Your Top Ten Favorite Character Actors

This is Step Two on the way to a poll (or more) to decide the SDMB favorites.

Refer to Your Favorite Character Actors (pre-poll data gathering) for some possibilities from which to make your own Top Ten list.

Your list can be totally new and separate from those listed in the other thread. It’s just a memory jogger, if you like.

The names in this thread will be used for a poll (or more) later.

It was fairly easy (okay, tough!) to get down to 25. But I had to make some hard choices to get to these 10:

Harry Dean Stanton
David Strathairn
Walton Goggins
Stephen Root
Michael K. Williams

Strother Martin
Garret Dillahunt
Chris Cooper
Ben Johnson
Frances McDormand

I’m just hoping some of my Top 25 wind up on some of your lists. :slight_smile:

Lee J. Cobb
Chris Cooper
Garret Dillahunt
Ciarán Hinds
Frances McDormand
Claude Rains
David Strathairn
Mark Strong
Jack Warden
Tom Wilkinson

Dick Miller
JT Walsh
Trey Wilson
Elisha Cook Jr
Ned Sparks
Una Merkel
Fred Clark
Jonathan Haze
Harry Dean Stanton
William Smith

UT~

Ah, this was hard.
Clancy Brown
Chris Cooper
Laird Creggar
William Fichtner
John Hawkes

Ciarán Hinds
Jason Isaacs (can’t believe I forgot this guy in the last thread)
Robert Knepper
Frances McDormand
David Strathairn

Honorary mention: Jonathan Pryce

Thanks for the entries. We have 32 unique names so far.

Ward Bond
Steve Buscemi
Richard Farnsworth
Billy Green Bush
Bo Hopkins
Richard Jaeckel
Ben Johnson
Giovanni Ribisi
Harry Dean Stanton
David Strathairn

Yeah, getting to 25 was doable, but 15 was tough and cutting #11, Eli Wallach was brutal. I found myself having to choose between like actors; Buscemi and Roth, Bond and McLaglen, Jaeckel and Ray, etc. Some favorite actors mentioned, like Gene Hackman, I’d really put in a different category.

The list of unique names, along with their IMDb pages, will be updated periodically and reposted. This ought to assist anybody having trouble making up a Top Ten list.

It is indeed a difficult chore! :slight_smile:

Through **lieu **'s list:

Ward Bond Ward Bond - IMDb
Clancy Brown Clancy Brown - IMDb
Steve Buscemi Steve Buscemi - IMDb
Fred Clark Fred Clark - IMDb
Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb - IMDb

Elisha Cook Jr Elisha Cook Jr. - IMDb
Chris Cooper (3) Chris Cooper - IMDb
Laird Creggar Laird Cregar - IMDb
Garret Dillahunt (2) Garret Dillahunt - IMDb
Richard Farnsworth Richard Farnsworth - IMDb

William Fichtner William Fichtner - IMDb
Walton Goggins Walton Goggins - IMDb
Billy Green Bush Billy Green Bush - IMDb
John Hawkes John Hawkes - IMDb
Jonathan Haze Jonathan Haze - IMDb

Ciarán Hinds (2) Ciarán Hinds - IMDb
Bo Hopkins Bo Hopkins - IMDb
Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs - IMDb
Richard Jaeckel Richard Jaeckel - IMDb
Ben Johnson (2) Ben Johnson - IMDb

Robert Knepper Robert Knepper - IMDb
Strother Martin Strother Martin - IMDb
Frances McDormand (3) Frances McDormand - IMDb
Una Merkel Una Merkel - IMDb
Dick Miller Dick Miller - IMDb

Jonathan Pryce Jonathan Pryce - IMDb
Claude Rains Claude Rains - IMDb
Giovanni Ribisi Giovanni Ribisi - IMDb
Stephen Root Stephen Root - IMDb
William Smith William Smith - IMDb

Ned Sparks Ned Sparks - IMDb
Harry Dean Stanton (3) Harry Dean Stanton - IMDb
David Strathairn (4) David Strathairn - IMDb
Mark Strong Mark Strong - IMDb
JT Walsh J.T. Walsh - IMDb

Jack Warden Jack Warden - IMDb
Tom Wilkinson Tom Wilkinson - IMDb
Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams - IMDb
Trey Wilson Trey Wilson - IMDb

Well, that was more difficult than I thought it would be. 15 or 20, no problem, but narrowing it down to 10 was tough. Anyway, here’s my list:

Ward Bond
Walter Brennan
Chris Cooper
Jack Elam
George Kennedy
Strother Martin
Tim Roth
Harry Dean Stanton
Lee Van Cleef
J T Walsh

Just a bit of trivia: if we were to stop right now and use this thread’s responses as a guide to the ultimate poll, these actors who have received multiple mentions would be who we would have to choose from:

Ward Bond (2) Ward Bond - IMDb
Chris Cooper (4) Chris Cooper - IMDb
Garret Dillahunt (2) Garret Dillahunt - IMDb
Ciarán Hinds (2) Ciarán Hinds - IMDb
Ben Johnson (2) Ben Johnson - IMDb

Strother Martin (2) Strother Martin - IMDb
Frances McDormand (3) Frances McDormand - IMDb
Harry Dean Stanton (4) Harry Dean Stanton - IMDb
David Strathairn (4) David Strathairn - IMDb
JT Walsh (2) J.T. Walsh - IMDb

The latest count of unique names is 44, and I’d like to hear from you about how the poll(s) should be created. I don’t think a March Madness approach (like the one in Little Nemo’s “Top Song of the 70s” elimination) would work here, but I’m not sure what else would.

