Monstre writes:
> Jesus, from The Big Lebowski. Okay, his name’s more memorable, but he had
> minimal screen time.
Jesus was played by John Turturro, incidentally. I’ve read somewhere that the Coen Brothers were actually thinking of making a movie about that character. I can’t find any confirmation of this, though. Has anyone else heard this?
Some more that come to mind:
The young looking police officer in Boondock Saints (I can’t remember his name, he’s the one who offers to let the brothers stay at the police station overnight… if it’s okay with Agent Smecker.)
Also, the priest that Smecker confesses to in the same movie, and the redhaired girl at the trial.
I’m not sure if he counts since he was semi-prominent in the movie, but the guy from Independence Day who followed the President around at Area 51 (played by the same guy who later plays Jayne on Firefly and Serenity). During the movie, he guns down an alien with the help of like 4 other guys) and gives one of the funnier introductions to a piloting class I’ve ever heard. “If you’ll excuse the pun, you’re about to take a… crash course in modern avionics… aside, to someone nearby Who wrote this?!”
From the same movie, the big guy who Will Smith steals a helocopter from “Just tell them I hit you.”
Also the youngish looking White House staffer helping someone up after they fall down while evacuating the White House.
Oh, and the guy giving commands from Area 51 over the radio to the pilots.
Eh, let’s face it, ID4 was full of lots of cool minor characters.
From the BattleStar Galactica miniseries remake, I liked the beefy lieutenant guy who we rarely saw, and the pilot of Colonial One.
He’s a good guy, not a bad guy, but I could certainly stand to see more of Eomer. Which is why I saw The Chronicles of Riddick and The Bourne Supremacy - the actor who played Eomer is the badass who chases Matt Damon in the car scene.
Kurgan (to the nuns): Happy Halloween, ladies! [tongue waggle]
-Joe, butt waggle
Seconded. That’s actually the only other movie/show I’ve seen Adam Baldwin (Jayne from Firefly) in, and I thought he was a neat character. ID4 definitely managed to make a lot of the bit parts individual and more human, rather than just as backdrop.
If we’re not limiting ourselves to movies only, I’d go back to Firefly, which has some great minor characters. The one I’m thinking of in particular is the sheriff from Episode 2, The Train Job. Competent and intelligent. There’s also Crow, Niska’s bodyguard in the same ep, Laurence from the pilot Serenity, the Alliance captain in episode 3, Bushwhacked…
I could go on, but I won’t. 
That’d be Adam Baldwin, who also managed to out-Smith Hugo Weaving on Angel as Marcus Hamilton.
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That Asian guy is one of my That Guys. He’s Lo Pan in Big Trouble In Little China, and the voice of Dao Wun Long (possibly Dao Lun Wong) in Jackie Chan Adventures.
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Thank you so much. I knew I’d heard that voice before and couldn’t place it.
From The Matrix – Switch. She was the other woman on Morpheus’ crew, who mostly turned out to be Redshirts by the end. But after the trip through the walls when the agents were hunting them, and they came out at the bottom. The way she just calmly stood out in the open pointing and shooting. She was pretty bad-ass.
Which lead to one of the catch phrases amongst my friends:
“You know what third prize is?”
Sarah Steele in Spanglish was one of the most refreshing performances I have seen in umm…well, ever. I wish the movie was about her…well, and Cloris Leachman as well.
That reminds me, I liked Ted Danson’s character in SPR. I would even go as far to say that it was my most favorite Ted Danson role ever. His haggard appearance matched his cynical but competent demeanor. He looked like a battle-hardened soldier and I think he stole the scenes in which he appeared.
Also, I like Paul Giamatti’s character in that film too. He’d be a good template for a character in some War comedy…a Hogan’s Heroes remake perhaps?
Speaking of Paul Giamatti, the guy nearly always plays supporting characters, and is nearly always great. Pig Vomit in Private Parts and Bob Zmuda in Man on the Moon were particularly enjoyable.
Speaking of Cloris…
“Hanging Up” with Walter Mathau, Meg Ryan, Lisa Kudrow and … ah man… what is her name… Diane Keaton?
Cloris Leachman plays their estranged mother. The movie is SHIT… but Cloris’ one scene is amazing, where she explains to one of her daughters (Meg Ryan) why she let their father (Mathau) raise the three girls. “Motherhood… it just didn’t take.”
It’s heartbreaking and is easily the goldflake in the turd of that movie.
“Once Upon A Time in Mexico”
The two henchmen who have the brief conversation about not wanting to torture Banderas’ character because one time they were tortured and they didn’t like it. I remember really hoping they would get away but … IIRC they are killed by Johnny Depp.
William Wallace’s uncle (Uncle Argyle, maybe?) in Braveheart seemed like a very cool character based on his thirty seconds or so of screen time and dialogue. I would have liked to find out more about him - how did he come to be so well-traveled and educated? What was he doing all this time before William’s father’s death?