Character goes a long way

The passing of Lane Smith earlier this week probably went unnoticed by most movie fans, unless of course the obituary you read included a picture of the gifted actor. Smith fell under the category "character actor" - those celebrities who seem to appear in every movie you come across, yet despite the instant recognition of their faces, you just can't seem to recall their names. Over the course of motion picture history, we've watched them come and go, remembered only by those characters whom they brought to life on the silver screen. For the serious movie buff, there's even a website honoring their contributions to Hollywood.

For me, Lane Smith will always be etched into my memory as one of two personas - the lawyer opposing Joe Pesci's Vincent Gambini in the comedy My Cousin Vinny or the small-town father who's life is turned upside down by Pauly Shore's Crawl in Son-In-Law. Still, news of his death got me thinking about some of the other character actors, particularly in today's modern movie era, that deserve to be mentioned for continuing to lend their faces to the big screen knowing damn well that only the most serious of movie fans will have an inkling of their identity. Thus, I present my personal list of favorite character actors (in no particular order):

JT Walsh
The man who epitomizes the character actor. His motion picture career spans 16 years (1982-1998) in which he appeared in 66 films; most notably Pleasantville, Breakdown, Slingblade, Blue Chips, Needful Things, and A Few Good Men. Walsh died February 27, 1998 of heart failure.

David Patrick Kelley
"Warriors, come out and play-e-yay". Such was the haunting chant repeated by Kelley in the 1979 film The Warriors, his motion picture debut. Since then he's made a career out of playing twisted souls, heartless criminals and psychopaths in such films as K-Pax, Last Man Standing, The Crow, Commando, Dreamscape, and, most recently, this year's remake of The Longest Yard. However, he will always be Luther in 48 Hrs., unexpectedly flipping over an opened car door much to the chagrin of Eddie Murphy ("What's happenin', Luther?").

Paul Dooley
Though he never found himself in a blockbuster motion picture, Dooley turned up in over 75 films, in addition to numerous television guest appearances. He's probably most remembered for his portrayal of the father who cared but found it difficult to express that he cared; most notably as Jim Baker in Sixteen Candles and Raymond Toller in Breaking Away.

Jeffery Jones
Jones is a versatile actor with the ability to play pretty much any type of character. You probably know him best as Principal Edward Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, however, Jones has landed roles in a multitude of popular films, including The Devil's Advocate (in a very creepy jogging scene), Houseguest, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, The Hunt for Red October, and Beetlejuice.

James Rebhorn
With 76 films and a number of TV appearances to his credit, Rebhorn's is a face that you may recognize from such pictures as Basic Instinct, Regarding Henry, The Game, Guarding Tess, Independence Day, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, and, ironically enough, My Cousin Vinny, with Lane Smith. Personally, I'll remember him best as Dr. Larry Banks in Meet the Parents.

Honorable Mention:
Wallace Shawn
Ronny Cox
John Kapelos
Ed Lauter
Bruce McGill