6 of my Favorite Character Actors.

It's always the guy you look at during a scene and your brain screams "HEY I KNOW THAT GUY!" but you can't remember their name. I'm guilty of that too. So i thought it would neat to pick out 5 of my favorite character actor i have seen in movies and let you know why they are a favorite and please refrain form saying you know that guy until the end of the list. These are just a few of my favorites so here we go...

Elias Koteas. If you saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles then you remember this bad ass as the guy who played Casey Jones. He also appeared in Apt. Pupil as homeless guy that Nazi Ian McKellan kills. He has a sort of appeal that you get from someone at a bar who starts talking to you and you aren't afraid of him but you'll hear him out.

Clancy Brown has always been an important figure in my mind. Always playing someone incredibly hard nosed, Clancy has the privilege of bringing respect and sometimes driving fear with the roles he plays. He brought to life the drill instructor in Starship Troopers or the Lead Security Guard in Shawshank Redemption or the Zombie Sheriff from Pet Cemetery II and countless amounts of voice work.  Fear Clancy.

J.K. Simmons is one of those guys you always want to see in a movie or hear in a cartoon. He was sensational as James Jonah Jameson in those Spider-Man movies. he seems like one of those guys that can just play ANYTHING. If you need him to be funny? he will be hilarious! If you need him to be heartfelt or evil or an asshole boss than he can pull that off as well. J.K. can be seen in those commercials about insurance and i don't mind watching them as long as he's in them.

Vincent Schiavelli creeps me out and will continue to do so for years on end. This sensational addition to film passed in 2005 but as with all these guys he will not be forgotten. My first memory of him was from Batman Returns and he played an organ grinder and had a monkey...first impressions am i right? But so it goes that once you see him you don't stop seeing him. He had one of those faces and voices you don't forget.

Peter Stormare...is the best at what he does. He has played the devil, a nihilist, Russian cosmonaut, prison inmate, twisted scientist, car commercial scientist and probably countless amounts of other roles. Holy shit this guy is just amazing at giving the story what it needs in terms of someone to hit you in the gut with his amazing sense of getting lost in every character he plays. 

James Rebhorn passed away recently so essentially he is the reason why i am writing this. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this actor because i always remember his roles as being a person in an administrative or authoritative type of role. I was really sad to hear about his death because he always seemed like the guy who would be in charge or be behind everything. i remember him best as a doctor from The Game because the twist that takes place later involves James. He also wrote his own obit and here that is...

 James Robert Rebhorn was born on Sept. 1, 1948, in Philadelphia, PA. His mother, Ardell Frances Rebhorn, nee Hoch, loved him very much and supported all his dreams. She taught him the value of good manners and courtesy, and that hospitality is no small thing. His father, James Harry Rebhorn, was no less devoted to him. From him, Jim learned that there is no excuse for poor craftsmanship. A job well done rarely takes more or less time than a job poorly done. They gave him his faith and wisely encouraged him to stay in touch with God.

He is survived by his sister, Janice Barbara Galbraith, of Myrtle Beach, SC. She was his friend, his confidant, and, more often than either of them would like to admit, his bridge over troubled waters. He is also survived by his wife, Rebecca Fulton Linn, and his two daughters, Emma Rebecca Rebhorn and Hannah Linn Rebhorn. They anchored his life and gave him the freedom to live it. Without them, always at the center of his being, his life would have been little more than a vapor. Rebecca loved him with all his flaws, and in her the concept of ceaseless love could find no better example.

His children made him immensely proud. Their dedication to improving our species and making the world a better place gave him hope for the future. They deal with grief differently, and they should each manage it as they see fit. He hopes, however, that they will grieve his passing only as long as necessary. They have much good work to do, and they should get busy doing it. Time is flying by. His son-in-law, Ben, also survives him. Jim loved Ben, who was as a son to Jim, especially through these last months. His aunts Jean, Dorothy and Florence, numerous cousins and their families, and many devoted friends also survive Jim. He loved them all, and he knows they loved him.

Jim received his BA at Wittenberg University and his MFA at Columbia. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Nu Zeta 624, a life-long Lutheran, and a longtime member of both the AMC and ACLU.

Jim was fortunate enough to earn his living doing what he loved. He was a professional actor. His unions were always there for him, and he will remain forever grateful for the benefits he gained as a result of the union struggle. Without his exceptional teachers and the representation of the best agents in the business, he wouldn’t have had much of a career. He was a lucky man in every way.

–Jim Rebhorn, March 2014

-R