by Joe Soria 

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As a wise person never said: “a great actor is like porn, you know it when you see it.”

But there has always been a level of actor that usually has a long glass ceiling for stardom. They spend their careers in interesting smaller roles or “that guy” in memorable movies and TV shows. Even now you may not know a lot of their names, going back to the early days of Peter Lorre, Eli Wallach, & Elisha Cook Jr. to Christopher Lee, Michael Gambon.

In the pre and nascent internet times, those people remained as studies in consistency and to be enjoyed without much bother by the viewer. I used to call them the Underappreciated Actor’s Guild, some call them “character actors.” More recently you could look at Harold Perrineau, Stephen Root, Wood Harris, Amy Ryan, Joe Morgan, David Morse, Stephen Toblowsky, Lance Reddick, Jennifer Coolidge and Frankie Faison.

Then they match up, get noticed, get awards and become draws. Not huge draws but sweetener. They may top the marquee from time to time but usually they make a film lived in and a worthy watch. A lead needs something interesting to play off, to ratchet it up.

But more and more, these “character actors” have seen their stock rise to the top unlike their forebears from Tilda Swinton to Idris Elba, Micheal Shannon to Taraji P. Henson. They stew in the background like James Cromwell and then they become Supervillains.  

I mean who else could cross over between the Mandalorian and Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul other than Giancarlo Esposito (well maybe his adversary – Pedro Pascal the masked Madalorian himself and Drug cop in Narcos S1 and S2?).

In my 90s/2000s era heyday, these types of actors were initially recognizable in the oeuvre and repertory companies of great directors, the usual suspects – The Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson & Quentin Tarantino. 

Coens always use people like M. Emmet Walsh, Jon Polito, Charles Durning, Peter Stormare and Tim Blake Nelson. PTA was more of a Luiz Guzman, John C. Reilly (before he was a step brother, focused on shaking and baking or walking hard). And without Tarantino (and Spike Lee) would there be the decades long everpresence of Samuel L. Jackson? But look really close and the gems cross over between these three.

Indulge me. Let’s play the crosspollination game for a minute. An easy one. William H Macy in the Coens’ Fargo (1996) then PTA’s Boogie Nights(1997) & Magnolia (1999). Philip Seymour Hoffman actually did a PTA/Coen sandwich – PTA’s Boogie Nights (1997) & Magnolia (1999) with his scene-stealing role as Brandt in the Coens’ The Big Lebowski (1998).

The champ here and gold standard will always be Steve Buscemi. He started with other contemporaries – a dash of Jarmusch’s Mystery Train (1989); a pinch of Abel Ferrara’s King of New York (1990) then the Coen/Taratino super run of Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), and Reservoir Dogs (1992.) 

In 1993, he took a break to play Willy “The Weasel” Wilhelm in Philip Kaufman’s Rising Sun and then went onto double duty in 1994 with Pulp Fiction and The Hudsucker Proxy. He co-starred in a highly memorable cold opening with Tarantino in Desperado (a character named Buscemi by the way) then appeared in Fargo (1996) and The Big Lebowski (1998). This launching pad leads to the Con Air/Armageddon combo being the king of Adam Sandler cameos somehow, but this is where it stops for our purposes.

Recognition used to come after prolonged work and crafting, some small time recognition and then a pop, an escalation as a result of that bubbling talent being mixed by the right hands.

Is it the chicken or the egg here? Does the great director use the tool properly or is the actor the one who takes the vision to the next level? Oftentimes it is the directors that get the focus, but today we will focus on those who breathe life into the work. 

So now may I present to you a cadre of current performers who seem to have the right nose for the right projects. You see them in a piece, and know it’s worth checking out. There is a reason “that guy (or gal) is in everything.” 

Jeremy Bobb

First noticed: The Knick

Best extended look: Russian Doll

The Casecracker: Under the Silver Lake

It seems almost impossible that any actor has been as busy yet quiet at filling holes and roles like Mr. Bobb has been these past 5+ years on various streaming shows and miniseries. 

To me there are two major assets he has. His look just emits creep or cop with the immediate vibe/pallor of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

His slimeball credentials are on display with his skeevy 1900s NYC hospital manager in Steven Soderburgh’s The Knick and a sleazy partygoer in Groundhog Day via a hipster Brooklyn’s Russian Doll. He also features heavily in Netflix’s female-centric limited series western Godless as obsessed reporter A.T. Grigg.

Toss in a few cop/detective/guard roles in Manhunt: Unabomber, Escape in Dannemora (corrections officer) and this year’s Stephen King HBO adaptation The Outsider where he appears alongside a murderer’s row “that guy” ensemble that contains the likes of:  (Yul Vazquez, Paddy Considine, Marc Menchaca, Derek Cecil) and former “that guys” (Ben Mendehlson/Bill Camp.)

Even I can’t keep up as there are three more that I missed that I indeed intend to catch up on. I never returned after the first season but guess who plays the villian on the third season of Netflix’s Jessica Jones. There is another western genre show about oilmen starring Pierce Brosnan in The Son and then back with Soderburgh on HBO mystery Mosaic co-starring Sharon Stone, Pee Wee Herman (Paul Ruebens) and Garrett Hedlund among others.

But the pièce de résistance has to be his sudden, unrecognizable appearance as The Songwriter in Under the Silver Lake [which TLS reviewed here.] Performing a standout scene in a mixed bag of a film that features him decked out in old man makeup halfway between a Dick Tracy villain and Johnny Knoxville in Bad Grandpa, as he simultaneously serenades and horrifies the protagonist in Andrew Garfield.

