Western Guy, you asked me where are the character actors of today who have the chops of our favorites in classic film. And I didn't actually answer, because my first thought was that there were none. But here's a list of actors now who will draw me to a new movie:
Stanley Tucci
Tucci is my favorite character actor working right now because he fails to fall into any category at all. He's thoughtful, quiet and deeply committed as an actor, and he never goes in a traditional direction. I fell deeply, deeply in love with Stanley Tucci years ago after seeing an interview with him about the movie
BIG NIGHT. I had seen him before but never really knew his name. I immediately went to see it, and thought the acting was absolutely wonderful. In it Tucci and Tony Shalhoub play Italian brothers who run a restaurant, Shalhoub is the chef and Tucci the business end of the restaurant and maitre d', and they are waiting for Julius La Rosa to show up for dinner, thinking this will make their restaurant fashionable.
I then heard a review of a new film he was making called
Joe Gould's Secret, which he directed. It took me years to find a copy, but it is a first rate film, a tragedy in some ways but brilliant and thought provoking. I'm still trying to find his TV production about
Walter Winchell. Tucci shows up in everything from
The Hunger Games, to
The Devil Wears Prada, to
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. He had made appearances in quite a few TV shows, like
Thirtysomething, and movies like
The Pelican Brief and
Prelude to a Kiss, and he did a play I desperately wanted to direct or act in at one time, called
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune which I imagine he was very well suited for. He's a jack of all trades, and although I don't see everything he does (he works ALL the time, in cartoons, kids shows, HBO specials, whatever) I WILL make a point of going to his movies or renting the ones that seem in my general style preferences. He's a brilliant actor, and pretty much can play anything you give him - a cool Adolph Eichmann in
Conspiracy, a harried airport security manager in
The Terminal or even the sweetest (and sexiest) man ever, Julia Child's husband in
Julie and Julia. He's my favorite character actor working today. If you ever get the chance, rent
Joe Gould's Secret and get the double dose of Tucci as actor and director... it's worth your time.
Michael Rispoli
OK. Here's my brush with fame, and my turn to name drop.... I've MET Michael Rispoli. You may remember him in
While You Were Sleeping as Joe Jr. but really he's turned up in all sorts of movies and you probably didn't even realize you were seeing him. The above picture is from his brilliant performance in
The Rum Diaries.
I came up with so many names of people I love to see and recognize in movies nowadays that I can't possibly post their pictures here, so I'll just go ahead and make my list, hoping that it will produce some conversation. And I'm not even bringing out the big guns here by mentioning
Steve Buscemi,
John Turturro, Laurence Fishburne, Tony Shalhoub, Peter Stromare or
James Gandolfini! Here are my favorites from modern movies:
Tim Roth
Eileen Brennan
Don Cheadle
David Paymer
Lynn Thigpen
John Rhys-Davies
Forest Whitaker
James Cromwell
Viola Davis
Gary Oldman
Terence Howard
Luis Guzman
CCH Pounder
Lois Smith
Djimon Hounsou
Robert Duvall
Estelle Parsons
Daniel Stern
Catherine O'Hara
Donald Sutherland
S. Epatha Merkerson
Wallace Shawn
Nancy Allen
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Alfre Woodard
Alan Ruck