Confessions of A Film Geek

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	Don Cheadle
	Don Cheadle first came to my attention for his sterling work in the 1995 film Devil In A Blue Dress, and then he disappeared from my radar for a while. He then reappeared a couple of years later in P.T. Anderson's Boogie Nights and he's been a firm favourite of mine ever since. He's been a Steven Soderbergh regular since his appearance in Out of Sight, and he always seems to play interesting characters in a straightforward manner. I'm sure acting is harder than the average person thinks it is, but Don Cheadle makes it look ridiculously easy.
	Charles Durning
	Charles Durning has had many memorable performances during a very long career. He is equally comfortable with serious roles as with light comedy - remember the singing and dancing sheriff in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas? His performances have been more idiosyncratic of late - he's obviously enjoying himself now; witness his turn as the encumbant governor in the Coen Brothers' hilarious O Brother Where Art Thou? What a hoot. He's also very funny in the Denis Leary vehicle Rescue Me on TV where he plays his irrascible father. The bottom line is that Durning is usually the highlight of any film - or TV programme - he appears in.
	Luis Guzman
	Another Soderbergh regular, Luis Guzman has a very dry way of playing comedy. It's very understated and comes off as all the more amusing for it. He started off playing heavies because of his low-brow looks but managed to break away from that and now tends to play underdogs or downtrodden characters who just have too much stacked against them to have a chance at success. There's something unrehearsed seeming about Guzman's performances; he makes you think he's just some guy who's saying what he thinks, and that in turn makes it much easier to believe the character he's playing is a real guy. He may be a little hard to cast sometimes but he's always good.
	Dan Hedaya
	Nobody does a thousand yard stare like Dan Hedaya; he's got the scariest stare in the business. Just look at the picture above to see what I mean. Hedaya specialises in playing intense, troubled characters who have a lot on their plate and the people around him are not helping. And if you're looking for a sleazebag a la Ratso Rizo but can't afford Dustin Hoffman then Hedaya's your man. He keeps busy - he probably pops up in more films than anyone in this section relative to how utterly unkown he seems to be. Also specialises in cops on the take or seedy mob bosses, or maybe a bureaucratic official. Can play absolutely mental with the very best of them.
	Philip Seymour Hoffman
	My favourite actor. Philip Seymour Hoffman has an intensity that's hard to look away from. He can convey uncomfortableness better than anyone I've ever seen. His performances have never been anything less than excellent. The most impressive thing about Seymour Hoffman though is his control; he never overacts - all the anguish and tension keeps boiling away while he keeps a lid on everything. It's tiring sometimes watching all sorts of emotions pile up in his facial expressions and body language and it's all up there for the viewer to experience. When I watch Philip Seymour Hoffman I get the feeling the character he's playing has a life outside of the film. And that's the ultimate compliment.
	Joe Mantegna
	Joe Mantegna is a class act. He's always reliable in any film and has an easy, graceful presence. He's equally believable as a smooth criminal or ruthless hitman, a calculating businessman or a polished conman, a doting father or a dogged detective, you name it. One of the very best actors around who can play real people behaving in a realistic way, Mantegna has it all. His performance in David Mamet's House of Games is a good example of the range he has at his disposal and, again, it all seems so easy. There's also an intelligence behind Joe Mantegna - you get the feeling he's always thinking, so he's very good at working with clever or high-brow material like David Mamet's - a frequent collaborator.
	Bruce McGill
	Bruce McGill is a bear of a man who can play powerful, commanding characters like judges or detectives better than almost anyone. He has a presence that reaches straight out the screen and fills the room. Perhaps not as versatile as most of the actors on this list (I couldn't see him playing a lead romantic role for example) nevertheless he was one of the better things in The Legend of Bagger Vance where he played golfer Walter Hagan with an infectious joi de vivre, and he was just about the only good thing in Michael Mann's disappointing The Insider, where he played a fiery lawyer. Unusually McGill is equally believable as absolutely crooked or completely incorruptable.
	Harry Dean Stanton
	The uber-character actor, Harry Dean Stanton is the favourite tipple of many a movie geek and has been for a long time now. He likes to play unusual parts in off-the-wall films and he always does a first-class job. His angular, wiry frame and slow but jittery mannerisms, combined with his Kentucky drawl - which always seems to be pushing it's way past a cigarette - all combine to make for a compelling performance. He's not your typical movie star, but he has a great face; it's a face that's been around for a while and has seen a lot of things - it convinces you that this character is a real guy. And that helps the viewer tremendously when they're looking to identify with the character he's portraying.
	Stephen Tobolowsky
	Two of Stephen Tobolowsky's most well known performances are the possibly fictional character Sammy Jankis in Memento and the crazed Ned Ryerson in the hilarious Groundhog Day. Stephen doesn't have much screen time in either one of these films but he's the character people remember. Stephen Tobolowsky is an excellent all-rounder. He does a lot of TV work - everything from Will & Grace to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He usually plays annoying people or snippy beaurocrats abusing their power. He'll probably never be the leading man, but if I know he's in a film I look forward to his appearance.
	Pruitt Taylor Vince
	Pruitt Taylor Vince is living proof that you don't have to be pretty to be an actor, and a great actor at that. He pops up every now and then in a big film, steals it then disappears. He is the best in the business at playing awkward, shy, quiet men. Men who don't relate to the rest of the people around him and probably never will. I first noticed him in Mississippi Burning, back in 1988 only because he looked kind of odd, but he is an excellent actor if given the right part: Just look at the phenomenal performance he gives in James Mangold's Heavy. He's one of those actors you can't take your eyes off. And that eye of his that keeps buzzing around like a bee on acid - that's weird too.

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