Sometimes they have lead roles. Many times not. What are some of your favorite character actors? 1-5 is in favorite order but after 5 it's out of order.
1. Lee Van Cleef 2. Steve Buscemi 3. Joe Pantoliano 4. Joe Pesci 5. Frank Vincent 6. John Cusak 7. Walter Brennan [may have many lead roles as I have not seen a lot from him] 8. Eli Wallach 9. Michael Madsen 10. John Cazale
1. Joe Pesci 2. John Cusack 3. Steve Buscemi 4. Christopher Walken 5. Michael Madsen
Honorable Mentions: Joey Pants, John Cazale, Anthony Michael Hall (sorry, I find his geek persona of the 80's hilarious), Judd Nelson and Frank Vincent.
1) Robert De Niro 2) Al Pacino 3) Willem Dafoe 4) Samuel L. Jackson 5) Adam Sandler
Remember, this isn't my favorite list of actors ranked in order. I'm ranking them by the characters they play. But these are still my top 5 favorite actors, again just not in this order.
Originally posted by Beth E: [quote]Originally posted by Don Vercetti: [b] Do you even know what a character actor is?
I don't. Can someone explain it to me? [/b][/quote]Actors who aren't known for lead roles. They usually have many movies but almost always roles as secondary characters. Cleef in many Westerns, Buscemi in RDogs and others, etc.
Well, I always thought, contrary to what DV says in his opening post, that a character actor, first and foremost, would not be a star, but, although he might be well known to the public, usually plays supporting, or even minor roles which could be quite memorable but involved relatively little screen time.
A Senator Geary, for example. A Hyman Roth. Moe Green.
I also looked up a definition, and it said that the roles played by character actors were usually "eccentric or unusual" characters.
Originally posted by Don Vercetti: Sometimes they have lead roles.
Quote:
Originally posted by Don Vercetti: Actors who aren't known for lead roles.
I think once a character actor has a lead role or two, you can't really call him a character actor any more, although Pesci may be the exception since he always plays the same type of character.
I'd agree with you about Cusack. Pesci is almost like a special case. The only movie you could really say that he ever "starred" in, meaning that it was really "his" movie, was "My Cousin Vinnie".
To me Frank Vincent and Steve Buscemi are perfect examples.
Vincent always plays the same character, always in a small role, and Buscemi is no star, but he's always playing those eccentric, unusual, quirky kinds of guys.
John Cusack can definitely be argued -- but I would call him a special case, as well as Pesci. He usually plays the same type of nice guy role who has a hunch or underlying problem, etc. Examples: High Fidelity, Grosse Point Blanke, Say Anything, etc. It can go either way, but I would consider him a character actor.
One of my favorite character actors is Hector Elizondo. I think he brings great depth to even the tiniest role. Who could forget him as the hotel manager in Pretty Woman?
I've always thought of Peter Lorre as the greatest example of a character actor. And I read an interesting comparison, saying that Steve Buscemi is like the Peter Lorre of today.
Omar gave the quintessential example of a character actor - Peter Lorre.
A few more (especially from that era) were Andy Devine (in all those wonderful westerns) and Jimmy Finlayson, best known for his "D'oh" in the Laurel & Hardy comedies.
Wouldn't Tony Randall be considered a character actor as well. I remember him always co-starring with Rock Hudson/Doris Day. How about Gig Young, remember him???
Here's my list. Some of them are oldies but goodies.
1. Peggy Cass 2. Jack Elam 3. Hattie McDaniel 4. Margaret Hamilton 5. Joe Pantoliano 6. David Carradine 7. Claude Akins 8. Pat Hingle 9. William Schallert 10. William H. Macy 11. Kathy Bates 12. Rene Auberjonois 13. James Cromwell 13. Charles S. Dutton 14. Luis Guzman 15. Ed Harris 16. Hal Holbrook
Originally posted by The Italian Stallionette: Wouldn't Tony Randall be considered a character actor as well. I remember him always co-starring with Rock Hudson/Doris Day. How about Gig Young, remember him???
