# Help me identify an actor, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415 "2007-05-09T17:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![SetApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SetApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SetApart)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/101 "2007-05-10T15:44:21Z")
My best guest is [Matt McCoy](http://www.aldersonstudio.com/formerstudents/matt_mccoy.jpg) . ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/102 "2007-05-10T15:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=SetApart] My best guest is [Matt McCoy](http://www.aldersonstudio.com/formerstudents/matt_mccoy.jpg) . [/QUOTE] Thanks for the try. Not him, though. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/103 "2007-05-11T14:45:02Z")
Putting this back up front because I might have a reasonable nominee, [Joe Flanigan](http://imdb.com/name/nm0281167/) . He has been doing that Stargate stuff for a few years but has done some movies and TV guest appearances. To me, he looks a bit like a twist of Weber and Roche. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/104 "2007-05-11T15:29:42Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] Putting this back up front because I might have a reasonable nominee, [Joe Flanigan](http://imdb.com/name/nm0281167/) . He has been doing that Stargate stuff for a few years but has done some movies and TV guest appearances. To me, he looks a bit like a twist of Weber and Roche. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the bump. I had about decided the issue was dead and that I’d just wait until I see this guy again and come back and post his picture and IMDB credits list. It’s not Flanigan. Sorry. In the meantime I have been seeing the face less clearly in my mind’s eye and have come to suspect that **Johnny Hildo** may not be all wrong when he said: > [@](#): > > Thought #2: he’s remembering several actors and confabulating them into one, thus making him an entertainment version of 14 g of t in a rt bt. By that I mean that the face in my memory has become more like Roache and Weber in different situations and less like a fusion of the two of them. But when I concentrate on the face, this third (and perhaps fourth) person’s features become plainer. Having looked carefully at all the pictures that have been offered in this thread, along with the ones at Wikipedia and _Hey! It’s That Guy!_ as well as looking through the IMDB pictures associated with actors in movies that might have been where I saw this guy, I’m becoming more convinced that this actor’s roles have been insignificant enough that Dopers reading and posting in this thread may not have seen him to recall him. That’s troubling. Especially for the ones who seem to be as fixated on the problem of identifying him as I am. My biggest suspicion at this point is that there may not even be any web-based pictures of him! That means I will have to see him in something and go to the credits and get his name and just post that. That will be a major downer, but I can assert that I’m not playing a **mittu** game here. Honest! This guy does exist. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/105 "2007-05-11T15:54:27Z")
Damn! I was hoping we had it! Don’t worry **Zeldar** I am not giving up. This is intriguing and mysterious and, well, I have no life. I am going to keep digging! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/106 "2007-05-11T16:10:53Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] Damn! I was hoping we had it! Don’t worry **Zeldar** I am not giving up. This is intriguing and mysterious and, well, I have no life. I am going to keep digging! [/QUOTE] Good deal. I mentioned trying some IMDB lists of actors for movies I thought had a chance to include this man. Without giving any special significance to the ones I checked, I’ll mention that I looked for movies that had these people involved: Harrison Ford Sigourney Weaver Denzel Washington Clint Eastwood Gary Oldman Tom Cruise Ashley Judd and others I’m having trouble remembering now Of course I didn’t look at every single movie these folks were in. I tried to stay within the past 10-15 years (90’s and 2000’s) since I’m reasonably sure his work is in that time frame, even if he was active before then in other situations. One amusing by-product of those searches was that I ran across numerous cases where the names already mentioned in this thread came up. That’s encouraging in a way and confusing in another. I really do want to know more about this guy! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/107 "2007-05-11T16:22:23Z")
One other thing. I keep feeling I saw him in some cheesy B-grade horror or teen-slasher type thing like they’re running on Fearnet these days. The big problem with that is that I can barely make it through the credits of that shit before going on to something else. So the odds that I saw him there (Fearnet anyway) enough to remember him are pretty low. But with the better quality sci-fi and horror things on Encore and HBO, there’s a better chance I did see him in one of those. The scene that keeps coming back into my memory is with him holding onto a young girl as she is struggling, either against him or away from somebody else, and he’s in some sort of official or semi-official capacity like an orderly or nurse or therapist or somebody working in a health care environment. That might suggest _House_ or _Bones_ or _Medium_ as a source, but I can’t make those fit enough in my head to go backtracking through episode guides for those shows. It may have more to do with the dimness of the memory, but I see him in a dimly lit room somewhere like a warehouse or a loft, not that that’s any real help. Just tossing out impressions and ideas in hopes they might trigger something in your mind(s) too. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/108 "2007-05-11T17:27:38Z")
