The A.V. Club - Random Roles

TV: Random Roles: Jessica Walter

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0600

Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about. The actor: Decades before she was the sharp-tongued matriarchal monster on Arrested Development, Jessica Walter was already embracing her inner bitch. With breakout roles in Lilith, Play Misty For Me, a slew of soap operas, and television guest spots on everything from The Alfred Hitchcock Hour to The Big Bang Theory, the Emmy-winning actress can still level an ego with a single look. Walter currently splits her time ...

Film: Random Roles: James Cromwell

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don't know beforehand what roles we'll ask them to talk about. The actor: Lanky, genial James Cromwell, who became instantly recognizable to a nation with his role as the tough-yet-tender farmer in 1995’s Babe (“That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.”), but whose prolific career stretches back to All In The Family, The Rockford Files, and other ’70s TV hits. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, he appeared on practically every prominent show of the day (Maude, Eight Is ...

Film: Random Roles: Diedrich Bader

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0600

The actor: When it comes to small-screen work, Diedrich Bader is probably best known as Oswald on The Drew Carey Show. But in the recording studio, Bader has carved himself a substantial side career as a voice actor, most notably as the Caped Crusader in Batman: The Brave And The Bold. He also has a knack for pulling small parts in films which go on to become cult classics, including Office Space and Napoleon Dynamite. The latter film recently made the jump to television as an animated series, with virtually the entire cast returning to reprise their roles, including Bader ...

TV: Random Roles: Glynn Turman

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0600

The actor: Glynn Turman started his acting career in the New York theater, working alongside such luminaries as Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, but after shifting his base of operations to Los Angeles, he quickly became a staple of film and television, beginning a career that would take him from J.D.’s Revenge to Super 8, not to mention notable stints on such series as Peyton Place, A Different World, and The Wire, among others. Turman can currently be seen within the ensemble of Showtime’s House Of Lies. Daktari (1968)—“Usumbu” Glynn Turman: Oh, my God. Where the ...

Film: Random Roles: John Schuck

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0600

The actor: “All right, bub, your fuckin’ head is coming right off.” With those words in 1970’s M*A*S*H, the first use of “fuck” in a mainstream movie, Hollywood entered a new and profane era of linguistic freedom, and debuting actor John Schuck earned his own small entry in its history books. Since then, and after further adventures with M*A*S*H director Robert Altman, Schuck became a familiar face in movies and especially on television, where he guest-starred in seemingly every show through the 1980s. He’s known to Trekkies as the Klingon ambassador from ...

TV: Random Roles: David Cross

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:03:00 -0600

Fans of David Cross’ best work—Mr. Show, Arrested Development—are quick to whine when the actor/comedian takes bill-paying parts in big Hollywood movies. But Cross makes no apologies for appearing in the Chipmunks movies or anything else; they’re all in a day’s work, and clearly not where his heart is. Beyond that, they help facilitate passion projects like The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret, a hilarious British-American production that he co-created, co-writes, and stars in. (The show’s second and final season begins airing January 6 on IFC.) For this edition of Random Roles, Cross ...

TV: Random Roles: Elizabeth McGovern

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:01:00 -0600

The actor: Elizabeth McGovern began her motion-picture career with an impressive one-two punch: Her first film, Ordinary People, won Best Picture, and her second film, Ragtime, scored her a Best Supporting Actress nomination. After spending more than a decade working almost exclusively on the big screen, appearing both comedies (She’s Having A Baby) and dramas (King Of The Hill), McGovern began to split her time between film and television. She can currently be seen in the critically acclaimed PBS series Downton Abbey, which begins its second season on January 8. Downton Abbey (2010-present)—“Cora, Countess of Grantham” Elizabeth McGovern ...

Film: Random Roles: Sam McMurray

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600

The actor: Like a lot of a character actors, Sam McMurray has an extensive list of credits but not the best name recognition among the general public. Considering his more than 150 television and film credits that stretch back to the mid-’70s, though, people have undoubtedly seen his work in everything from Raising Arizona to Freaks And Geeks (or heard his voice in a number of animated series). The New York-born actor got his start not long after college and has worked steadily during the three decades since in a dizzying number of projects, accruing some great stories along ...

TV: Random Roles: Phil Morris

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0600

The actor: Although Phil Morris made his acting debut in an episode of Star Trek in 1966, his role as Grant Collier in the 1988 TV reboot of Mission: Impossible (now on DVD)—playing the son of electronics expert Barney Collier, the character played by his dad, Greg Morris, in the original series—served as a significant kick in the pants to his career. Since then, Morris has continued to work in front of the camera, most memorably as fast-talking attorney Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, while also becoming an in-demand voice actor, delivering memorable performances in Disney’s Atlantis: The ...

Film: Random Roles: Charlotte Rampling

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

The actor: Charlotte Rampling, a former model who made her name as an actor largely by taking on unconventional parts: a Holocaust survivor who has a sadomasochistic relationship with a Nazi in The Night Porter; a psychic in a futuristic utopia in Zardoz; a woman in love with a chimpanzee in Max Mon Amour; a mystery novelist who becomes fascinated by a young houseguest in Swimming Pool; and more. Rampling’s recent films include Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, in which she plays the cranky mother of a bride-to-be, and The Look, a documentary about her life, career, and outlook ...