TIS
Wow, this is kind of off topic, but just as I read this.. Tony Randall popped up on my TV.. I'm watching TCM and they were showing an interview of Randall talking about Doris Day. Ironic.
He played the weirdest guy on "Wings", and has had some very memorable (small) parts in films over the years, my favorite being his performance in "The Man Who Wasn't There".
Christopher Walken for me: Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Annie Hall Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" video, etc. Plus, his career is summed up with his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Deer Hunter.
Other favourites of mine: John Cazale, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, and, although going by only one performance, Dean Stockwell (Suave Ben in Blue Velvet) and Tony Salhoub (The Man Who Wasn't There).
I must be missing loads that I'll remember when offline and then forget about once I'm online again...
Originally posted by Omar Suarez: I just thought of another person: Tony Shaloub.
He played the weirdest guy on "Wings", and has had some very memorable (small) parts in films over the years, my favorite being his performance in "The Man Who Wasn't There".
John Cazale would have to be my favorite right now but others are 2.Christopher Walken 3.Joe Pesci 4.Tony Shaloub (if we're considering him) 5.Steve Buscemi 6.Frank Vincent I'll probably think of more later.
Just thought of another: John Goodman. Definitely a show-stealer in all of the Coen films I've seen him in: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lewbowski, Barton Fink.
Originally posted by plawrence: Pesci is almost like a special case. The only movie you could really say that he ever "starred" in, meaning that it was really "his" movie, was "My Cousin Vinnie".
Are you kidding me??? "My Cousin Vinny" was ALL Ralph Macchio, baby!! :rolleyes:
And as for my post, I should have read the rest of the thread more carefully... I see both Peter Lorre and Tony Randall were already mentioned. :rolleyes: Sorry 'bout that.
Originally posted by Beth E: I had some women in my list.
Me too. I had Christine Baranski and Margaret Dumont (she was in a lot of Marx Brothers films)
Here's some other I've thought of: girls: Hattie McDaniel (one of the best, I just remembered her..) Kathleen Freeman (in hundreds of movies) Bobo Lewis (she was on a lot of old tv shows) Josephine Hull (Mortimer's Aunt Abby in Arsenic and Old Lace) Marion Lorne (Aunt Agatha[i think] on Bewitched) Mabel Albertson (Darren's mom from Bewitched) Marjorie Main (Ma Kettle) Agnes Moorehead (I love her old movies)
guys: Marty Feldman (Young Frankenstein) Paul Lynde (i love this guy) Alan Hale Sr. (in a lot of WW2 movies) Arthur Treacher (plays the butler in a lot of movies)
There's also a guy I see in just about EVERY WW2 movie I've ever seen.. but I can never find out his name. But he's good too. But my all time favorite is Peter Lorre. Love him.
Joe Pesci (Goofellas, Casino) Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction, Deer Hunter) Philip Seymour Hoffman (25th Hour) Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs and heaps of others) Don Cheadle (Out of Sight, Traffic) Edward Burns (Saving Private Ryan, 15 Minutes) Jared Leto (Panic Room)
Originally posted by Mike Sullivan: Has anyone botherd to mention the masters of Charecter Acting, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Claude Rains?
Ah yes, half the cast of Casablanca. I mentioned Peter Lorre, as did I think 1 or 2 more people, but I forgot about Claude Rains... thanks for reminding! ...and Sidney Greenstreet isn't one of my favorites, so I didn't include him. (Sorry!)
Originally posted by bogey: [quote]Originally posted by Mike Sullivan: [b] Has anyone botherd to mention the masters of Charecter Acting, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Claude Rains?
I said Peter Lorre, but I can't believe I forgot Greenstreet and Rains. What kind of Casablanca fan am I? [/b][/quote]Well, I chose them not just because of Casablanca. Hell, Peter Lorre was the star of Fritz Lang's "M" over a decade before "Casablanca".
