Character actors you love

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I like certain character actors more than i do the stars in movies. A character actor can be described as an actor who doesn't play a main role but is typecasted or always plays a certain type of character. Some character actors that I love are: Gilbert Gottfried, Larry Miller, John Cleese (though he isn't always a character actor), and Michael Winslow. Those are just a few. I can't think of more at the moment but there are more that i like.

Paul Giamatti and Richard Jenkins

Male Character Actors
Steve Buscemi
Gary Cole
Crispin Glover
Kevin Pollak
Pete Postlethwaite
Kevin Spacey
Christopher Walken

Female Character Actors
Sarah Polley
Parker Posey

Ben Stein!

Robert Downey JR!

I always thought that a "character actor" was someone who plays different kinds of characters.

But I know the kind you mean.

Probably -- if you're referring to people who play various similar roles -- the names of Alan Rickman and possibly Jeremy Irons spring to mind.

Johnny Depp
Steve Buscemi
Jack Black
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks' son ? He's not very famous but he's a charactor.
Toni Collette
Michelle Phifer....I don't think I spelled that right.
Jack Nicholson
Kathrine Bates or is it Kathy?


I know there's more I just can't think of names right now. I'm never good at names.

Wikipedia - A character actor is an actor who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to secondary leads. However, character actors often play supporting roles: characters who do not undergo a major change in the course of the plot, and whose role is less prominent than that of the leading actors.

my favorites:
Zooey Deschanel
Steve Buschemi
Jeff Bridges
Rainn Wilson
John Malkovich

daniel day lewis (although he plays often the main character, he does not do it in a 'super star way' )
helena bonham carter

Would Sandra Oh be considered a character actress?

Day Lewis acts the same way John C. McGinley and Val Kilmer do: He becomes the character completely and ads none of his own personality in.

he does that so well that it took me a few films before i recognised him

Is John McGinley the one from Scrubs?

(not to be confused with Ted McGinley, who kills every TV show he appears on).

Johnny Depp
Mary Stuart Masterson

Benny & Joon is why.

John Turturro, this guy has been excellent in everything I've seen him in.

yes. He's also in Platoon and Office Space. He's actually Ted McGinley's brother.