Your Favourite "That Guy" Actors

[Terry Torpid]

Frank Darabont's Green Mile was on the other day, and I was reminded that the film is chock full of "that Guy" actors. You've seen them in loads of stuff, they're always good, but you can never remember their names.


Tom Hanks's second in command is That Guy from John Adams and House MD


One of the other guards is That Guy from The Walking Dead and Citizen X


One of the condemned men is That Guy from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Jurassic Park III


That Guy from Twin Peaks The Return and Parks and Recreation shows up.

Darabont must like That Guy actors, because there are a few in Shawshank Redemption too.


The Warden is That Guy from Demolition Man and Patch Adams


One of the guards is That Guy from Starship Troopers and Highlander


One of the inmates is That Guy from Die Hard 2: Die Harder. He's a double whammy because he would go on to be That Guy from The Green Man

David Fincher films are always good for That Guys.


In Zodiac we've got That Guy from Crash and The Thin Red Line


The prime suspect in the film is none other than That Guy from Fargo and Shutter Island


And no list would be complete without one of my favourites, That Guy from Prison Break and The Dark Knight.

I know it's not surprising that professional actors would appear in more than one film, that's not the point. It's about a particular class of actor, where they're clearly talented, very reliable, but without that magic star quality that makes someone a proper A-list star. I've never seen them on chat shows. I don't know what they think about anything. They weren't in Gal Gadot's Imagine video. I prefer it this way; we don't really know anything about these guys, so you don't get distracted like you do with Leo DiCaprio or someone like that. Let's hear it for That Guy.

[frajer]

Shea Whigham turns up to chase Tom Cruise around in the latest Mission Impossible and I very nearly clapped my hands with delight when he first grumbled his way onscreen. A stalwart and reliably excellent "hey it's that guy!" actor.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

don't recognise any of these cunts

[curiousoranges]

You've seen him. In the Ghostbusters 2, Mr Bean film and 90s TV shows.

[Better Midlands]

The prime suspect in the film is none other than That Guy from Fargo and Shutter Island

I did a real life who's that guy? just the other night on him whilst watching The Trial of the Chicago 7.

[Better Midlands]

One of the guards is That Guy from Starship Troopers and Highlander

I always think that guy played Biff in Back To The Future (he didn't).

[Magnum Valentino]

I can name five of the lads in the OP but then I'm attracted to this sort of thing. John Carroll Lynch directed Harry Dean Stanton in his final film "Lucky" so he's also an accomplished That Guy Filmmaker.

[Terry Torpid]

John Carroll Lynch directed Harry Dean Stanton in his final film "Lucky" so he's also an accomplished That Guy Filmmaker.

I considered including Harry Dean Stanton, but I think he just squeaked by into Actual Name territory.

[checkoutgirl]

Wonder if anyone else couldn't distinguish between these three blokes whenever they popped up beside the main villain in films for about 25 years.

[Viero_Berlotti]

Michael Ironside has got to be my favourite character actor. I don't think I have seen him in a bad film but that's probably because his presence can redeem even the stinkiest of shark jumping turkeys. And like all the best Americans he is actually Canadian.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Michael Ironside has got to be my favourite character actor. I don't think I have seen him in a bad film but that's probably because his presence can redeem even the stinkiest of shark jumping turkeys. And like all the best Americans he is actually Canadian.

Pam Grier did that in a lot of B-Movies as well. My favourite character actor will be Harry Dean Stanton no contest though.

[jonnyunitus]

Joe Pantoliano

[George White]

You've seen him. In the Ghostbusters 2, Mr Bean film and 90s TV shows.

And the mighty Dragonslayer.

[Terry Torpid]

Good choice. I've just realised I've seen him in loads of stuff and never clocked him.

Michael Ironside has got to be my favourite character actor.

The mention of Ironside reminds me of three more Verhoeven actors, namely That Guy, That Guy and That Guy.




War. It's fantastic!

[Sebastian Cobb]

Fargas.

[Magnum Valentino]

Wonder if anyone else couldn't distinguish between these three blokes whenever they popped up beside the main villain in films for about 25 years.

Adam Baldwin and Brian Thompson at both ends - who's in the middle?

[Terry Torpid]

It's that walrus looking piece of shit Private Pyle. He's so ugly he could be a modern art masterpiece!

[Famous Mortimer]

I got David Morse (star of St Elsewhere, not really a 'that guy' for us older folks maybe?), Clancy Brown (Highlander!), Elias Koteas ("this is what my girlfriend would look like without skin") and William Fichtner straight off, but there are some classic "that guy" guys in there.

