Say, aren't you that guy from that thing?

[connor_in]

Was reading this article on Clancy Brown over at Yahoo!:

Clancy Brown: That Guy From That Thing (Who You Definitely Know)

I am a movie nut and I know I have seen him in a billion things and always know I will enjoy at least the scenes he is in.

One of my other favorite character actors is Ron Perlman. He too usually means something good for at least his scenes.

Made me wonder if any of you guys have any favorite character actors you enjoy seeing...even if you don't know their name, you can ID them by a character they played or their face.

Have at...

 

[dublinirish]

Takeshi Kitano, I always try and see any films he is in.

Zatoichi and Kikijuro are amongst my favourite films

 

[rikkitikki08]

I'm a big Michael Pena fan, im not sure if you can consider him a character actor but the guy does seem to play second or third fiddle in lots of movies

 

[fitz_bu47]

My favorite, even though he has been in some stinkers is David O'Hara. Stephen from Braveheart is one of my all time favorite actors, he was also in The Departed, and the Harry Potter movies, which I love as well.

David O'Hara - IMDb

 

[gkIrish]

Alan Tudyk (he is also a voice actor for a bunch of stuff)

 

[Emcee77]

I'm a big Michael Pena fan, im not sure if you can consider him a character actor but the guy does seem to play second or third fiddle in lots of movies

I'm a big Michael Pena fan as well. It's always inspiring to see people make it after growing up in tough circumstances, and Michael Pena grew up in hard-knock-life Chicago:

Chicago native Michael Pena talks End of Watch - Chicago Tribune

Lawndale is no joke.

 

[Emcee77]

To the extent he qualifies, John Turturro is my favorite character actor. He might be a step above character actor status though.

J.K. Simmons is great too. He's been great in a lot of stuff lately, but he really stole every scene he was in in Burn After Reading, a Coen brothers movie from a few years ago.

 

[rikkitikki08]

Do we consider Daniel Day Lewis a character actor? Because when i think of character actors he sits near the top

 

[Emcee77]

Do we consider Daniel Day Lewis a character actor? Because when i think of character actors he sits near the top

No way, he's a leading man. But I get why you would say that ... he certainly invents characters.

IMO, a character actor is someone whose part and personality is not essential to a movie but whose performance gives the movie flavor. To illustrate where the line is between character actor and "real" actor, I mentioned John Turturro above, who is very borderline. He is a great character actor in movies like the Big Lebowski and Mr. Deeds (I like Adam Sandler movies, don't judge me), but he is something more than that in movies like Miller's Crossing and Do the Right Thing.

 

[ACamp1900]

To the extent he qualifies, John Turturro is my favorite character actor. He might be a step above character actor status though.

J.K. Simmons is great too. He's been great in a lot of stuff lately, but he really stole every scene he was in in Burn After Reading, a Coen brothers movie from a few years ago.

beat me to it... he's great... I tend to like most characters played by Aidan Quinn also...

 

[Irish#1]

No way, he's a leading man. But I get why you would say that ... he certainly invents characters.

IMO, a character actor is someone whose part and personality is not essential to a movie but whose performance gives the movie flavor. To illustrate where the line is between character actor and "real" actor, I mentioned John Turturro above, who is very borderline. He is a great character actor in movies like the Big Lebowski and Mr. Deeds (I like Adam Sandler movies, don't judge me), but he is something more than that in movies like Miller's Crossing and Do the Right Thing.

Agree, characters actors are known for their roles and people usually don't know their names.

 

[connor_in]

No way, he's a leading man. But I get why you would say that ... he certainly invents characters.

IMO, a character actor is someone whose part and personality is not essential to a movie but whose performance gives the movie flavor. To illustrate where the line is between character actor and "real" actor, I mentioned John Turturro above, who is very borderline. He is a great character actor in movies like the Big Lebowski and Mr. Deeds (I like Adam Sandler movies, don't judge me), but he is something more than that in movies like Miller's Crossing and Do the Right Thing.

Character actors can also sometimes be leads or nearly so...I think

Ron Perlman in Hellboy is one example. Many times he may be the lead villian...Clancy Brown (Highlander), JT Walsh (Breakdown)

Sometimes you get those guys that cross lines...Like John Turturro, Steve Buscemi...heck...the Usual Suspects is packed with 'em
Spacey is mainly lead but done CA work...same with Byrne & Del Toro
buat all the rest were mostly CA's

Kevin Pollack has done a lot but been hit and miss

another comedy staple is Stephen Toblowski

 

[connor_in]

My wife and I always used to joke that if we saw Michael Biehn or Raymond Cruz that we knew they would be playing some sort of military guy.

and Al Leong was in just about any big movie with martial arts in it in the 80's and 90's

 

[ACamp1900]

How about that big badass Filipeno dude from Enter the Dragon and Blood Sport to name a couple...

he always made a good badguy.

