Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie

A lot of times when I'm watching a movie or TV show, I'll spot an actor - - usually in a secondary role - - whom I've seen in some other role before, or even more than one; and I will then spend some time trying to figure out exactly where I've seen that person before. Some people find this kind of thing distracting because it takes them out of the story for a moment or two, but I don't. I enjoy it, actually - - it's like an "Easter Egg" for me, and I've never found that it detracts from my enjoyment of the film. The most recent notable example I can think of (it actually happens all the time, but this one stands out) is that King Theoden in The Two Towers is played by the same guy who played Captain Smith in Titanic. Some actors make an entire career out of playing such secondary characters, and then sometimes when they get to be "Elder Statesmen" of the screen trade they'll get a role into which they really sink their teeth, and walk away with an Oscar nomination or even an award. Such a person is said to be a character actor.

Here are some of my favorite character actors, in no particular order (and not exhaustive, either - - I'll come back and add more in later posts).

:: Carrie Fisher. Yes, she started out as a leading lady in the first Star Wars trilogy, but for various reasons she receded into character-actor status, with notable appearances in films like When Harry Met Sally… and Austin Powers (the first one). She's also kept busy as a writer.

:: James Rebhorn. This guy is one of my favorite character actors, despite the fact that I can never remember his name. His turn as the smarmy Secretary of Defense in Independence Day is excellent, as is his portrayal of the attorney who prosecuted "the gang" in the final episode of Seinfeld. He brings a sense of businesslike precision to just about every role he does.

:: Maury Chaykin. He's been all over the place. For me, he's most memorable for the first time I saw him, as an insane Army officer in Dances With Wolves.

:: John Hurt. A fine, fine actor who can do just about anything: a billionaire industrialist in Contact, an elitist nobleman in Rob Roy, the owner of the Magic Wand Shop in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - - he is always outstanding.

:: William Petersen. He may not count anymore, really, since he hit it big on CSI. But he was a fine character actor before that, with his work in Cousins being an outstanding example.

:: Stockard Channing. I've always loved her. I'm also glad that she's had more exposure in recent years, after taking on the role of First Lady Abigail Bartlet on The West Wing, because that means whenever Channing shows up in a movie, some bozo in the theater doesn't yelp, "Hey, it's Rizzo!"

:: Clint Howard. God, I love this guy. He's been around forever, almost as long as his brother Ron. (He played Balok in the original series Star Trek episode, "The Corbomite Maneuver".) He's especially notable as one of the Houston controllers in Apollo 13.

That's enough of those for today. More at another time.