Dylan Baker
Fun trivia: Frequently plays seemingly milquetoast, bland men who are actually concealing their dark, even evil true natures.
◄ IMDb Polls
Poll: Favorite "that guy" actor? Part 2
You know their face but you may not know their name. They are the indispensable character actors who truly make a film great. Which of these contemporary journey-men actors do you most enjoy?
Make Your Choice
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Gary Cole
Fun trivia: Don Johnson & Philip Michael Thomas edged out Cole and Jimmy Smits for the roles of Crockett & Tubbs in Miami Vice (1984). -
Chris Cooper
Fun trivia: Studied ballet at Stephens College in Columbia. -
Brian Cox
Fun trivia: Was the first actor to portray Dr. Hannibal Lecter on film. -
Keith David
Fun trivia: Portrayed Keith the Southwood Carpenter in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in the '80s. -
Bruce Davison
Fun trivia: Director Robert Aldrich gave advice to Davison when he was starting out as an actor. "Be a character actor. Hero or villain, character actors always work." -
Brad Dourif
Fun trivia: Many of his co-stars in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were under the impression that he was actually English because of the British accent he used as Grima Wormtongue throughout filming. As a method actor, he kept the accent even when he was not filming. They were shocked to hear him speak in an American accent after filming was complete. Bernard Hill believed Dourif was speaking in the worst American accent he "had ever heard in [his] life". -
Michael Clarke Duncan
Fun trivia: Supposedly gave $5.00 to anyone who recognized him on the street and knew what his full name was. -
Dennis Farina
Fun trivia: Did not start acting until he was 37 years old, after stints in the military and 18 years with the Chicago Police Department. -
William Fichtner
Fun trivia: Is a talented racing driver - overall winner of the 2011 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race during the Grand Prix of Long Beach, finishing ahead of pro driver Ken Gushi. -
Robert Forster
Fun trivia: Once worked as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman. -
Brendan Gleeson
Fun trivia: Is a fine fiddle player and can be seen playing it in Michael Collins (1996) and also in Cold Mountain (2003). -
Luis Guzmán
Fun trivia: He was a social worker, working especially with young people. He also was very involved with his community, arranging events, before becoming an actor. -
John Hawkes
Fun trivia: Turned down the role of The Governor in the television series The Walking Dead. -
Lance Henriksen
Fun trivia: Was illiterate until the age of thirty, when he learned to read by studying movie scripts. -
Richard Jenkins
Fun trivia: Shares the same birth name as Richard Burton. -
Elias Koteas
Fun trivia: His parents are both of Greek descent, from the Mani Peninsula and he is a fluent Greek and French speaker. -
Stephen Lang
Fun trivia: Runs the famed Actors Studio in New York along with Lee Grant, Al Pacino and others. -
Frank Langella
Fun trivia: Lived with actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg (separated in March 2001). -
David Morse
Fun trivia: Broke several fingers during a fight scene in Disturbia (2007) but remained in character and finished the take. -
Denis O'Hare
Fun trivia: He has been married to Hugo Redwood since July 28, 2011; they have one child. -
Chazz Palminteri
Fun trivia: Began as a long-haired lead singer for a band called "Razzamachazz." -
David Paymer
Fun trivia: After filming the original pilot for St. Elsewhere (1982), he was replaced in the role of Dr. Wayne Fiscus by Howie Mandel. -
Pete Postlethwaite
Fun trivia: At the beginning of one hit wonder "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, it's his voice that says these words from the movie Brassed Off (1996): "Truth is I thought it mattered, I thought that music mattered. But does it bollocks! Not compared to how people matter". -
Stephen Root
Fun trivia: With his part as the squirrelly "Milton Waddams" in the cult classic Office Space (1999), Root has developed a fan base; he has said that, from time to time, fans of the movie will either mail him or give him, in person, a red Swingline stapler. -
J.K. Simmons
Fun trivia: Has been the voice of the yellow peanut M&M on the commercials since the late 1990s, replacing John Goodman after the original 1995 commercials. In 2000, a video game was produced, M&M's: The Lost Formulas (2000), in which he portrayed Yellow Peanut. -
Harry Dean Stanton
Fun trivia: Critic Roger Ebert so admired him that he created the "Stanton-Walsh Rule," which states that "no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad." Ebert later admitted that Dream a Little Dream (1989), in which Stanton appeared, was a "clear violation" of this rule. -
Peter Stormare
Fun trivia: He was accidentally hit by Mark Hamill during a fight scene in Commander Hamilton (1998). He has broken his nose four times, last time during the shooting of "Unknown". A nose surgery was done in 2008, to prevent him from going blind on the right eye. -
David Strathairn
Fun trivia: Father of Tay Strathairn, keyboard player for American folk-rock band Dawes. -
Stephen Tobolowsky
Fun trivia: Was the lead singer in the first band formed by guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan. They went to school together in Dallas. -
Pruitt Taylor Vince
Fun trivia: Has a condition called Nystagmus, which causes his eyes to involuntarily move back and forth. -
Frank Whaley
Fun trivia: Founded a theater company called Malaparte with Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Steve Zahn. -
Bradley Whitford
Fun trivia: Founded the charity "Clothes off our Back" with his former wife, Jane Kaczmarek, in 2002. Clothes off our Back runs on-line auctions after major awards shows where celebrities' gowns and tuxedos, and other articles of clothing, are auctioned off. The proceeds go to children's charities such as Cure Autism Now and The Children's Defense Fund. -
Michael Wincott
Fun trivia: Younger brother of Jeff Wincott. -
Ray Winstone
Fun trivia: Was offered the role of Jimmy McNulty in The Wire (2002), which he turned down because he didn't want to move to Baltimore, away from his family. The role instead went to Dominic West.
