THAT is William Fichtner |
Well, we’ve had a lot of fun this summer with our favorite “that guy” actors (and one actress). But now, it’s time to bid farewell to these faces – that is until you watch another movie, which will undoubtedly have at least one of them in it. But there are so many more -- legions of actors and actresses you recognize for sure, but can't quite match the face with a name. Alas, summer flew by, and we have some apologies to hand out to the awesome schlubs we couldn’t get to. Below, ten more, in this, the final installation of our Summer of Schlub. 1. Peter Stormare
Best remembered as: The nihilist from The Big Lebowski; the guy who put Steve Buscemi into the chipper in Fargo.
You could make a case that he’s “too famous” for consideration here. But he is doing Volkswagen ads now. How many name actors do you see doing those?
2. Al Leong
Best remembered as: The Asian tough in Lethal Weapon and Die Hard; Genghis Khan in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
We had a request for this guy, but really, beyond those three movies, we weren’t sure what to say.
3. Miguel Ferrer
Best remembered as: Probably the dude he played in Traffic, maybe as the guy in Twin Peaks, maybe as his character in Crossing Jordan, possibly even the guy in Robocop.
He’s a classic chameleon. He usually plays a hard-ass cop, FBI agent, or some other authority figure. We like him, but it’s hard to get people to remember who he is.
4. Stephen Tobolowsky
Best remembered as: Ned “The Head” Ryerson from Groundhog Day. Bing! Also, Sammy Jankis from Memento.
We cast our Groundhog Day lot with Brian Doyle-Murray, and there’s no turning back now. Even if this guy was in Spaceballs.
5. Jane Lynch
Best remembered as: Either the manager of the electronics store in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, a dog trainer in Best In Show, or a member of the New Main Street Singers in A Mighty Wind.
You’ll recognize her as “go-to uptight-looking woman of a certain age.” She can currently be seen as Ricky Bobby’s mom in Talladega Nights.
6. William Forsythe
Best remembered as: The Other Fugitive from Raising Arizona. As in, “the one not played by John Goodman.”
He’s done a ton of stuff, but – even though we’ve seen Raising Arizona, like, a million times – we probably still couldn’t pick him out of a police lineup. We watched The Rock recently, knew which part he played, and still weren’t entirely sure which one he was.
THAT is Michael Hagerty |
7. William Fichtner
Best remembered as: The wiseacre NASA guy in
Armageddon, the DA in
Crash, dozens more.
He’s another chameleon like Ferrer: you know you’ve seen him before, but you’ve seen him in so many things that it’s hard to single out where. He doesn’t really have a defining role, either.
8. Michael G. Hagerty
Best remembered as: The union worker, building super, or garage mechanic in several film and TV comedies.
This guy could not possibly be more typecast. Can you imagine him playing a teacher? A lawyer? I’m sure he’s not complaining, though.
9. Bill Duke
Best remembered as: The black guy who wasn’t Carl Weathers in Predator.
This guy’s a double-threat: he directed Sister Act 2. We felt we shouldn’t profile him because, well, it might have required we watch Sister Act 2.
10. Patrick Cranshaw
Best remembered as: Blue in Old School
He’s that old guy in everything. He passed away in 2005. If we had profiled him, it would have degenerated into a string of Old School jokes anyway, so we let it be.