You probably know about these, but the two documentaries about these fine people are worth a watch:

[Terry Torpid]

You probably know about these, but the two documentaries about these fine people are worth a watch:

Ah, I didn't know about them. That's absolutely perfect.



I see That Guy is listed in the cast. I was going to post him in the OP but forgot to copy the link. David Fincher films are always good for this.




That Guy and That Guy are two more top nominations from that film.



I think the kid from Jurassic Park is becoming a bit of a That Guy as an adult. He was in The Social Network and played the bass player in that terrible Freddy Mercury film. Apparently he was Kubrick's original choice for AI, and that Holocaust film he never made.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Does this one count? Whenever he crops up in something that isn't NYPD blue I usually say 'It's Sippowicz!'.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I got David Morse (star of St Elsewhere, not really a 'that guy' for us older folks maybe?), Clancy Brown (Highlander!), Elias Koteas ("this is what my girlfriend would look like without skin") and William Fichtner straight off, but there are some classic "that guy" guys in there.

It might be because we're of a similar age but I got all of those apart from Elias Koteas, who I've seen in a whole bunch of things but couldn't remember his name.

I'm also very quietly appalled about Miguel Ferrer appearing in this thread, I mean he was Albert in Twin Peaks for Christ sakes!

[Terry Torpid]

I'm also very quietly appalled about Miguel Ferrer appearing in this thread, I mean he was Albert in Twin Peaks for Christ sakes!

Well, I know who he is, and you know who he is, Mr Movie Aficionado, but for the average viewer, I think they'd call him That Guy.


That Guy from True Grit and Bridge of Spies


That Guy from Bridge of Spies and Killers of the Flower Moon

[Small Man Big Horse]

Well, I know who he is, and you know who he is, Mr Movie Aficionado, but for the average viewer, I think they'd call him That Guy.

I'm sure you're right, but at the same time I can't stop my mouth from muttering astonishingly awful things.

[Terry Torpid]

The tragic irony of any true That Guy is that if I don't know his name, I can't google him and post him in this thread, so really none of them are That Guys, and we should all be appalled.

[Sebastian Cobb]

The tragic irony of any true That Guy is that if I don't know his name, I can't google him and post him in this thread, so really none of them are That Guys, and we should all be appalled.

I think we can still consider them a 'that guy' if you recognise them from a show but don't actually know the actor's name or anything.

E.g. 'that guy from the superman tv series'

[jamiefairlie]

"This Guy" is my quintessential "That Guy"

[Terry Torpid]

I think we can still consider them a 'that guy' if you recognise them from a show but don't actually know the actor's name or anything.

I propose two tiers of "That Guy". There's That Guy you can't name, but at least you can remember the films you've seen him in, so you can easily look it up, but then there's That Guy you recognise whenever he show ups, but you can't actually recall any particular films he was in, so you're at a complete loss. The latter type is the rarefied elite That Guy. For example, here's one guy I had in mind when I started the thread, but I just couldn't remember any of the dozens of things I've seen him in. My white whale:


I was wracking my brain, until I remembered he was in Dances With Wolves. The late great Maury Chaykin, the final boss of That Guys.

[Sonny_Jim]

Michael Ironside has got to be my favourite character actor. I don't think I have seen him in a bad film but that's probably because his presence can redeem even the stinkiest of shark jumping turkeys.

I don't think he redeemed Highlander II, but he looked like he was having an absolute whale of a time.

Maury Chaykin is a good shout for best 'That Guy' but really he's the fake out boss before Dick Miller appears.  Just learned that he's in 'Chopping Mall'.  What a legend.

EDIT: Refusing to post a picture because it's Dick Miller.  You know who it is.  The documentary about him is literally called 'That guy'.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

It's that guy from every 80s action movie.

[Magnum Valentino]

I think we can still consider them a 'that guy' if you recognise them from a show but don't actually know the actor's name or anything.

E.g. 'that guy from the superman tv series'

Lane Smith! I also woke up this morning and my first thought was "BOB GUNTON!" so that's six from the OP, and I know Zelkjo Ivankek (possibly misspelled), Peter MacNicoll (how can you be a That Guy if you starred in Ally McBeal and Veep?!) and your man from Aliens is Mark Rolston.

Time was I'd have remembered the names for many more of these. Suppose I'm getting old.