# Who's your favorite "whitetrash" actor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187 "2004-02-14T08:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/1 "2004-02-14T08:01:19Z")
In the past few days I’ve seen several movies and TV shows that featured [William](http://imdb.com/name/nm0761836/)[Sanderson](http://www.williamsanderson.net/), the actor best known for playing the metatron of the ultimate whitetrash trio Larry, Darryl & Darryl. I started thinking of actors who’ve actually had careers playing whitetrash\* characters. A few: [Dennis Burkley](http://imdb.com/name/nm0122036/)- obese actor who usually sports a scraggly beard and among hundreds of other appearances acted opposite Redd Foxx in the short-lived [Sanford](http://imdb.com/title/tt0080269/) and gave a surprisingly good dramatic turn as the biker with a severe speech impediment in _Mask_. [Lanny Flaherty](http://imdb.com/name/nm0280890/)- thin sallow faced actor with a greasy ponytail who played Drew Barrymore’s drunken father in [Home Fries](http://imdb.com/title/tt0119304/) and similar characters in a growing number of other appearances. [Susan Tyrell](http://imdb.com/name/nm0879073/)- the Mother Goddess of whitetrash performers, San Francisco born Tyrrell’s performances include Johnny Depp & Ricky Lake’s grandmother in [Cry Baby](http://imdb.com/title/tt0099329/) and recurring character Sconset Sal on the regrettably long-lived [Wings](http://imdb.com/title/tt0098948/) (where she uttered a great line while picking a vermin off of her clothes: “Hey there little feller… I ain’t the Holly-day Inn!”). (Sadly she suffered a major career and financial setback when a recent illness forced the amputation of her legs, though she seems to be making a comeback as she has some credits since the operation.) Can you think of other “whitetrash” niche actors? Any guesses as to who some of the pioneers of this genre are? ([Marjorie Main](http://imdb.com/name/nm0537685/) comes to mind, not so much for Ma Kettle as for some of her “mountain women” performances.) \*Note to overly sensitive politically correct Dopers: as a one-generation-removed-from-tin-roofs Alabamian who’s related to himself on both sides of the family, once shared a house with a calf, ate more than one animal that had a personal name and whose favorite play-places as a kid were in the archipelago of junked DeSotos and Impalas surrounding my home, I’m close enough to the food chain to be able to use the term. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/2 "2004-02-14T11:10:05Z")
Jaime Pressly. Jaime, if you’re out there, email me. We need to procreate immediately. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/3 "2004-02-14T11:25:30Z")
Does Billy Bob Thornton count? He’s got that great redneck accent. I think he’s the bee’s knees. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/4 "2004-02-14T15:13:27Z")
Mickey Rourke and Juliette Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/5 "2004-02-14T17:23:15Z")
Brad Pitt in _Kalifornia_. But, since then, he’s made all the wrong choices. I want to bend Juliette over the fender of my Trans Am, rip off her daisy dukes, and have unprotected sexual relations in her anus. Yum. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Petrichor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@Petrichor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrichor)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/6 "2004-02-14T17:37:00Z")
without a doubt the ultimate whitetrash actor is Randy Quaid. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/7 "2004-02-14T18:22:53Z")
Joe Don Baker! ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/8 "2004-02-14T19:49:05Z")
If you have to post a disclaimer, maybe you should think about using another term. :dubious: That said, I offer: O-Lan Jones M.C.Gainey Tracey Walter ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/9 "2004-02-14T21:08:29Z")
What, this far and nobody’s mentioned Angelina Jolie? White-trash-made-good? She looks more than capable of gutting a hog with one hand without dropping her beer or taking her eyes off the Winston, er, Nextel Cup, honey. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/10 "2004-02-15T03:34:42Z")
Billy Bob Thornton, William Sanderson, Mickey Roarke, Steve Buscemi, and Dennis Burkley are the ones I think of first. But I have a special regard for [Scott Wilson](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934113/). I actually think he is one of the most criminally unknown actors of his generation, though he has done distinctive roles in very well known films. I don’t think he is necessarily “white trash”, though his roles in “In Cold Blood” (co-starring with Robert Blake, who now that I think of it, is perhaps the ultimate in white trash) and as the prisoner in the film “In the Heat of the Night”.He is still very active as a character actor. ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/11 "2004-02-15T06:44:30Z")
[Chris Cooper](http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/profile.php?varProfile=256). The picture says it all. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Jenkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Brown\_Jenkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Jenkin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/12 "2004-02-15T07:10:45Z")
I want to say [Billy Drago](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/4591/gallery.html) but I think I’m basing that judgement just on that [Appalachian hex doctor](http://www.redwolf.com.au/xfiles/season07/7abx14.html) he played in the X-Files. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/13 "2004-02-15T07:21:14Z")
William Sanderson immediately came to mind when I saw this thread. I have a warm place in my heart for Chris Cooper. He’s just spiffy. Just saw a film with the wonderfully hunky and “down home” [Fred Ward](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911542/). He doesn’t always play country boys, but when he does, he’s _perfect_. (He was the dad in “Sweet Home Alabama” and I just saw him play a loveable hick in “Big Business.”) ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/14 "2004-02-15T08:16:35Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I want to bend Juliette over the fender of my Trans Am, rip off her daisy dukes, and have unprotected sexual relations in her anus. Yum. 🙂 I second that! ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/15 "2004-02-15T17:51:34Z")
The question is though: do you _Sloppy_ second that? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/16 "2004-02-16T03:51:31Z")
Okay, listen up. Once upon a time on a planet called “Earth” there existed a thing called “more than 20 years ago” … Michael J. Pollard was always my fave. “Bonnie and Clyde”, “Little Fauss and Big Halsy” and an especially memorable but small role in “The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!” A walking bag of filth but completely likeable. But for all time lifetime potrayal of poor white trash, it starts and ends with Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. If you don’t know who they were, you are not qualified to post in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/17 "2004-02-16T04:45:03Z")
I just love [this guy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0172806/). I haven’t seen him as anything other than Cousin Wash in \*O Brother Where Art Thou, \* but is there a more quintessential white trash role than Cousin Wash? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/18 "2004-02-16T05:40:46Z")
Brett Butler in Grace Under Fire. Duh. Also, Roseanne, Dan, Darlene, Becky, D.J., Jackie, and all the others (especially some of the supporting characters), were the quintessential white trash family, even though I love the show and they weren’t from the south. ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/19 "2004-02-16T06:39:47Z")
Steve Zahn. Short, kinda rat-faced, greasy-haired dude. Funny as hell and a good actor. I wanted to mention Sean Penn, but I’m afraid he’d track me down and shoot me. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187/20 "2004-02-16T07:05:52Z")
I _love_ Steve Zahn. He was great in “Happy, Texas.” Also loved him as the Star Trek nerd in “Daddy Daycare.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-your-favorite-whitetrash-actor/229187.md?page=2)