The Semi-Final thread has convinced me that there’s no point trying to narrow the field down from 35 names. The leaders are pretty well identified but the rest of the field keeps changing so I’m going with the whole group for you to pick from.
Honor system maximum of five multiple choice names. Others can see how you vote.
Poll on the way…
Voted! Of course, it just now occurs to me that I love Peter Stormare a whole lot… 
Me, too! I have thought of others who should have been on the list, too.
William H. Macy
Edmond O’Brien
Milburn Stone
In fact, I have accumulated a list of names who were mentioned in one or more of the preliminary threads/polls but who never got a vote. I have even toyed with the idea of have a “consolation poll” (or the like – maybe several since there are so many names) to give everybody one more chance to get a “complete” list together.
I’ll wait for more demand for such a thing, though.
Three from The Wild Bunch (greatest movie evah!), Milton (because I am Milton), and Margaret Dumont (so great at playing clueless that people still think she didn’t get the jokes, and yeah, I know what Groucho said–he was a mean-spirited old liar but he almost had her a couple times).
Here’s a sorted version of the standings after 24 hours:
View Poll Results: Who are your Top Five Character Actors of all time?
This poll will close on 04-22-2013 at 01:32 AM
Steve Buscemi 14 51.85%
John Goodman 9 33.33%
Peter Lorre 6 22.22%
Giovanni Ribisi 6 22.22%
J.K. Simmons 6 22.22%
Harry Dean Stanton 6 22.22%
David Strathairn 6 22.22%
Chris Cooper 5 18.52%
Frances McDormand 5 18.52%
Stephen Root 5 18.52%
Stanley Tucci 5 18.52%
Jim Broadbent 4 14.81%
Joan Cusack 4 14.81%
Garret Dillahunt 4 14.81%
Margaret Dumont 4 14.81%
Charles Durning 4 14.81%
Warren Oates 4 14.81%
Claude Rains 4 14.81%
Elisha Cook Jr 3 11.11%
Walton Goggins 3 11.11%
Sydney Greenstreet 3 11.11%
Strother Martin 3 11.11%
Tim Roth 3 11.11%
JT Walsh 3 11.11%
Jack Warden 3 11.11%
Ned Beatty 2 7.41%
John Hawkes 2 7.41%
Ben Johnson 2 7.41%
Slim Pickens 2 7.41%
M. Emmet Walsh 2 7.41%
Jack Elam 1 3.70%
Carol Kane 1 3.70%
George Kennedy 1 3.70%
Cloris Leachman 1 3.70%
Dan Hedaya 0 0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 27
Here’s an update just to bump the thread into view:
View Poll Results: Who are your Top Five Character Actors of all time?
This poll will close on 04-22-2013 at 01:32 AM
Steve Buscemi 18 52.94%
John Goodman 11 32.35%
Harry Dean Stanton 8 23.53%
Peter Lorre 7 20.59%
Frances McDormand 7 20.59%
J.K. Simmons 7 20.59%
David Strathairn 7 20.59%
Chris Cooper 6 17.65%
Margaret Dumont 6 17.65%
Giovanni Ribisi 6 17.65%
Stephen Root 6 17.65%
Stanley Tucci 6 17.65%
Jim Broadbent 4 11.76%
Joan Cusack 4 11.76%
Garret Dillahunt 4 11.76%
Charles Durning 4 11.76%
Warren Oates 4 11.76%
Claude Rains 4 11.76%
Tim Roth 4 11.76%
JT Walsh 4 11.76%
M. Emmet Walsh 4 11.76%
Jack Warden 4 11.76%
Elisha Cook Jr 3 8.82%
Walton Goggins 3 8.82%
Sydney Greenstreet 3 8.82%
John Hawkes 3 8.82%
Ben Johnson 3 8.82%
Cloris Leachman 3 8.82%
Strother Martin 3 8.82%
Slim Pickens 3 8.82%
Ned Beatty 2 5.88%
Carol Kane 2 5.88%
George Kennedy 2 5.88%
Jack Elam 1 2.94%
Dan Hedaya 1 2.94%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 34
I think one of the great things about Stephen Root is his amazing range of different characters; each unique, each believable. It is almost as if a different person is playing each role. Milton in *Office Space *and the blind disc jockey in *O Brother Where Art Thou *are two stunning examples.
Voted for the ones I recognized: John Goodman, Peter Lorre, Claude Rains and Tim Roth.
