Who nabs your attention? Whenever they’re onscreen? Sydney Greenstreet? Peter Lorre? John Carradine? Jack Palance? Who’s on your Bingo Card of actors? Thelma Ritter? Ronee Blakley? Sally Field? Who keeps you watching? Again and again?
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Charles Gunning, whom I particularly enjoyed as the hitchhiker waiting for his True Calling in Slacker. His IMBD profile has no photo so here’s some stills from Slacker and Miller’s Crossing.
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Grab a brew, don’t cost nothing.
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John Goodman – excellent in both comedic and dramatic roles.
(I’m still not gonna watch King Ralph, however.)
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Why? If you don’t mind me asking.
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I gave it a rewatch on Starz recently and it’s funnier than 10 year old me thought it was.
He’s no stranger to childhood movies that have not aged well. Problem Child, anyone?
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As they say at wiki… A character actor is a supporting actor known for small parts who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters . The term, often contrasted with that of leading actor, is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation.
So yeah, with that in mind, Edward G. Robinson is a character actor who was also a lead actor. He had the distinct voice, that wonderful face and wasn’t leading man tall (standing 5’4), but he still managed to be a leading star… as gangsters, as kind men undone by a femme fatale, as a family man. He was good in drama and comedy (often sending up his criminal persona)
At my blog I gave him a lot of nominations and named him my best supporting actor for Double Indemnity.
If you watch a lot of his work in a row, you notice the character actor ticks, especially the hands. I always smile when he does the “Me? What about you” exchange (he splays his fingers and touches his chest on “me”, then points on the “you” - it’s a go to move)
So that’s my appreciation for Eddie G
For more traditional supporting characters, I love me some Greenstreet, also gave him my supporting award for the Maltese Falcon, and recently finished up with his filmography.
And for the ladies, classic era Agnes Morehead - another of my supporting award winners (for Magnificent Ambersons) - didn’t Welles call her one of the greatest actors of her time? I have a memory of that.
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The incomparable Michael Ripper.
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Since I spent most of my childhood in the '70s, the first character actor I noticed was Anthony Zerbe:
When he turned up as a regular on my favorite '70s detective show, Harry O, I was ecstatic.
I’m still amazed that he’s never appeared on MST3K, because we all know he’s been in some real clunkers.
I had the privilege of seeing him and Michael Learned on stage in Dear Liar - front row seats. And although in later life I became a champion at sneaking backstage, I was too shy to do it then and I’ve regretted it ever since.
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The wisest thing Roger Ebert ever said was, “No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.”
Amen to that.
And a couple of others I like that came to me…
Chief Dan George, best known for Little Big Man and The Outlaw Josey Wales, but he was always a welcome presence in whatever he did. Always liked seeing him.
And Elisha Cook Jr. who seemed to be in everything (was even riffed on a few times). He was the last Maltese Falcon cast member to pass away, and I’ve read that despite the slight frame and timid looks, he was actually a rugged outdoorsman. He didn’t enjoy the spotlight, wasn’t a Hollywood glam guy, he lived out in the woods and when he had a job he would come in, do the work, then head right back.
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Just personal preference. From the clips I recall seeing from it when it came out it just seemed like a typical manufactured “comedy” with the usual “fish out of water” or “square peg A is placed in round hole B and hilarity ensues” story. It did not seem to promise much new that I had not already seen done better elsewhere. And it just seemed like it should have been a Chris Farley (was he a star yet when that movie came out?) movie and was a waste of John Goodman’s talent.
Another character actor I really love is Ned Glass. You saw him everywhere –
in Perry Mason’s office
in Charade
with DVD
in West Side Story
in Mayberry
with the Monkees
even among The Rebel Set!
Always a solid actor who was also equally good at comedy and drama.
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My favorite character actor will always be S.K. “Cuddles” Sakall
I also really love Edward Everett Horton.
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This thread made me think of the late Fametracker’s “Hey! It’s That Guy!” feature - I’d forgotten that they wrote a book.
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That reminds me of how my dad used to call movies with lots of cameos (for example, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) “Hey There” films. As in- “Hey, there’s Jimmy Durante!”
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I’ll always remember Edward Everett Horton as the narrator of Fractured Fairy Tales on Rocky & Bullwinkle.
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Keith David is tops.
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I think of him as Fred Astaire’s friend in Top Hat.
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