Greenstreet was an Oscar Nominated actor at 62 for "The Maltese Falcon".
Of Course, Claude Rains is Claude Rains, the scupulous and entertaining mainstay of cinema.
Originally posted by Omar Suarez: [quote]Originally posted by Mike Sullivan: [b] Has anyone botherd to mention the masters of Charecter Acting, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Claude Rains?
Yeah Mike, check the first page. :p Claude Rains was excellent in "Notorious".
And after watching the season premiere of "Law & Order", I am reminded of Dennis Farina. [/b][/quote]Farina was great in his role in Saving Private Ryan also...
I really do enjoy Claude Rains though.
From "Mr. SMith goes to Washinton" to "Notorious". From "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" to "Casablanca", from "Lawrence Of Arabia" to "now, Voyager". Who can say they've had a carrear of that magnitude?!
Even though Beth already mentioned his name, it bears repeating - James Cromwell.
This guy is a wonderful character actor (portraying a variety of "types"). From his early days in tv comedies (as Stretch Cunningham on "All in the Family" and as the hotel manager in "Hot L Baltimore") to his more recent movie roles like the prison warden in "The Green Mile" and the President of the U.S. in "The Sum of All Fears" he's been consistently good.
Originally posted by Sicilian Babe: One of my favorite character actors is Hector Elizondo. I think he brings great depth to even the tiniest role. Who could forget him as the hotel manager in Pretty Woman?
Boy...do I agree with THAT !!!
In fact for that very role in 'Pretty Woman', I was really annoyed that Elizondo was not given at least an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor.
Amazing that (unless I missed it) no one has listed the great Walter Brennan and kudos to Don V for including him in the original list. I guess the current day actors are a bit more visible.
Other WONDERFUL character actor from Hollywood's golden days...Melvyn Douglas and my all time favorite...Claude Raines.
Re Pacino/DeNiro...true they are established stars, leading men. But each has proven adept at so-called 'character actor' roles, for example Pacino in 'Dick Tracy' and DeNiro in 'Meet the Parents'.
This guy is a wonderful character actor (portraying a variety of "types").....
And how can we forget to mention his Oscar nominated role in 'Babe'!!
By the way on a personal note...I frequently served breakfast to Mr. Cromwell when I worked at a tiny luncheonette in Brooklyn Heights, NY during the 1980s. Very nice man; consistently ordered a small fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Originally posted by Turnbull: My all-time favorite male character actor is Charles Durning. My all-time favorite female character actor is Judith Anderson.
Oh yeah, she was in one of my favorite movies, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and also another good one, "Cinderfella" with Jerry Lewis!!
And Charles Durning... Pappy O'Daniel from O Brother Where Art Thou? He's funny! (I love the music in that movie, so I always leave it on through the credits; that's the only reason I even knew who he was!) He's always looked familiar, though... what else has he been in that I would have seen?
Durning's only other film apart from O Brother that I've seen is the underrated True Confessions, in which he almost steals the show from De Niro and Duvall!
By the way on a personal note...I frequently served breakfast to Mr. Cromwell when I worked at a tiny luncheonette in Brooklyn Heights, NY during the 1980s. Very nice man; consistently ordered a small fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Apple
Is that so?
Cromwell was great as a Cardinal on ER who had lupus. It was a really great role. One musn't forget him in "Scent Of A Woman" either. He was great in that also.
Didn't want to derail the TV westerns thread, so I'm adding these ladies to this ancient thread:
In the 60s, there was an endless array of actresses who worked constantly as guest stars in Westerns, spy shows, and other "guy shows" of the sixties. Most didn't become famous, but they were stunners and very versatile actresses (shown in Star Trek spots):
GF2's own Mariana Hill:
Sherry Jackson:
Arlene Martel:
Nancy Kovack:
For healthy young women, their characters had unusually high death rates.
I kind of prefer character actors that are still breathing.
