Favorite character actors

[Waukonda]

Jackie Coogan had quite a career, first appearing as ""The Kid" with Charlie Chaplin, and 40 years later as Uncle Fester with many films and TV appearances between.

[Mumbleypeg]

Ike, you came up with a goodun’! I had forgotten about Jackie Coogan being in the Adams Family cast, but remember him more as a child actor.

Royal Dano who I always mistook for John Carradine and Leo Gordon who is an iconic badman.

Royal Dano and Leo Gordon are two more that although I didn’t recognize their names, knew them immediately when seeing their pictures. Great character actors.

Ken

[Waukonda]

Ike, you came up with a goodun’!

I actually saw him on an episode of "Andy Griffith", and I thought "Oh yeah, that guy". This morning I was watching Andy, and saw an episode with both Reta Shaw and Willis Bouchey.

[Mumbleypeg]

How about Claude Akins!

Murray Hamilton. Often cast as a sleazy politician. (I know, that’s redundant).

Ken

[Quick Steel]

I always thought Murray Hamilton was an especially fine actor tho he didn't get many distinguished roles. I first saw him in The FBI Story with Jimmy Stewart. You might remember him as the town mayor in Jaws.

[Mumbleypeg]

I always thought Murray Hamilton was an especially fine actor tho he didn't get many distinguished roles. I first saw him in The FBI Story with Jimmy Stewart. You might remember him as the town mayor in Jaws.

He was the villain in The Drowning Pool with Paul Newman. IIRC Hamilton played the rich guy trying to swindle a widow out of her land which has oil under it. He was often cast as a crook, and he was good at it!

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

In an earlier post in this thread chickenman mentioned Strother Martin. A great character actor cast in movies for over three decades including several with John Wayne. He’s probably best known as the prison warden in Cool Hand Luke and his iconic line “What we have got here is failure to communicate”.

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

Dean Jagger had a movie career lasting over 6 decades, and somehow managed not to be typecast.

Edmund Gwenn was a star on stage in London, and a great character actor in movies. He played many different roles but is probably best remembered as Kris Kringle in Miracle in 34th Street.

Ken

[Quick Steel]

Outstanding recall on those two, Mumblypeg.

[chickenman62]

I think a more modern one would be William Sanderson. He has been in lots of westerns but probably most recognizable from the Newhart show.

[Ridgegrass]

I know he was mentioned already but Walter Brennan's career was extensive. He appeared in 230 movie and television rolls and even had a #1 record with "OLD RIVERS". He was second banana to all the biggest stars and won 3 Academy awards, the only male actor to do so. He often played roles without his teeth as in "Stumpy" in RIO BRAVO. J.O'.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I just saw Ray Teal in a movie called “The Best Years of Our Lives” with Dana Andrews,Fredric March, and Myrna Loy. He had a very small part and just in one scene. But he is best known for playing sheriff Coffee on Bonanza. He is always a favorite of mine when I see him in anything.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Another character actor I like is Chi McBride, he was in a tv series called Boston Public years ago. He was in I Robot, as a police captain. He was in Gone in 60 Seconds and many others.
Another I enjoy seeing is Barry Pepper. He was the sniper in Saving Private Ryan. He recently was in the Lawman Bass Reeves on Paramont+. He has a whole host of movies. He was in the remake of True Grit with Jeff Bridges. He is great at playing a cold blooded outlaw or a cool under fire sniper.

[chickenman62]

A couple more you probably won't recognize the name but you will definitely know....Gene Evans, John Anderson,Walter Burke, and most iconic from Cool Hand Luke Morgan Woodward.

[Unk]

I like Barry Pepper, too. He was great in Saving Private Ryan.

Another guy who has been in a ton of movies is Clancy Brown. He usually plays the bad guy. Of course he was in Shawkshank Redemption. But the role I first remember seeing him in was Bad Boys. They were in prison, and he and Sean Penn were having a beef. Sean Penn filled a pillow case full of coke cans and beat the snot out of him with it.

[Mumbleypeg]

This one goes back a ways but British actor Nigel Bruce was a favorite of mine, I think maybe because he played Dr. Watson in 14 Sherlock Holmes films. He was also in several Alfred Hitchcock films.

Ken

Nigel Bruce

Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, with Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes

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[chickenman62]

Peter Whitney always played a heavy.

[Mumbleypeg]

Sean Bean has a career in movies and television now into his 5th decade. He’s been in James Bond and Lord of the Rings. Often plays a villain.

Ken

[Ridgegrass]

SSK: "Best Years OF Our Lives" is in my top 5 movies. We watched it for the umpteenth time the other night. If I see 2 minutes of it I'm in for the duration. It depicts perfectly the "readjustment blues" all military folks go through on returning from combat. Harold Russell was fantastic as Homer, winning "Best Supporting Actor" with almost no prior experience. He was also awarded a special Oscar for his contribution to the morale of wounded veterans, becoming the only non-professional to win an Oscar and the only actor to win two Oscars for the same performance.
Another great character actor was Harry Davenport. He played many a judge, doctor, lawyer, town elder. He was Dr. Meade in "Gone With The Wind" and King Lois XI in "Hunchback of Notre Dame". He made 160 films.

[Mumbleypeg]

Another great character actor was Harry Davenport. He played many a judge, doctor, lawyer, town elder. He was Dr. Meade in "Gone With The Wind" and King Lois XI in "Hunchback of Notre Dame". He made 160 films.

Harry Davenport was a great one - can’t believe we didn't think of him sooner. The amazing thing about him is that despite all those movies he was in, his first movie role was when he was 47 years old. Which is why he usually was cast as a judge, doctor, or grandfather. He had a long career acting in theater before his first movie role.

Harry Davenport

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Another character actor with a short (but prolific) career was Everette Sloan. He died when only 55 years old but was a favorite of directors Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and television shows like Bonanza, Andy Griffith, etc. playing all kind of roles.

[chickenman62]

How about J. Pat O'Malley.

[Mumbleypeg]

A couple more. Jack Weston had roles in comedies and sometimes as a “heavy”. Yaphet Kotto had a long career playing various roles but was maybe most known for playing the James Bond villain “Mr. Big”. James Gleason seems like he was in every 1940s movie on TCM (of course he wasn’t) usually as a tough-talking police detective. And one of my favorite character actresses, Edna Mae Oliver, who was usually cast as an old maid or someone’s dowager old aunt.

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

Another oldie but goodie, Donald Meek, was a prolific character actor in over 120 films. Standing 5’4” and reportedly weighing just 81 pounds, he was often cast as a meek, timid, hen-pecked character. Ironically prior to becoming an actor he enlisted in the U.S. army, was wounded in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, then after recovering re-enlisted at the outbreak of WWI.

Ken

[chickenman62]

Two Richards, Devon and Jaeckl

[chickenman62]

Here is another good one. Bing Russel who also happens to be the father of actor Kurt Russel.