# 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:** 7
**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, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/121 "2007-05-11T18:27:17Z")
Was this guy particularly _good_ in his roles? ---
**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, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/122 "2007-05-11T18:42:49Z")
[QUOTE=Cuckoorex] Was this guy particularly _good_ in his roles? [/QUOTE] Good question. As best I can recall he was at least convincing as the character in that if he was menacing or sneaky or up to no good then the character was supposed to be that way. Whether he was just cast to type is harder to say until I can look over his list of credits. It’s obvious the guy was not all that “memorable” wouldn’t you say? 😉 Let me try an example. Before I knew much about Brad Dourif and had seen him in maybe one or two roles before Cuckoo’s Nest (yes, I zoomed in on your username) and possibly even the Laura Mars thing, I was anxious to know his name and went to the trouble of learning it. Since then, Dourif has done some memorable work and I can’t think of anything he’s done that I don’t think was a good job of acting. This guy is not as striking as Dourif. He’s not even as striking as Jake Weber and Linus Roache. For somebody who went to the trouble to learn the names of old B Western guys like Roy Barcroft and Lane Bradford, you’d think this guy just slipped through the cracks. I’m going to be really pissed off if he wins and Oscar in the next few years! I’ll be surprised if he’s had lead billing in anything, too. He doesn’t even strike me as good sidekick or partner material. I just want to know the guy’s name – not marry him! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/123 "2007-05-11T18:43:31Z")
This intrigues me. I can’t come up with any other prospective names, though; we’ve already been through all the ones I can think of. Unless… is it **Rufus Sewell**? [http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/premiere\_photo/20051024/10/4210572315.jpg](http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/premiere_photo/20051024/10/4210572315.jpg) ---
**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, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/124 "2007-05-11T18:50:47Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] This intrigues me. I can’t come up with any other prospective names, though; we’ve already been through all the ones I can think of. Unless… is it **Rufus Sewell**? [http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/premiere\_photo/20051024/10/4210572315.jpg](http://eur.i1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/premiere_photo/20051024/10/4210572315.jpg) [/QUOTE] Rufus Sewell has some features in common with my guy, but the tricky eye isn’t one of them. I like Sewell a good deal and have seen him do some good work. You can even add Sewell to the Roache/Weber look-alike gang if that helps conjure up another face in that quadrant. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/125 "2007-05-11T20:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] The latest thing I saw him in (as best I can recall) he was a faculty member or a therapist or counselor and his relationship with a young woman was very suspect, as if he were molesting her or something along those lines. [/QUOTE] [Ron Livingston](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515296) played a role very much like this in the film _Pretty Persuasion_ in 2005. ---
**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, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/126 "2007-05-11T20:11:48Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] [Ron Livingston](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0515296) played a role very much like this in the film _Pretty Persuasion_ in 2005. [/QUOTE] Livingston’s starring in the short-lived series _Standoff_ as well as his _Office Space_ and _Band of Brothers_ roles makes his recognition factor significantly greater than Mr. X. As far as appearance goes, Livingston is much darker than Mr. X. ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/127 "2007-05-11T20:30:33Z")
Is it [Brian Thompson](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0859921/)? ---
**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, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/128 "2007-05-11T20:55:30Z")
[QUOTE=Nurobath] Is it [Brian Thompson](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0859921/)? [/QUOTE] Not the one. Age appears to be about right but the skin texture is off. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/129 "2007-05-11T21:10:23Z")
[Michael Emerson](http://www.lost.com/images/Michael_Emerson.jpg) He’s had longer hair in a few things. (I don’t think he’s been named yet. I did do s search of this thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/130 "2007-05-11T21:17:41Z")
How about [Andrew Divoff](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0120524/Ss/0120524/fcs_lt_0359.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Divoff,%20Andrew) ---