I love one like a brother Johnny Roastbeef a true friend never judged me. Even though he doesn't call me any more I still love the guy as much as I can love anyone.
There are others joe Pesce, Joe Cortese a cool guy, if you consider Armand assante a character actor now he is fantastic.
Oh you can consider Jon Voight a character actor now. He is great in Ray Donovan the new season starts July 7 or 10 I forget which on showtime. He is back for this second year.
Perhaps the greatest character of all-time was Thomas Mitchell. He was probably best known for his portrayal of Uncle Billy in "It's a Wonderful Life" but consider what he did in just one year (1939). He appeared in, "Stagecoach", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "Gone With the Wind" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". I don't think there's ever been a better year for any actor.
During the 60s there were several character actors who showed up regularly on a number of shows(Above, someone posted the women who did so). Allen Melvin was one. He played a couple of different roles on the Andy Griffith Show and then showed up on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Although he was a great leading actor, Paul Scofield also was a splendid character actor. He made "Quiz Show," a very fine film with outstanding performance all around, even though his role was relatively small.
JT Walsh, in just about anything, but especially in "Backdraft" and "A Few Good Men".
He was also excellent as John Ehrlichman in "Nixon" opposite James Woods & Anthony Hopkins.
Not sure if he was mentioned, but John Spencer was a great character actor IMO. He was most famous as Leo McGarry on "West Wing," but was also in "LA Law," "The Negotiator," "Hoffa," and "Cop Land."
Richard Stahl was one of the great character actors of the 1970s, playing the same understated role in nearly every great sitcom of the era - All in the Family, The Odd Couple (9 different episodes), Bob Newhart, WKRP, Soap, Barney Miller. He played the head monk in this episode of The Odd Couple:
I was watching a bit of a movie from the 1930s. Of course, the opening credits listed the stars followed by the bit players (in ever increasing smaller font). I wondered if those players thought that they were on their way to stardom. I'll bet they rushed home to their overjoyed parents, spouses, and friends with the news that they had broken into film and the sky was the limit. Of course, most would probably never again see the inside of a studio. Some would though such as Lon Chaney and John Wayne. Can anyone name a current star (and their initial movie) who started out that way?
I was watching a bit of a movie from the 1930s. .... I wondered if those players thought that they were on their way to stardom. ...Can anyone name a current star (and their initial movie) who started out that way?
Recently I read that the movie "The Pawnbroker" (1964) starring Rod Steiger was being re-released. The film was critiqued and it mentioned that Morgan Freeman played a streetwise teen. I looked up Freeman's film bio and it listed "The Pawnbroker", but his part was not credited. On IMDB he is not credited either. I remember seeing this film in the theater and I recently watched some of it on TV. A very dark drama, but compelling story.
Mary, i enjoy looking at old movies on IMDB and seeing actors who today are famous but back them only had small or uncredited roles. Then go on their page and see how they paid their dues and eventually some of them rose to stardom whle others careers simply died on the vine.
I was watching a bit of a movie from the 1930s. .... I wondered if those players thought that they were on their way to stardom. ...Can anyone name a current star (and their initial movie) who started out that way?
Recently I read that the movie "The Pawnbroker" (1964) starring Rod Steiger was being re-released. The film was critiqued and it mentioned that Morgan Freeman played a streetwise teen. I looked up Freeman's film bio and it listed "The Pawnbroker", but his part was not credited. On IMDB he is not credited either. I remember seeing this film in the theater and I recently watched some of it on TV. A very dark drama, but compelling story.
The pawnbroker was one of the best performances ever given by Rod Steiger. I dug that movie but the subject matter was real raw. It was made in black and white if I remember right.
Although he was a great leading actor, Paul Scofield also was a splendid character actor. He made "Quiz Show," a very fine film with outstanding performance all around, even though his role was relatively small.
He was Burt Lancasters co star in the train right? If I am right he and Burt were fantastic in that movie.
