Ah…very good. Thank you.
Ooooh! I was thinking of long-established actors and forgot one of my new faves. I just had to come back and mention the up-and-coming Anton Yelchin. Probably best known to-date for playing “Pavel Chekhov” in the Star Trek re-boot (2009).
Very limited range.
Why am I the first to mention William Sanderson? He’s been working for 35 years and has over 100 IMDB entries, but I’m not sure if he was ever the lead in any part. Garret Dillahunt was my first thought, but he’s been taken, and he now has the lead in a Fox series.
He played a memorable skeavy character in Lonesome Dove as well.
Mark Sheppard, who pops up in nearly every show I watch, but will always to us be known as Badger, after Firefly. Tricia Helfer pops up almost as often, but is known in our house as ‘that woman’ because it took us so long to remember her name.
Another vote for Wallace Shawn, and also one for Stephen Root. I never can quite recognize Root for a moment; he so completely disappears into his characters.
Garret Dillahunt is the lead in something? What is it?
Sanderson (aka J.F. Sebastian and E.B. Farnum) is also a great one, I agree.
James Gammon, rest his soul.
Edie McClurg
I don’t know if I’d characterize Gary Oldman as “cute-cuddly” in this scene, but he does have the “zero-to-60-in-nothin’-flat” down pretty good.
Raising Hope…it’s really an ensemble cast, so I guess it is hard to call him the ‘lead’. While I enjoy most of Dillahunt’s work, that show doesn’t do anything for me. I’ve only seen an episode or two.