Turns:
Benny & Joon, Fargo, Boogie Nights, Pleasantville, The Cooler, Bobby
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
JT WALSH
Star Turns:
Good Morning Vietnam, Red Rocks West, Hoffa, Slingblade, Breakdown
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
BRION JAMES
Star Turns:
Flesh and Blood, Blade Runner, Cherry 2000, Another 48 Hours
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
TRACEY WALTER
Star Turns:
Repo Man, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Erin Brockovich
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
DAVID THEWLIS
Star Turns:
Naked, The Big Lebowski, Kingdom of Heaven, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY
Star Turns:
Mississippi Burning, Groundhog Day, The Insider, Memento
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
CLANCY BROWN
Star Turns
Carnivale, Highlander, Deadly Pursuit, The Shawshank Redemption
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
RICHARD JORDAN
Star Turns:
Logan’s Run, Gettysburg, The Mean Season, The Hunt for Red October
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
LUIZ GUZMAN
Star Turns:
Traffic, NYPD Blue, Boogie Nights, Out of Sight, The Bone Collector
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
WES STUDI
Star Turns:
Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Crazy Horse
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
JOHN CAZALE
Star Turns:
The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
VINCENT SCHIAVELLI
Star Turns:
Ghost, The People Vs Larry Flint, Tomorrow Never Dies, Man on the Moon
----------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------- -----------
MAKO
Star Turns:
The Sand Pebbles, Conan the Barbarian, Tucker: the Man and His Dream, Seven Years in Tibet
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Others I like but didn't include are Jeffrey Jones, Wallace Shawn, R Lee Emery (although he is a bit one dimensional), Paul Gleason, Brendan Gleeson, Brian Cox, Emmett Walsh and Brian Cox.
Bit of trivia for you that maybe you or JD can help me out with. There are two other character actors I like that turn up occasionally, but I can't for the life of me find their names. Tried to research through several movies I thought they were in, but to no avail. One is an Asian actor who always appears in actions movies, usually as a bad guy. He never has anything to say, but has long hair and a fu manchu mustauche and his short, even for an Asian. The other is a guy who appeared in a lot of movies in the 50s and 60s, usually playing a preacher or some other holier-than-thou person. Has really big eyes (not bulging) and an unusally square jaw. Appeared in a lot of westerns. Only clues I have.
Cheers