Is it [Tony Goldwin](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5913/13364909_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Goldwyn%2C%20Tony&seq=35). The very bad man in _Ghost_? Or [Christopher McDonald](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/2030/ChrisMcDon_Grani_1248247_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=McDonald%2C%20Christopher%20(I)&seq=7)? He was kind of a dick in _Happy Gilmore_. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/109 "2007-05-11T17:35:24Z")
Is it [Donald Eugene Ivens](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=403719)? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/110 "2007-05-11T17:43:33Z")
[QUOTE=Nutty Bunny] Is it [Tony Goldwin](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5913/13364909_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Goldwyn%2C%20Tony&seq=35). The very bad man in _Ghost_? Or [Christopher McDonald](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/2030/ChrisMcDon_Grani_1248247_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=McDonald%2C%20Christopher%20(I)&seq=7)? He was kind of a dick in _Happy Gilmore_. [/QUOTE] Sorry. Neither of these guys. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/111 "2007-05-11T17:52:27Z")
[Brendan Fletcher?](http://imdb.com/name/nm0281956/) ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/112 "2007-05-11T17:55:25Z")
[Eric Mabius?](http://imdb.com/name/nm0531095/) (apologies if we start duplicating previous submissions…) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/113 "2007-05-11T18:04:30Z")
[QUOTE=Cuckoorex] [Eric Mabius?](http://imdb.com/name/nm0531095/) (apologies if we start duplicating previous submissions…) [/QUOTE] Nope to both Fletcher and Mabius. (I understand the lack of desire to wade through older posts. Not to worry.) ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/114 "2007-05-11T18:10:07Z")
Looking at the two actors you said to combine or “overlay”, and adding dark hair, I can’t help but think of [Viggo Mortensen](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001557/) though I can’t imagine that he would be anywhere near as obscure as the guy you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/115 "2007-05-11T18:10:50Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] Is it [Donald Eugene Ivens](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=403719)? [/QUOTE] Unless I can see his picture I can’t be sure, but if he was born in 1931 then he’s too old for the guy I’m hunting. (neat thread, btw) ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/116 "2007-05-11T18:11:43Z")
Oh, and Christian Slater, though again I’m sure he’s far too well-known to be your guy. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/117 "2007-05-11T18:23:13Z")
[QUOTE=Cuckoorex] Looking at the two actors you said to combine or “overlay”, and adding dark hair, I can’t help but think of [Viggo Mortensen](http://imdb.com/name/nm0001557/) though I can’t imagine that he would be anywhere near as obscure as the guy you’re looking for. [/QUOTE] Yes, Viggo is too well known, and too blond. It’s surprising to me how many faces are being shown that – for me at least – bear no resemblance to either Roache or Weber, much less their fused faces. I’m willing to bet that when (not if) we do locate my guy, at least half the people who have contributed to this search are going to say, “shit, dude, he doesn’t look anything like you said.” What’s almost as hard to do is to try to identify people who did commercials in their early years and who are now fairly well known actors. Or even child actors who went through a period of being out of the picture then came back as adult stars. Way off topic: recently I saw the old John Huston movie [The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057254/) which was a gimmick film predicated on the idea of disguises involving distinctive faces like Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and maybe another five or ten well known stars. The disguises were pitiful and one of the ones that was supposed to be Kirk Douglas was very obviously the look-alike Jan Merlin (who went uncredited – but see the FAQ at IMDB). Lame movie, but fun to figure out the disguises. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/118 "2007-05-11T18:24:23Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Unless I can see his picture I can’t be sure, but if he was born in 1931 then he’s too old for the guy I’m hunting. (neat thread, btw) [/QUOTE] I just figured that he has something in common with the guy you’re looking for, i.e., he’s extremely hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/119 "2007-05-11T18:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=Cuckoorex] Oh, and Christian Slater, though again I’m sure he’s far too well-known to be your guy. [/QUOTE] Right. Not Slater. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/120 "2007-05-11T18:25:33Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] I just figured that he has something in common with the guy you’re looking for, i.e., he’s extremely hard to find. [/QUOTE] What’s going to be a real hoot is if his name has at least the same initials! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415.md?page=7)