**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, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/131 "2007-05-11T21:29:19Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] [Michael Emerson](http://www.lost.com/images/Michael_Emerson.jpg) He’s had longer hair in a few things. (I don’t think he’s been named yet. I did do s search of this thread.) [/QUOTE] This one picture is tantalizing in that the eyes are in the range of how I remember Mr. X’s eyes. The hairline isn’t right in the picture, but with longer hair that might be less an issue. The features in common with Weber are closer than any others so far, but less so with Roache. A further search for pictures at Yahoo! Images brings back none I can feel any more comfortable with, so I am saying I’m 90% sure this is not the man I’m trying 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, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/132 "2007-05-11T21:32:42Z")
[QUOTE=Nurobath] How about [Andrew Divoff](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0120524/Ss/0120524/fcs_lt_0359.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Divoff,%20Andrew) [/QUOTE] Not him, either. Again, the skin texture is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/133 "2007-05-11T21:34:16Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] A further search for pictures at Yahoo! Images brings back none I can feel any more comfortable with, so I am saying I’m 90% sure this is not the man I’m trying to find. [/QUOTE] TDoes the guy you’re looking for look a bit like a younger Brent Spiner? (Data from Star Trek) ---
**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, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/134 "2007-05-11T21:42:54Z")
[QUOTE=Swallowed My Cellphone] TDoes the guy you’re looking for look a bit like a younger Brent Spiner? (Data from Star Trek) [/QUOTE] I’m going to say “no” on the Spiner resemblance, and that’s after looking through the IMDB gallery for him. However, as far as resemblances go, I’ll add this picture of [Michael Emerson](http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/tv_pix/abc/lost/michael_emerson/gallery_bobdamico.jpg) (thanks to **Swallowed My Cellphone** ) to go with those I posted earlier for Weber and Roache. Fusing these three photos gets as close as I have been able to so far. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/135 "2007-05-11T23:26:10Z")
Heh, my first guess was Michael Emerson. How about [Brian F. O’Byrne](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5447/Events/5447/11569275_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=O%27Byrne,%20Brian%20F.)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/136 "2007-05-12T00:41:07Z")
[David Sutcliffe](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005475/)? (Don’t be fooled by the perm in the main shot; he’s had a variety of hairstyles.) ---
**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:** [May 12, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/137 "2007-05-12T03:30:44Z")
I’m going to throw out some more names in the hope of getting this search going again - because now I need to know too! [John McGinley?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001525/) He’s a household name to fans of _Scrubs_, but to most other people he’s a “that guy” character actor who appears in everything but whose name always eludes memory. [James Remar?](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/) Another one of those prolific TV and film actors who’s still fairly obscure. [Jason Isaacs.](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005042/) Most famous for Harry Potter, but he’s been in a lot of other stuff too. Hope we fucking figure this out. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/138 "2007-05-12T04:34:55Z")
[James Purefoy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0700856/) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/139 "2007-05-12T04:36:42Z")
Or [James McAvoy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564215/)? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415/140 "2007-05-12T12:47:25Z")
[QUOTE=Eyebrows 0f Doom] Heh, my first guess was Michael Emerson. How about [Brian F. O’Byrne](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5447/Events/5447/11569275_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=O%27Byrne,%20Brian%20F.)? [/QUOTE] Not the guy. The jaw is too narrow and my memory of Mr. X has his facial skin being clear of blemishes. This memory may be faulty, I admit, but O’Byrne’s heavy brows aren’t right either. Thanks, **The Scrivener** , but David Sutcliffe isn’t the one, either. **Argent Towers** , I’m happy you’re wanting to help the search continue, but I’m sorry that it’s not John McGinley, James Remar or Jason Isaacs. Reasonable tries, but they’re much better known, at least to me, than my mystery guy. And **GuanoLad** , it’s neither James McAvoy nor James Purefoy. Many thanks to all who have provided guesses. I keep hoping to come back to this thread and find that somebody has been able to name this guy by now. Sadly, his fame and recognizability are even less than I had imagined. Either that or he is very forgettable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-an-actor-please/403415.md?page=8)