 

[Emcee77]

Character actors can also sometimes be leads or nearly so...I think

Ron Perlman in Hellboy is one example. Many times he may be the lead villian...Clancy Brown (Highlander), JT Walsh (Breakdown)

Sometimes you get those guys that cross lines...Like John Turturro, Steve Buscemi...heck...the Usual Suspects is packed with 'em
Spacey is mainly lead but done CA work...same with Byrne & Del Toro
buat all the rest were mostly CA's

Kevin Pollack has done a lot but been hit and miss

another comedy staple is Stephen Toblowski

Let me try to clarify how I understand the term so we can have a better discussion .... I think a "character actor" is someone whose performances are predominantly not essential to the films he appears in, usually because the roles he takes are small enough or peripheral enough that whether the movies work or not doesn't depend heavily on how well the actor performs. I know my prior post may have seemed to suggest otherwise, but I don't think a person can be a "character actor" in some movies but not in others. The point I was trying to make about John Turturro is that he is a borderline case ... some of his memorable roles are absolutely integral to the film ... Miller's Crossing and Do the Right Thing were my examples. But I still class him as a "character actor" because I would say most of his roles are secondary/peripheral. connor made a similar point about Ron Perlman and Clancy Brown ... I agree. A character actor need not ONLY take on secondary/peripheral roles.

But a guy who reaches a point in his career where he is mainly taking lead roles ... that guy is no longer a character actor imo, regardless of whatever small parts he has taken in the past or takes in the future. I submit that Spacey, Del Toro, and Byrne do not belong in this discussion. I agree that Buscemi is another borderline guy ... before Boardwalk Empire I would have said that he was a quintessential character actor, but now I don't know. Just my $0.02.

 

[connor_in]

How about that big badass Filipeno dude from Enter the Dragon and Blood Sport to name a couple...

he always made a good badguy.

Bolo Yeung

 

[Whiskeyjack]

How about that big badass Filipeno dude from Enter the Dragon and Blood Sport to name a couple...

Bolo Yeung. Still kicking around:

Kung Fu Hustle was the most recent film I've seen him in.

Edit: connor beat me to it.

Since Turturro has already been mentioned, I'd suggest (surprise!) John Goodman. And Sam Elliot is the consummate cowboy.

 

[WaveDomer]

John Cazale. Short but amazing career: Godfather movies, Deer Hunter, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon. "I'm smahht!"

 

[RyCo1983]

IMO, a character actor is someone whose part and personality is not essential to a movie but whose performance gives the movie flavor. To illustrate where the line is between character actor and "real" actor, I mentioned John Turturro above, who is very borderline. He is a great character actor in movies like the Big Lebowski and Mr. Deeds (I like Adam Sandler movies, don't judge me), but he is something more than that in movies like Miller's Crossing and Do the Right Thing.

I would also choose John Turturro

 

[rikkitikki08]

John Goodman is a great actor but i would like to think he is leading man material, which should then no longer classify him as a "character actor"

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Clancy Brown is definitely near the top of my list, and Barry Pepper & Kyle Machlachlan come to mind also.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Stacy Keach too.

 

[ACamp1900]

I would also choose John Turturro

Classic in this film, but his best was Rounders IMO.

 

[BobD]

Burgess Meredith

His list of movies is amazing

 

[MacIrish75]

I don't know if Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver) counts, but he's one I always look for in a villainous role.

Another I really enjoy is Paul Giamatti. Again, don't know if he'd fit your bill of a character actor, but he's another one where you think, "What exactly was this guy in, again? I can't quite pin it down."

 

[Black Irish]

A lot of the actors mentioned in here are a little too well known and accomplished to be "that guy from that thing" character actors. I think more like Clancy Brown and J.K. Simmons, guys that you need to check IMDB because you know you've seen them, but can't remember who they are. My submissions:

Mark Margolis, Mark Boone Junior, Chi McBride, William Devane.

 

[Redbar]

Love Turturro, also really like Tim Roth, and Mark Strong.

 

[gkIrish]

RIP

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-news/james-rebhorn-dies-65-181324318.html

 

[ND NYC]

John Cazale. Short but amazing career: Godfather movies, Deer Hunter, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon. "I'm smahht!"

winner


heard that he was the only guy, ever, where every single movie he was ever in won an acadamy award, for something...

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I read Cazale was very sick with cancer during filming of "The Deer Hunter," and that scene where he solemnly adjusts his wedding corsage in the car window was put in because of that.