# Actors and actresses most might know by face, but not by name. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202 "2015-01-29T05:24:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/1 "2015-01-29T05:24:31Z")
So who are some celebrities you would think a lot of people would go “Hey! It’s that guy/girl!” in a show or movie, but whom they probably couldn’t name? Obviously this is a relative term, subject to opinion…but here’s some people who spring to mind immediately. [Rick Ducommun](http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/rick_ducommun_2012_11_26.jpg) [Luis Guzman](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Luis_Guzman_2012.jpg) [Phil Leeds](http://www.setcelebs.com/images/phil-leeds-01.jpg) [Beth Grant](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsG/6873-17967.gif) Who would be your candidates for the best to suit this category? I’m sure there must be thousands. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/2 "2015-01-29T05:48:43Z")
Frank Nelson [Frank Nelson torments Jack Benny - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA_r1Ynl4Ls) Simon Oakland (I had to look him up just yesterday) [The Night Stalker Part 1of 8 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt4-TSfdVRA#t=3m47s) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/3 "2015-01-29T06:27:44Z")
Wouldn’t many character actors fit in this category (assuming they have been in enough movies)? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/4 "2015-01-29T06:34:04Z")
[David Huddleston](http://www.playbillvault.com/images/photo/D/a/thumbs/w208/David-Huddleston.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/5 "2015-01-29T07:38:10Z")
[Christian Clememson](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsC/tve3255-19890307-218.jpg) [Dylan Baker](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsB/826-25516.gif) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/6 "2015-01-29T08:08:25Z")
Hey look, it’s [That Guy](http://www.460xvr.com/tg/not.htm)! From here, James Rebhorn is my ultimate “That Guy” although I certainly know who he is. There are some other guys who you might confuse him with as well. In the OP I recognize Guzman by name and face. I always forget Grant’s name but know who she is; she is pretty much “busybody bitch” in everything. Don’t know the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/7 "2015-01-29T08:35:01Z")
[Michael O’Keefe.](http://media.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_tvfilm/photo/leverage-304-10-michael-okeefe-gina-bellman-ph-erik-heinila-19556-004-1439-rjpg-d700757c094a7c8b.jpg) He usually plays smart, sarcastic and often working-class Irish-American guys. 2 pieces of trivia: a. he played six different characters on\* Law & Order\* series; and b. he was the kid from _Caddyshack_. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/8 "2015-01-29T08:37:04Z")
I’m at a loss how to answer. I don’t know their damn names!!! ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/9 "2015-01-29T09:01:14Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [Michael O’Keefe.](http://media.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_tvfilm/photo/leverage-304-10-michael-okeefe-gina-bellman-ph-erik-heinila-19556-004-1439-rjpg-d700757c094a7c8b.jpg) He usually plays smart, sarcastic and often working-class Irish-American guys. 2 pieces of trivia: a. he played six different characters on\* Law & Order\* series; and b. he was the kid from _Caddyshack_. Wasn’t he also on Roseanne for awhile? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/10 "2015-01-29T15:32:28Z")
And that movie where Robert Duvall was an asshole Marine pilot? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/11 "2015-01-29T15:53:54Z")
Nearly anyone in the cast of Rene Clair’s 1945 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Roland Young, Mischa Auer, [C. Aubrey Smith, Judith Anderson, etc. In more recent films, I love the weird guys: Timothy Carey [Timothy Carey - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0137046/?ref_=tt_cl_t10) Vincent Schiavelli [Vincent Schiavelli - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001704/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t16) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/12 "2015-01-29T16:19:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [Michael O’Keefe.](http://media.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_tvfilm/photo/leverage-304-10-michael-okeefe-gina-bellman-ph-erik-heinila-19556-004-1439-rjpg-d700757c094a7c8b.jpg) He usually plays smart, sarcastic and often working-class Irish-American guys. 2 pieces of trivia: a. he played six different characters on\* Law & Order\* series; and b. he was the kid from _Caddyshack_. And was married to Bonnie Raitt (can’t remember if they are still together…) ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/13 "2015-01-29T16:27:22Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Hey look, it’s [That Guy](http://www.460xvr.com/tg/not.htm)! From here, James Rebhorn is my ultimate “That Guy” although I certainly know who he is. There are some other guys who you might confuse him with as well. > > In the OP I recognize Guzman by name and face. I always forget Grant’s name but know who she is; she is pretty much “busybody bitch” in everything. Don’t know the other two. Thanks for the link! We always talk about “That Guy.” It can mean either interesting character actor OR one that vaguely resembles another (usu. more famous) actor. Think Nick Nolte/Gary Busey back in the day. As someone else said, I can’t really answer this question because I don’t know their names. Even after I look them up on IMDB, I promptly forget. After I attempt to look them up on IMDB, if I’m still not 100% sure which guy I’ve located, then I cross-reference with the Law and Order or X-Files episode they’ve been in. 😃 Edit: Oooh, I got one. Sydney Lassick: [Sydney Lassick - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0489861/?ref_=tt_cl_t15) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/14 "2015-01-29T18:57:42Z")
