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Correct - also like your add-ons. And then there's Lee Van Cleef.
And was based on Edith Head, the costume designer from a *lot* of the great films of mid-century.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned three of the greatest from the old "Dick Van Dyke Show".
Moerey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, and I-can't-remember the name of Mel Cooley's actor.
Richard Deacon. The DVD Show in my opinion remains the very best comedy in the history of TV (thus far).
Actually, the voice actor for Edna Mode was Brad Bird. Linda Hunt was quite prolific, including roles in Silverado, Kindergarten Cop, and Disney's Pocahontas among others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Bird
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Hunt
More apologies, LOL. I'm not going to live that one down.
And I should be shamed! Any more actors and actresses?
Both Charles Coburn and James Coburn were excellent choices. It is true that James Coburn often played the leading man, but he was also a supporting actor. I think he even got an Oscar for supporting actor, which I should look up on IMDB instead of typing. I have a soft spot for the Flint movies, campy as they were.
Charles Coburn is also a great choice. He was a traditional character actor, appearing in hundreds of movies in smaller roles. My favoite role of his was probably a WWII era romantic comedy with Jean Arthur and Joel Macrae, in which they share an apartment in Washington because of the WWII housing shortage. He is better known as Barbara Stanwick's father in The Lady Eve.
Keep them coming. And if you join the thread late, it is totally appropriate to make me keep apologizing for my Incredibles comment.
Octavia Spencer! Definitely one of my top current favorite character actresses. (Hidden Figures, Shape of Water, The Help...)
David Warner, Barnard Hughes, Peter Jurassik, so many more.
David Warner:
Barnard Hughes:
Peter Jurasik:
Interestingly enough, ALL three of those were in a single movie, none starring in it......TRON (the original). And they've appeared in so many shows and movies over the years, and all produced brilliant performances. Jurasik is currently best known for his role as Londo Mollari in the series Babylon 5.....but had appearances in M*A*S*H, Night Court, and a slew of others.
In no particular order, and there's a bazillion I've missed out . . .
David Bradley (Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Dr Who)
Tim Spall (Harry Potter, Sweeny Todd)
Alistair Sim (A Christmas Carol, St Trinians)
Ian Holm (Alien, LOTR)
John Hurt (Alien, Tinker Tailor, Dr Who)
Gary Oldman (Lost in Space, Tinker Tailor, Harry Potter)
Simon Pegg (Star Trek, Mission Impossible)
Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock, The Office)
Michael Sheen (Twilight, Frost/Nixon, Passengers)
Ian McShane (Deadwood, American Gods, John Wick)
Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead)
Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Galaxy Quest, Harry Potter)
Helen Mirren (Red, Eye in the Sky, Winchester)
Julie Walters (Harry Potter, Mamma Mia)
Judi Dench (James Bond)
Eileen Atkins (The Crown, Doc Martin)
Diana Rigg (The Avengers, Jmes Bond, Game of Thrones)
Maggie Smith (Harry Potter, Downton Abbey)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures, the Shape of Water)
Thandie Newton (Westworld, 2012, ER)
Tilda Swinton
For TV, I really like Cliff Simon from Stargate SG-1. He took the role of a villain and made him likable and even funny at times. I met him several times at various events here in LA, and he is so nice in real life! He comes off so kind and zenlike almost, which is probably how he made an evil character likable. Which reminds me, I also like the now deceased actor David Canary from All my Children. He played twins, one a hard conniving millionaire and the other, a sweet mentally "slow" person, not sure what the politically correct word is. Amazing actor!
Cliff Simon
David Canary
Max Von Sydow.
LOL. The lighting in the Cliff Simon image above makes that look more like a Daz render then real-life.
Tim - how can you post that long list and not include any pictures? Aargh. Just kidding (sort of).
Octavia Spencer is perfect. What a wonderful actress. And she doesn't just have one niche. Great post.
And the cast of Tron! Will have to watch it again just to see the three of them. I can't see David Warner without thinking of The Omen. Shudder.
Max Von Sydow is another post I like because he had the looks to play the leading man (and sometimes did), but so often sought out interesting supporting roles. Yes, if you play Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told, you've had at least one leading man part.
Finally, I have a terrible admission to make. I watched All My Children during college. LOL. Remember David Canary fondly.
I have another actress to consider. She did movies, TV, and voice work. Kathleen Freeman. She did comedy films with Jerry Lewis (Nutty Professor) and James Garner (Suppot Your Local Gunfighter), adventure films with Stewart Granger (Prisoner of Zenda), TV series like Bonanza and The Facts of Life, and voice work like Shrek and Ferngully.
Yes! I was thinking that too! And his face is more yellow and chest more red. Interesting lighting... Or possibly a bad makeup artist?
Walter Slezak. Can't believe I hadn't thought of him yet. Could do a farce with Danny Kaye (Inspector General), play the heavy for Alfred Hitchcock (LIfeboat), and even be part of a ballet (Dr. Coppelius). And of course, he was a batman villain on the 60s TV show (Clock King). Apparently, he committed suicide in his 80s.
Ollie 8 makes me very happy.
So many....
Here's a most notable mention to James Hong, who has had a very long career in Hollywood. He was born in 1929, and has played numerous roles (424 credited roles, possibly over 500 roles in total) in film and television. Somehow, though, he keeps getting overlooked in the 'most acting roles' lists on the internet despite his quiet but impressive career...
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0393222/
Here's a few that you might remember...
