I watched “Good Morning Vietnam” on TV over the weekend, and was again blown away by J.T. Walsh’s performance as SMJ Dickerson. I did some research on him a few years ago when I played LTC Markinson in a community theater production of “A Few Good Men”. I rented the movie just to watch him and I was impressed with his nuanced performance. Since then I’ve become something of a fan, catching re-runs of “Pleasantville” and “Backdraft” for the sole purpose of watching Walsh (OK, OK, and to get an eyefull of Joan Allen and Jennifer Jason Leigh). It’s a shame he’s not still making pictures – occasionally I’ll see a character that’s morally ambiguous, at best, and think, “Gee, I’ll bet J.T. woulda’ been great in that.”
Charles Lane, who, alas, is no longer avilable. The great thing about Lane was that you could recognize him immediately, often from the one line he had in the movie. Incredible career.
or Warren Oates. Frankly, I can’t decide which of these two is my favorite. That’s one reason why “The Wild Bunch” will always remain on my top five list of favorite films: they were perfect as the Gorch brothers!