A lot of character actors back into acting sometimes accidentally. Not so for Brian Dennehy. He has a BFA from Columbia and only delayed his career by being a Marine for four years. His breakthrough movie role was as the mean sherriff to Sylvester Stallone's Rambo in FIRST BLOOD. He's a big, burly guy who played college football while being a thespian. He has appeared on and received Emmys for his many roles on TV including playing real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacey in TO CATCH A…

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"What we have here...is failure to communicate" from 1967's COOL HAND LUKE is the line Strother Martin is best known for. His role as Captain against Paul Newman's Luke is a classic. He played with many of the Hollywood titans typically in character roles that were at least seedy or villainous. Being a superb competitive diver from Indiana, he went to Hollywood after serving  as a swimming instructor in the Navy during WWII. He started out as a swimming instructor and then a swimming extra…

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Another one of my favorite character actors is a fellow named M. Emmet Walsh. Not exactly a catchy name, but he has been working in movies since the 1970s. Originally from New York, he regularly plays Southerners doing corrupt cops, deadly killers and other zany comedic roles. He was Harrison Ford's police chief in BLADERUNNER and the double-crossing PI in BLOOD SIMPLE. Somehow, he turned to acting after graduating from Clarkson University School of Business and has a home in West Swanton…

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I met Gene Hackman at a heavyweight boxing exhibition in Denver back in the early 70's. He was a boxing fan and travelled to many venues. He had recently won one of his two Academy Awards for playing Popeye Doyle in the FRENCH CONNECTION - yet he was there without any entourage. He was an engaging, enthusiastic everyman. Years before, he and friend Dustin Hoffman were declared "Least Likely To Succeed" at the Pasedena Playhouse. They both travelled to NYC to prove them wrong. Mission… Continue

You've seen him many times in a filmography too long to write here. Danny Trejo spent a few years in prison early on and he speaks often to youth groups about avoiding a life of crime. He's a character actor who's "look" says bad guy all the way. And he has worked with all the biggie movie stars like Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, etc. And, he is also a cousin to famed movie producer/writer/director Robert Rodriguez. Now, he is about to star in a movie put together by… Continue