Is “SDMB’s Favorite Character Actor” even what we want to find?

Any list of character actors which omits Abraham Benrubi isn’t worth the pixels!

Very well. I’ll add him to the list.

Got 9 others?

I’m going to make my list all female to balance things out a bit:

Margaret Hamilton
Dawn French
Jennifer Saunders
Jean Marsh
Elsa Lanchester
Hermione Gingold
Penelope Wilton
Carol Kane
Emma Chambers
Maggie Steed

Heavy on the British actresses, but you just don’t see as many American character actresses in large, juicy roles.

Henry Stephenson
Alan Hale Sr
Cloris Leachman
Bruce Gordon
Dwight Frye
Emil Sitka
Una O’Connor
the three Hanson brothers from “Slapshot”

Would they be:

Jeff Carlson … Jeff Hanson
Steve Carlson … Steve Hanson
David Hanson … Jack Hanson

Graham Greene
Billie Whitelaw
Sheila Tousey
Steve Railsback
Peter Coyote

Please check the links to IMDb on the latest batch to be sure I have gotten the actor you meant. I don’t know some of them by name and some pages have no pictures to go by.

Thanks

Abraham Benrubi Abraham Benrubi - IMDb
Ward Bond (2) Ward Bond - IMDb
Walter Brennan Walter Brennan - IMDb
Clancy Brown Clancy Brown - IMDb
Steve Buscemi Steve Buscemi - IMDb

Emma Chambers Emma Chambers - IMDb
Fred Clark Fred Clark - IMDb
Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb - IMDb
Elisha Cook Jr Elisha Cook Jr. - IMDb
Chris Cooper (4) Chris Cooper - IMDb

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote - IMDb
Laird Creggar Laird Cregar - IMDb
Garret Dillahunt (2) Garret Dillahunt - IMDb
Jack Elam Jack Elam - IMDb
Richard Farnsworth Richard Farnsworth - IMDb

William Fichtner William Fichtner - IMDb
Dawn French Dawn French - IMDb
Dwight Frye Dwight Frye - IMDb
Hermione Gingold http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0320006/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Walton Goggins Walton Goggins - IMDb

Bruce Gordon Bruce Gordon - IMDb
Billy Green Bush Billy Green Bush - IMDb
Graham Greene Graham Greene - IMDb
Alan Hale Sr Alan Hale - IMDb
Margaret Hamilton Margaret Hamilton - IMDb

John Hawkes John Hawkes - IMDb
Jonathan Haze Jonathan Haze - IMDb
Ciarán Hinds (2) Ciarán Hinds - IMDb
Bo Hopkins Bo Hopkins - IMDb
Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs - IMDb

Richard Jaeckel Richard Jaeckel - IMDb
Ben Johnson (2) Ben Johnson - IMDb
Carol Kane Carol Kane - IMDb
George Kennedy George Kennedy - IMDb
Robert Knepper Robert Knepper - IMDb

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Lanchester - IMDb
Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman - IMDb
Jean Marsh Jean Marsh - IMDb
Strother Martin (2) Strother Martin - IMDb
Frances McDormand (3) Frances McDormand - IMDb

Una Merkel Una Merkel - IMDb
Dick Miller Dick Miller - IMDb
Una O’Connor Una O'Connor - IMDb
Jonathan Pryce Jonathan Pryce - IMDb
Steve Railsback Steve Railsback - IMDb

Claude Rains Claude Rains - IMDb
Giovanni Ribisi Giovanni Ribisi - IMDb
Stephen Root Stephen Root - IMDb
Tim Roth Tim Roth - IMDb
Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Saunders - IMDb

Emil Sitka http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0803238/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
William Smith http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0810342/?ref_=sr_1
Ned Sparks http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0817021/?ref_=sr_1
Harry Dean Stanton (4) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001765/?ref_=sr_1
Maggie Steed http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0824353/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Henry Stephenson http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827261/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
David Strathairn (4) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/?ref_=sr_1
Mark Strong http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0835016/?ref_=sr_1
Sheila Tousey http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0869721/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Lee Van Cleef http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001812/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

JT Walsh (2) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000687/?ref_=sr_1
Jack Warden http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0912001/?ref_=sr_1
Billie Whitelaw http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0925794/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Tom Wilkinson http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0929489/?ref_=sr_1
Michael K. Williams http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931324/?ref_=sr_2

Trey Wilson http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934254/?ref_=sr_4
Penelope Wilton http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934362/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Slim Pickins
Chill Wills
Michl Asher
Walter Brennen
Peter Lorie
Sidney Greenstreet
Jay Silverheels
Alan Hale Sr.
Butterfly McQueen
Margaret Dumont (d)?

Lionel Barrymore
Ben Johnson
Richard Jackel
Zazu Pitts
Jack Elam
Woody Strobe
Key Luke
“Big Boy” Williams
Margaret Hamilton
??? Stone (the one who played Andy Hardy’s dad)

Sorry I got carried away. I figured 20 is better than none and I just kept having more and more pop in my head. I know I slaughter some names. Also (for justification of putting too many) I felt some of mine may not have fallen into the “character actor” status. Some like Barrymore, Lorie and Brennen were stars in their own rights.

Not to worry about “too many” TV time and the thing about “character actor” versus “star” is whatever you want it to be. Since this thread is about picking names for a poll where voters will determine the SDMB choice(s) if a name gets votes it’s okay by me. If not, no harm done.

If I can, I will fix the spelling, too.

Slim Pickens! How could I forget Slim Pickens?!? I want to add him to my list. If it has to be 10, I will drop George Kennedy.