# Garett Dillahunt is the best new character actor in Hollywood **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317 "2009-12-23T14:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/1 "2009-12-23T14:04:06Z")
I have been thinking lately about how awesome Garret Dillahunt is, after just recently seeing him in _The Road_. He was only in it for about five minutes, but man, was it a memorable scene. I mostly know him from _Deadwood,_ but I also saw him in _Last House on the Left_ and in his very first role, _The Believer._ I think this guy is a serious contender for the best bad guy in Hollywood, if not the best all-around character actor. Dillahunt has a certain quality that is very, very rare, which is that he _really_ makes you hate his characters. He has this combination of menace, and weasely-ness, which I think is what makes a bad guy a _really_ good bad guy. He’s got the same aura as Andrew J. Robinson, the Scorpio killer in _Dirty Harry,_ Kevin Gage as Waingro in _Heat,_ and Doug Hutchison, who played the scumbag guard Percy in _The Green Mile._ These were the kind of characters where you wanted _so_ badly to be able to step through the screen and beat them to a bloody pulp. The kind of characters who, when they finally get what they deserve, the audience actually cheers. Some movie villains are evil and scary but they’re also funny, or charming, or at least somehow _charismatic_ - and this takes away from their evilness. It gives them something positive for the viewer to grab, to give them a bit of humanity. It makes them appealing. This is not the case with the roles above, or with Dillahunt’s characters. They are not appealing. They are completely detestable, and this is what makes them so great. Take Jack McCall in Deadwood. Even in a town full of surly drunks, McCall managed to be the only one that was _completely_ unlikeable. That is really saying a lot. He literally had _no_ redeeming characters. Every time he came onto the screen, you wanted to smash his head in. Dirty, filthy, cowardly, rude, and utterly useless. And then in the next season Dillahunt comes BACK as a different character - a _radically_ different one - and actually manages to make you forget that they were played by the same actor! He demonstrates tremendous range. Francis Wolcott is very dapper, calm, extremely well-spoken with dialog that is almost Shakespearean - despite also being a complete scumbag and savage sociopath. He was a lot like another great HBO character of recent years, Ralphie on _The Sopranos._ Underneath this dandy-ish exterior is an absolutely despicable worm of a man. And like Ralphie, Wolcott was the only character who _really_ got under Al Swearingen’s skin, just like Ralphie was the only character who really drove Tony up the wall. Actually, one of my all-time favorite scenes in _Deadwood_ was when that bicycle arrived in town and Doc, on a bet, road it down the main street with the whole town crowded around watching. It was a really rare “feel-good” moment of the show, and there is just a brief shot, like two seconds long, of Francis Wolcott standing in the crowd, looking at the Doc on the bike, with a smile on his face - cheerfully enjoying the moment like everyone else. I think it’s the only time you ever see that character smile. It’s like, despite that he is a completely cold blooded psychopath, even he can’t help but smile. That two-second shot just added so much to the scene. I haven’t seen Dillahunt in the Terminator show, but I just might have to watch it to see him. I expect big things from this guy in the future. I was also amazed to find that he’s 45 years old - I think he looks a lot younger. Any other Dillahunt fans? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/2 "2009-12-23T14:43:58Z")
Not sure I’m a fan, but I loved his performance in “No Country for Old Men”. Just enough humor to really work for me. “Sheriff, I think we’re lookin’ at more’n one fracas.” “So this was earlier - gettin’ ready to trade. Then, woaaah differences…” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/3 "2009-12-23T14:49:09Z")
Garrett is also excellent playing an innocent, guileless character. He played 3 different characters on Sarah Connor. First, a B movie actor, then Cromartie the terminator, and finally John Henry a new artificial intelligence. John Henry was my favorite. He started out like a seven or eight year old child. Very sweet and totally innocent. He matured quickly, but always kept that sweet quality. I can’t think of many actors that could have successfully played that part. Especially the scenes where he plays with this young, red headed girl. That could easily be creepy, but he made those scenes work. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/4 "2009-12-23T19:22:11Z")
He also played Jesus in the short-lived series **The Book of Daniel**. I remembered that as soon as I saw this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/5 "2009-12-23T19:29:35Z")
While you should check out the lamentably-cancelled show Life for other reasons, Dillahunt’s turn as Russian hitman Roman Nevikov over three episodes is a masterwork. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/6 "2009-12-23T19:43:16Z")
He was also fabulous in one of my all time favorite short-lived series: “John From Cincinnati.” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/7 "2009-12-23T20:53:50Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > And like Ralphie, Wolcott was the only character who _really_ got under Al Swearingen’s skin, just like Ralphie was the only character who really drove Tony up the wall. I don’t recall them ever sharing a scene together. During season 2, Wolcott was using Tolliver and Farnum as his reps. Most of his scenes involved them or Joanie and the brothel. > [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Actually, one of my all-time favorite scenes in _Deadwood_ was when that bicycle arrived in town and **Doc,** Actually that was Tom Nuttall who rode the bike. I agree that he’s a great character actor and I have enjoyed everything I’ve seen him in. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/8 "2009-12-23T21:01:07Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I don’t recall them ever sharing a scene together. During season 2, Wolcott was using Tolliver and Farnum as his reps. Most of his scenes involved them or Joanie and the brothel. Yes - he managed to drive Swearingen insane without ever even talking to him in person. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garett-dillahunt-is-the-best-new-character-actor-in-hollywood/522317/9 "2009-12-23T21:40:38Z")
Not new: he’s been on every TV series ever at least twice.