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I'm also a James Colburn fan. James Colburn's coolness is, well he was one of those actors that defined cool back in the day...
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BTW, if you are curious as to who has the most acting credits on IMDB, that distinction goes to Bess Flowers (no longer with us). Known as the 'Queen of the Hollywood Extras', her acting career apparently ended in 1964 (pretty much before my time), but she has 909 credits on IMDB, including appearances alongside Charlie Chaplin and in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo...
I'm sure I've seen her in several older films (at 5'9", she's a bit more noticeable), but she's one of those quiet extras, and apparently didn't mind being in so many films...
Here's an article that talks about her long career in Hollywood.
http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/the-female-actor/symposium1/#flowers
One guy wh surprisingly (given his very distinctive look for a secondary character) was in a ton of bit roles on 60s TV was Roger C. Carmel, Harry Mudd on Star Trek and other characters on a dozen other shows.
And if you watch old Westerns you know that if Jack Elam rides into town, well, things are about to get ugly.
In a rather interesting dual role, James Hong supplied the English dubbed lines for both Ogata and Dr. Serizawa in "Godzilla, King of the Monsters". this proved particularly interesting when the two characters argued and then openly fought each other. Supposedly the lines were recorded upon a single track meaning Hong had to switch voices in real time as each character spoke and shouted at the other.
George Takei (Sulu of Star Trek) lent his voice as early as the first sequel (known in the US first as "Gigantus, the Fire Monster" and later as "Godzilla Raids Again"). He was heard as a voice over a P.A. system alerting the population to the approaching menace.
Sincerely,
Having just got back from seeing Ready Player One, how could I have forgotten Mark Rylance? (Bridge of Spies, BFG, Dunkirk, Wolf Hall, Ready Player One . . .)
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Laurence Fishburn
Apocalypse Now, The Matrix Trilogy, Boyz n the Hood, to name a few
What made a lot of character actors in Hollywood movies from the 1930s to the 1960s famous and memorable is the quality of their voices (along with acting talent), rather than their physical appearance. Peter Lorre, Syndey Greenstreet, Agnes Moorehead, Margaret Hamilton, etc. Actors talk, most 3D characters don't talk. 3D characters who are used as "character actors" have to look like their personality. A lot of the photos of actors posted in this thread are unknown to me, and I have no idea, looking at a photograph of them, what their "character" is.
Yay - I love the release of Edie for G8F. In the comment thread, people have posted pictures of Margaret Hamilton and mentioned Mary Wickes, each of whom have been praised in this character actor thread.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/3563156/#Comment_3563156
That's a underestimated big loss. Even when watching old cartoons the range of vioces from Warner Brothers to Snaggle Puss to the Pink Panther to and many more compared to the extremely limited array of cartoon voices used today where the primary requirement is that your name have box office draw in the recent past rather than being actually an entertaining voice actor worth hearing in it's own right.
So, with the releases of Ollie, Edie, Dolb, Crone, and many others, hopefully we can see more character actors in our scenes.
Next on my wishlist, and partially inspired by the comments on voice training, another great character actor was Roscoe Lee Brown. He was the voice of the robot Box in Logan's Run. I will always remember him most fondly as the chuck wagon chef in John Wayne's the Cowboys God, forgive me for the men I have killed, and am about to kill (or something like that).
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001975/?ref_=tt_cl_t4
the first time I ever seen James Hong was in a TV series Kung Fu with David Carridean. I think those 70's kung fu movies like the Bruce Lee, David Carrdean, Chuck Norris, & Jacky Chan etc are what inspired my Karate Girl animations, I still love watching them today even though they are rather corny now compared to the modern flicks
I'm not sure everyone is on the same page with the classification of character actors. Going by the OP, I got the impression we were considering actors who don't usually get top billing yet amass an impressive body of work in non-starring roles. I would consider names like Mark Rylance, Helen Mirren and Judi Dench to be top billing stars. The same goes for Lee Marvin and James Coburn. But then you get the faces who's names traditionally appeared in the smaller text yet became well known because their names appeared there so often. Actors like Ray Walston, Ernest Borgnine and Fred MacMurray.
And, to include a current actor who's in just about every quality show on American TV, Magro Martindale ...
Speaking of voices, nobody played more characters than Mel Blanc.
@grinch2901 - love me some Mel Blanc. Ivy has highlighted some voice actors on the first page of the thread. We posted Hank Azarea's tribute to Mel Blanc that I think you would enjoy. https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/3366756/#Comment_3366756
@marble - I was just thinking of Ray Walston. Great career. Great choice. I will probably always think of his parts in South Pacific and The Apartment, even though he had the title role in My Favorite Martian. Thank you for posting Fred MacMurray and Ernest Borgnine. On the one hand, Fred MacMurray had a lot of leading man parts (Double Indemnity, lots of Disney films). On the other, to me a least, his best performances were in supporting roles, including the aforementioned The Apartment, but especially The Caine Mutiny. Ernest Borgnine is one of the few character actors to win Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Marty), but personally I agree he is best known as a supporting actor.
Thank you, @Ivy and @tj_1ca9500b for posting about James Hong. What a fantastic career. The translation work doing both characters in the same scene is amazing. Hate to admit it, but I remember Big Trouble in Little China the best. He obviously was far more talented, and I wish he had more opportunities to display it.
Just want to add that The Apartment is one of my all-time favourites. I fell in love with Shirley MacLaine. Oh, by the way, I can't see Borgnine without thinking of From Here To Eternity - another great film.