Film: Random Roles: Molly Parker

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0600

The actor: Molly Parker, who began her career on Canadian television while still in her teens, and has worked steadily in movies and on TV both at home and abroad for the past 20 years. In America, Parker is best-known for playing in-over-her-head widow Alma Garret on HBO’s Deadwood, though she’s also guested on such series as Dexter and Party Down, and will soon be seen in NBC’s version of John Grisham’s The Firm. Recently, Parker starred in Bruce McDonald and Daniel MacIvor’s Trigger, playing an aging rock star who tries to reconcile with her ...

Film: Random Roles: Mira Sorvino

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

The actor: Though encouraged by her father, Paul Sorvino, to do anything but follow him into acting, Mira Sorvino couldn’t stay away from the family business for long. After working her own way up with roles on soap operas and in indies such as Barcelona, Sorvino landed her biggest break—and nabbed an Oscar—playing a happy-go-lucky prostitute who gets the Pygmalion treatment in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, a star-making turn that was quickly followed by the cultishly adored Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion. Both films promised an easy career of playing fun and flighty blondes ...

Film: Random Roles: John Hurt

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

The actor: Since making his big-screen debut in 1962’s The Wild And The Willing, British native John Hurt has proven a versatile and erudite actor in everything from big-budget Hollywood blockbusters to tiny independents to television movies. In addition, he’s worked with some of the most iconic figures in film history—Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Steven Spielberg, and Sam Peckinpah, to name a few. Currently, Hurt can be seen in the 3D epic Immortals and Lars von Trier’s take on the end of the world, Melancholia, and will soon be seen in the John LeCarr ...

Film: Random Roles: Christopher McDonald

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600

The actor: Christopher McDonald got his first big break by singing and dancing his way through Grease 2 as Goose McKenzie, but the actor has made a career out of playing slightly shady types in such films as Thelma And Louise, Happy Gilmore, and Requiem For A Dream. Currently, McDonald is doing double duty on the small screen, finding time for a few episodes of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire in the midst of his full-time gig on NBC’s Harry’s Law. Harry’s Law (2011)—“Tommy Jefferson” Christopher McDonald: Tommy J! Now that’s just one of the greatest ...

Film: Random Roles: Colm Meaney

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:00:00 -0500

The actor: Even while working his full-time gig as Chief Miles O’Brien on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Colm Meaney was turning up in such films as The Snapper and Con-Air, and although he’s been focusing predominantly on film work since DS9 left the air in 1999, he’s still popped up in the occasional one-off episode, miniseries, or TV movie. Starting on Nov. 6, however, Meaney will be back on the small screen in a regular capacity, starring in AMC’s Hell On Wheels, a period piece set during the building of America’s transcontinental railroad. Hell ...

TV: Random Roles: Mark Harmon

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The actor: Although he first found fame as a quarterback for the UCLA Bruins, Mark Harmon has now spent more than three decades as an actor. Although he’s spent a fair amount of time on the silver screen, starring in such films as Summer School, Stealing Home, and The Presidio, it’s the small screen where he’s found the greatest success, playing doctors (St. Elsewhere and Chicago Hope), detectives (Reasonable Doubts and Charlie Grace), and the occasional serial killer (The Deliberate Stranger). Now nine years into playing Special Agent Jethro Gibbs on the absurdly successful CBS series NCIS ...

Film: Random Roles: Ron Leibman

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:00:00 -0500

The actor: Ron Leibman, a stalwart of the New York theater scene, who’s had a steady second career as a character actor in movies and television since the ’70s. Leibman typically plays acerbic, live-wire authoritarian types, though in his younger years, he took on more eclectic parts, including that of a macho rebel detective in 1974’s The Super Cops, which is now available on DVD from Warner Archives. The Super Cops (1974)—“David Greenberg” The A.V. Club: The real-life cops that inspired the movie, David Greenberg and Rob Hantz, became celebrities for a time, didn’t they ...

Film: Random Roles: Rosanna Arquette

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:01:00 -0500

The actress: The phrase “show business is in my blood” is a bit of a cliché, but it certainly applies to actress Rosanna Arquette, whose grandfather (Cliff), father (Lewis), and siblings (Patricia, David, Alexis, and Richmond) have all worked in Hollywood in various capacities. Although she started in theater and slowly built a foothold on television, earning an Emmy nod for her work in the 1982 TV movie The Executioner’s Song, the majority of Arquette’s career has been in film, where she made her mark with such classic films as After Hours, Desperately Seeking Susan, and Pulp Fiction ...

Film: Random Roles: Robert Forster

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:01:00 -0500

The actor: When describing his career in Hollywood, Robert Forster once likened his experience to a play, having had “a five-years upwards first act and a 25-year sliding second act.” The third act, however, started off with a major upswing, courtesy of Quentin Tarantino’s decision to cast him as bail bondsman Max Cherry in the 1997 film Jackie Brown (which is newly out on Blu-ray). Since then, Forster has rarely been without work, bouncing between big-screen players like David Lynch (Mulholland Dr.) and the Farrelly Brothers (Me, Myself & Irene) while still pulling the occasional small-screen gig, such as a ...

Film: Random Roles: Laura Dern

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:01:00 -0500

The actor: When your parents are Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, it’s easy enough to imagine that you’re going to end up as an actress, but Laura Dern’s career in Hollywood has been built less on genetics and more on a willingness to step outside the box with the parts she plays. Dern grew up on screen, starting in the early ’80s with roles in such films as Foxes and Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, but by the early ’90s, she had built a career where she was known to art-house audiences through her collaborations ...