And then realized on viewing that I missed Buscemi. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem to need the boost.
Boy, that was tough! Lotta great actors and actresses there.
Ah! I missed Steven Root. K.S. Masmacho’s post on Root was the same reason I voted for JK Simmons. His characters are all a lot different, whether he’s playing J. Jonah Jameson or a racist convict.
Here’s a progress report to compare with Post #6
View Poll Results: Who are your Top Five Character Actors of all time?
This poll will close on 04-22-2013 at 01:32 AM
Steve Buscemi 27 46.55%
John Goodman 21 36.21%
Peter Lorre 14 24.14%
David Strathairn 13 22.41%
Stanley Tucci 13 22.41%
Stephen Root 11 18.97%
Harry Dean Stanton 11 18.97%
Frances McDormand 10 17.24%
J.K. Simmons 10 17.24%
Jim Broadbent 9 15.52%
Margaret Dumont 9 15.52%
Claude Rains 9 15.52%
Tim Roth 9 15.52%
Garret Dillahunt 8 13.79%
Chris Cooper 7 12.07%
Joan Cusack 6 10.34%
Walton Goggins 6 10.34%
Cloris Leachman 6 10.34%
Slim Pickens 6 10.34%
Giovanni Ribisi 6 10.34%
JT Walsh 6 10.34%
M. Emmet Walsh 6 10.34%
Charles Durning 5 8.62%
Carol Kane 5 8.62%
Strother Martin 5 8.62%
Warren Oates 5 8.62%
Elisha Cook Jr 4 6.90%
John Hawkes 4 6.90%
George Kennedy 4 6.90%
Jack Warden 4 6.90%
Jack Elam 3 5.17%
Sydney Greenstreet 3 5.17%
Ben Johnson 3 5.17%
Ned Beatty 2 3.45%
Dan Hedaya 1 1.72%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 58
Actually, you’re right, JK Simmons is good, too. Nice call.
“Easiest thing in the worl’.”
“What are the odds?!”
Simmons has also been doing Farmers Insurance ads for awhile now, too: - YouTube
Just in case you may have missed seeing the follow-up thread please check out Your favorite performances by character actors and help build up a list of major performances. So far, 13 people have mentioned at least one such performance and, surprisingly, some are by actors not even on this poll.
Jared Harris -
I see him popping up in great films, he was the bad guy in the Sherlock Holmes sequel, Game of Shadows, Professor Moriarty.
He was the tragic Lane Pryce in Mad Men and he played a brief but convincing Ulysses S. Grant in Lincoln.
When I hear the term “character actor,” HDS is always the first who comes to mind, so he goes in. Also the three above him, and Lorre.
You scared me! I though I might’ve somehow missed Ernest Borgnine.
This poll will close on 04-22-2013 at 01:32 AM
Here’s the sort of the final results:
View Poll Results: Who are your Top Five Character Actors of all time?
Steve Buscemi 35 44.87%
John Goodman 24 30.77%
Peter Lorre 22 28.21%
Stanley Tucci 18 23.08%
David Strathairn 15 19.23%
Frances McDormand 14 17.95%
J.K. Simmons 14 17.95%
Harry Dean Stanton 14 17.95%
Stephen Root 13 16.67%
Jim Broadbent 11 14.10%
Margaret Dumont 11 14.10%
Chris Cooper 10 12.82%
Joan Cusack 10 12.82%
Claude Rains 10 12.82%
Tim Roth 10 12.82%
Walton Goggins 9 11.54%
Garret Dillahunt 8 10.26%
Strother Martin 8 10.26%
Slim Pickens 8 10.26%
JT Walsh 8 10.26%
M. Emmet Walsh 8 10.26%
Charles Durning 7 8.97%
Carol Kane 7 8.97%
Giovanni Ribisi 7 8.97%
Cloris Leachman 6 7.69%
Warren Oates 6 7.69%
Elisha Cook Jr 5 6.41%
John Hawkes 5 6.41%
Sydney Greenstreet 4 5.13%
Ben Johnson 4 5.13%
George Kennedy 4 5.13%
Jack Warden 4 5.13%
Jack Elam 3 3.85%
Ned Beatty 2 2.56%
Dan Hedaya 1 1.28%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 78
They’re ALL winners to me!
Yes, all hail the Character Actors! Thank you for your support.