Valérie Quennessen > **[Valérie Quennessen - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0703211/)** > > Valérie Quennessen. Actress: Conan the Barbarian. Valerie Quennessen became an actress almost by accident. She started out performing as a child as an acrobat. She was very accomplished in this field and won an award at the age of ten. However, she... You may not remember the name, but if you were an adolescent male in the 1980s, you certainly remember the . . . face. She was the French chick in _French Postcards_. She was the French chick in _Summer Lover_s. She was the princess in _Conan the Barbarian_. HBO made a fortune from her. Died in a car crash in 1989, age 31. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/15 "2015-01-29T20:51:39Z")
This may not be the right crowd to not get his name, but I think most people out there in the real world would have trouble naming [Eric Roberts,](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000616/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) although he has been in, I think, literally everything. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/16 "2015-01-29T22:21:49Z")
[Joel Murray](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0615063/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t10). ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/17 "2015-01-29T22:43:23Z")
[David Clennon](http://www.quotessays.com/images/david-clennon-2.jpg) [Shea Wigham](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8mLS9q4vbrs/ULe6kdgd0mI/AAAAAAAAIjc/KiPyM8wxAd8/s1600/Shea%20Whigham.jpg) [Jay O. Sanders](http://www.moviepilot.de/files/images/0956/4304/JayO.Sanders_1679_3.jpg) [Jimmi Simpson](http://www.goodintentionsmovie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/6174_149427611153_149426571153_3927316_354838_n.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/18 "2015-01-29T23:22:48Z")
A few people who’ve been in everything (but whose names still go unrecognized). John McGiver [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John\_McGiver.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_McGiver.jpg) Kenneth McMillan > **[Kenneth McMillan](https://www.imdb.com/media/rm1436920576/nm0573299?ref_=nm_ov_ph)** > > Kenneth McMillan in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979) Arthur O’Connell > **[Arthur O'Connell - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0640023/)** > > Arthur O'Connell. Actor: Anatomy of a Murder. Though stage, screen and TV veteran Arthur O'Connell was born in New York City (on March 29, 1908), he looked as countrified as the American Gothic painting or Mom's home-made apple pie. Looking much more... Robert Prosky > **[Robert Prosky - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0698764/)** > > Robert Prosky. Actor: Thief. Robert Prosky was born on 13 December 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Thief (1981), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Broadcast News (1987). He was previously married to Ida Hove. He died on 8... John Randolph (Oh yeah, that guy was the Grandpa in\*\*\* Christmas Vacation\*\*\*!") [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0709907/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0709907/) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/19 "2015-01-29T23:36:25Z")
This guy appears in every Jerry Bruckheimer movie I know! But I never remember his name… (It’s William Fichtner) > **[William Fichtner - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001209/?ref_=tt_cl_t5)** > > William Fichtner. Actor: Crash. A small-town guy with a big heart, William Fichtner has been captivating the hearts of Western New Yorkers for decades. Bill was born in 1956 on Long Island, New York, to Patricia A. (Steitz) and William E. Fichtner.... ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202/20 "2015-01-29T23:39:40Z")
For years, whenever there was a TV role for an old lady, one of the following actresses was almost sure to get it: Nedra Volz: [Nedra Volz - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0901839/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) Loretta Tupper: [Loretta Tupper | Muppet Wiki | Fandom](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Loretta_Tupper) And the go-to old man was Burt Mustin: > **[Celebrities lists. image: Burt Mustin; Celebs Lists](http://waytofamous.com/19032-burt-mustin@imageburt-mustin-08.jpg.html)** > > Burt Mustin biography, images and filmography. Read and view everything you want to know not only about Burt Mustin, but you can pick the celebrity of your choice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-and-actresses-most-might-know-by-face-but-not-by-name/711202.md?page=2)