Your Favourite "That Guy" Actors

[Sonny_Jim]

I remember him as the NASA guy from Northern Exposure.

EDIT: Shit, wasn't him.  That would have been Barry Corbin:

[Terry Torpid]

Looking through the thread, I'm noticing an above average amount of receding hairlines compared to Name Actors. Perhaps that's the key,

Maury Chaykin is a good shout for best 'That Guy' but really he's the fake out boss before Dick Miller appears.

A top pick, but I think Dick Miller's name comes to mind more easily, because Jay from Red Letter Media is always going on about him.

[Sonny_Jim]

So strong I didn't even feel the need to post his pic, hmm?

DICK DISQUALIFIED MAURY BACK IN LEAD

[George White]

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

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

War. It's fantastic!

Ah, Dan.
He's the man who christened (Irish Panto harridan) Adele King Twink, you know.

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
 

Dakin Matthews. Has a special place in my heart, cos he appeared in two Irish-set eps of Murder, she Wrote, in the first one, 'The Wind Around the Tower' set in Aughrim/Rathdrum but with a road sign augmented so it is 60 miles nearer to Dublin than IRL, and lots of second unit shots of Rathdrum before cutting to interiors at Universal - he is the victim, murdered by wife Shirley Anne Field, and the second A Killing in Cork, where he plays the murderer.

Mark Rolston ('your man from Aliens') was in the same two eps, playing Matthews' cousin in the first, and a Cork Garda in the second.

Despite the dodgy accents, sometimes I'd rather cast these guys as Irish than Fair City veterans.

Those Irish eps are full of 'That Guys' attempting the accent or playing the blow in.
Richard Lynch, John Karlen (Harv in Cagney and Lacey), Peter Donat (Mulder's da in The X Files, Questadt in the Godfather 2), Andrew 'Garak/Scorpio/Larry in Hellraiser' Robinson, Donnelly Rhodes (Dr. Cottle in Nu-BSG)....

And Fionnula Flanagan, herself a 'That Wan' of some note, though she's Irish.

[dead-ced-dead]

Let's hear it for some lady "that guys". This is becoming a sausage fest.

I'll start with Judy Greer. She's so much of a that guy her autobiography is called I Don't Know Where You Know Me From.

[George White]

I remember him as the NASA guy from Northern Exposure.

EDIT: Shit, wasn't him.  That would have been Barry Corbin:

Also the US military bod in the Command and Conquer games.

FMV games are full of these guys.

[Sonny_Jim]

Judy Greer very good shout, although I'm hard pushed to remember her from anything that isn't AD.  EDIT: Just realised that makes her textbook That Guy

May I suggest Carol Kane:



Seemed to be in a billion things (I might remember her from Kimmy Schmidt) and a super distinctive voice to boot.

[Jim_MacLaine]

Does Joan Cusack count. She was always the "I know her from something" woman for me.



John Spencer was a That Guy until he became the man behind the man in The West Wing.



Military that guy, Dale Dye

[Terry Torpid]

I wonder which film has the highest quantity of That Guys. Alien Resurrection is full of them. Assuming Ron Perlman and Brad Dourif are too well known, you've still got these guys.






That last guy always crushes it, particularly as a traumatised guy. Saving Private Ryan and Seven come to mind.

[Jim_MacLaine]

Last year I listened to this podcast with John Ross Bowie which features some of the people in this thread.



There is another related podcast but I'm not going to listen to it because of this photo.

[George White]

Last year I listened to this podcast with John Ross Bowie which features some of the people in this thread.



There is another related podcast but I'm not going to listen to it because of this photo.

As someone who has worked for Headstuff, I disagree on some of their choices too.

[Sonny_Jim]

I don't care how well he gets known, Brad Dourif is top tier That Guy, like a low level Nic Cage you are just eager to see what he does with the part.  His daughter deserves a mention, although I've only ever seen her in that Ex-RLM Luvvie Wankbeast Max Landis penned detective show and she was great.

[Gulftastic]

Xander Berkley for me. He's had a couple of reasonable runs in 24 and TWD, but he's much better when he just pops up for a bit like in T2 or Apollo 13.

[Glebe]

Watched Yes Minister 1984 Christmas special 'Party Games' on BBC4 last night (in which Jim Hacker becomes Prime Minister!), which featured appearances by Kubrick regular Philip Stone (who was in Temple of Doom which had been on C4 earlier) and Peter Jeffrey, who among various TV and film roles played the Sultan in Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (and who I'd just seen recently in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected).