I can’t say I recommend the whole film but if you want to get a sliver of the range that Bobb can offer I suggest you give this a watch. I’d preface this with a spoiler alert but I also can’t say this movie makes enough sense that it can be spoiled.

See Also: The extensive Outsider list above, Toby Huss (Halt and Catch Fire, GLOW)

Lakeith Stanfield 

First Noticed: Short Term 12

Best extended look: Atlanta

The Casecracker: Sorry To Bother You 

Lakeith is a star. He is going to shine. For a long time. This dude is 28 and has basically been on fire for five years. A chameleon whose expressive face could make his star in a silent film superb. 

Scene stealing since his debut in the underrated teen halfway home drama Short Term 12, his resume speaks for itself. On TV’s Atlanta, his stoned wallflower Darius is more of an integral second, third or even fourth fiddle to the powerhouse performances from Donald Glover, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Zazie Beetz. But when it comes to film, he pretty much can’t miss.

In 2018, he paired up a supporting role with another shooting star Daniel Kaluuya in Oscar nominee Get Out, with the overlooked should-have-been-a-contender of Boot Riley’s supreme mindfuck Sorry to Bother You. 

2019 features his pivotal role in the Safdies’s frenetic Uncut Gems alongside his straight man detective part in Oscar nominated Knives Out (which he did similarly in the successful attempted Girl Who reboot The Girl in the Spider’s Web also in 2018). 

Add in a well-received heartthrob turn in 2020 Valentine’s release The Photograph and all that’s left is the proverbial Taken/Bourne vehicle or maybe a prime MCU villain slot.

Lakeith won’t be on this list for long.

See Also: Bryan Tyree Henry (If Beale Street Could Talk, Atlanta), Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk, Homecoming), Bokeem Woodbine (Queen & Slim, The Big Hit, Fargo (TV) )

Margaret Qualley

First Noticed: Fosse/Verndon 

Best extended look & Casecracker: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

If you can be remembered while sharing most of your screen time with Brad Pitt, you’ve done something right. Qualley’s devilish hippie temptress is a rocketship caliber performance. 

The daughter of 90s romcom royalty Andie Macdowell, Qualley is part of a group of young actresses one performance away from being mentioned along with the likes of Saorise Ronan, Cynthia Erivo and Florence Pugh. In fact, Orivo then Pugh was going to be my choice here but I disqualified anyone who has been nominated for an Oscar or as a lead performer in the past 5 years. That more complete list is near the bottom.

One oversight that I will have to rectify is The Leftovers but if her performance in it is anything like the two above I can’t wait.

See Also: Anna Tyler Joy (Thoroughbreds, The Witch, Peaky Blinders), Jessie Buckley (Beast, Wild Rose), Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace, Jojo Rabbit), Ruth Negga (Loving, Preacher, Ad Astra)

Kang-ho Song

First Noticed: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Best extended look: The Host

The Casecracker: Parasite

Let’s rep the international world here with someone who has been the stand-in muse for Director Bong and his illustrious rise to the tip of tongues with his cross-cultural phenomenon Parasite. This feels like a cheat since he starred in the most recent best picture winner but since you don’t know his name I am going to allow it.

International choices in this category are tough since I can’t see many being widely seen enough to have any “that guys” in them within the US, but Kang-ho Song just feels like a classic actor with sadness and soul. That is something that permeates this list. They may dabble in comedy but even then it has a spot of somberness and maintains an edge.

See Also: Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One, Quantum of Solace), Ken Wantanabe (Inception, Godzilla)

Patrick Fischler

First Noticed: Mad Men

Best extended look & The Casecracker: Happy!

This is the real Buscemi pick. You’ve seen him in something. He is either creepy or annoying or both in it. It seems like he will never get a starring role. Recently, he got a deliciously unnerving role on the zany, gory SyFy adaptation of Grant Morrison’s Happy! Here’s the synopsis so I don’t butcher it:

“Nick Sax is a corrupt, intoxicated, ex-cop turned hit man who is adrift in a twilight world of casual murder, soulless sex, and betrayal. After a hit goes wrong, Nick finds a bullet in his side, the cops and the mob on his tail, and a monstrous killer on the loose. But his world is about to be changed forever by a tiny, imaginary, blue-winged horse with a relentlessly positive attitude named Happy. On their journey, they must contend with a laundry list of enemies including angry mobsters, ex-mistresses, ex-wives, and one very bad Santa.”

But this list is about career quantity, variety and anonymity right? Check. 

Looking over his IMDB credits, his coverage in cop television is unmatchable starting with a recurring role on Nash Bridges. Then he has single appearances in: NYPD Blue, Law and Order SVU and Law & Order: LA, CSI, followed by CSI: NY and CSI: Miami as different characters in the same year. He fills in the CBS bingo card– NCIS, Cold Case, Hawaii Five-Order, The Mentalist, Lie to Me, Dark Blue, Criminal Minds. Castle, Burn Notice, Bones, and something called 18 Wheels of Justice. Now mind you I think I cut out other cop shows where he recurred like the NBC/TNT gritty show Southland. This doesn’t even cross over into the legal and medical shows profession but those are plentiful as well!

A few blindspots that I have heard good things about him include the Twin Peaks revival and Lost (yes I know I’m missing out, no need to tell me).

But he really ties the room together on this one. Start where you began. In a separate, equally weird small role, Fischler made his perfect presence felt as a comic book creator and conspiracy theory spreader in Under the Silver Lake.

See Also: Pablo Schreiber (The Wire, American Gods, upcoming Halo TV series), Ben Foster (Hell or High Water, Leave No Trace, Six Feet Under), Jimmi Simpson (It’s Always Sunny, Westword), Chris Messina (Damages, Sinner S3, Birds of Prey)