John Nettleton who played Sir Arnold in YM just passed away this year actually.

[Sonny_Jim]

Better call Saul and it's predecessor have basically ruined quite a fair few That Guys.  Dean Norris far too famous for That Cop Guy now and is probably rueing the day he picked up the phone from his agent.  He could of played 'slightly offensive cop who perches his ass on the corner of the desk as he tells the main character that his lead went nowhere' and done that for the rest of his life.

Jonathon Banks started off strong as Gunderson the Air Traffic Controller from Airplane!, wormed his way into both Gremlins and Beverly Hills Cop only to completely balls it up and become proper famous as Mike the Grandpa Contract Killer.

[lardboy]

Just a couple of Guys in Paul Blart Mall Cop 2.  See also: Suits as That Lawyer Guy(s).

[Terry Torpid]

Better call Saul and it's predecessor have basically ruined quite a fair few That Guys.

Do you think Ed Begley Jr. still counts? A borderline case in my book. Robert Forster was in the same boat.

[George White]

Do you think Ed Begley Jr. still counts? A borderline case in my book. Robert Forster was in the same boat.

Over this side of the Atlantic, EBJ is certainly a 'that guy'.

[George White]

Watched Yes Minister 1984 Christmas special 'Party Games' on BBC4 last night (in which Jim Hacker becomes Prime Minister!), which featured appearances by Kubrick regular Philip Stone (who was in Temple of Doom which had been on C4 earlier) and Peter Jeffrey, who among various TV and film roles played the Sultan in Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (and who I'd just seen recently in an episode of Tales of the Unexpected).

John Nettleton who played Sir Arnold in YM just passed away this year actually.

Peter Jeffrey also of course Insp .Trout in the Dr Phibes films.
Also great in his turn as the Turkish nonce in Midnight Express.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

This thread roughly split between people who are far too famous to count and people I swear to god I have never fuckin seen before in my life

[dontpaintyourteeth]

So I suppose on balance it's going quite well

[neveragain]

I thought that was Tony Slattery!

[checkoutgirl]

Always get Hedaya mixed up with Dean Stockwell.

[Magnum Valentino]

Just a couple of Guys in Paul Blart Mall Cop 2.  See also: Suits as That Lawyer Guy(s).

DB Woodside and Neal McDonough. NEXT!

[dead-ced-dead]

Something that fascinates me is how one country's movie star or TV star could be another's That Guy.

Like, in Japan, Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada would be movie stars, no question. In America they'd be "that guy who plays the stern, stoic Japanese guys!"

In the US, Steve Coogan would be a That Guy. Here, well, I don't need to tell you bald comedy nerds.

[dead-ced-dead]

Is Cliff Curtis too famous to be a That Guy? I love him. He makes small roles that border on being ethnic stereotypes (his Māori origin made him a common choice to play Middle Eastern, Hispanic or South American characters) and give them real weight and power. His depiction of Smiley in Training Day is still really terrifying.

[George White]

Something that fascinates me is how one country's movie star or TV star could be another's That Guy.

Like, in Japan, Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada would be movie stars, no question. In America they'd be "that guy who plays the stern, stoic Japanese guys!"

In the US, Steve Coogan would be a That Guy. Here, well, I don't need to tell you bald comedy nerds.

Sanada was a huge action star in his teens.
While Watanabe was a TV period drama star.

[Terry Torpid]

Something that fascinates me is how one country's movie star or TV star could be another's That Guy.

Very true. I think some of the Nazi blokes in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds are better known in Germany for comedies and romcoms. It must be nice for them to appear in front of a fresh audience without that sort of baggage, and it must be weird for their home audience to see them in roles you wouldn't associate them with.

[dead-ced-dead]

Very true. I think some of the Nazi blokes in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds are better known in Germany for comedies and romcoms. It must be nice for them to appear in front of a fresh audience without that sort of baggage, and it must be weird for their home audience to see them in roles you wouldn't associate them with.

Til Schweiger is a good example of this. He was a comedy regular in Germany in the 90s and in Hollywood films he plays scary fuckers.

Tangent, but I always thought it must be nice to be an actor with two profiles in different countries. Tom Wilkinson is a good example, since he's on everyone's minds.

[Terry Torpid]

Tangent, but I always thought it must be nice to be an actor with two profiles in different countries.

I have fond memories of Americans losing their shit when they found out Dr House is Briddish.