visitor Q

Throughout the years of watching films there has always been a set of particular characteristics that I've developed a taste for (see title) and can't get enough of. Films are definitely a form of escapism for me and although I enjoy a wide range of films I generally gravitate towards over the top and cartoon-ish themes and characters. Thankfully, there are many films that compliment my tastes and if it were not for the primary drivers (characters) I'm not sure I'd feel the same way.

Gary Oldman - think Drexl, or better yet, Stansfield from Leon. The "calm before the storm" sequence before the family massacre is perfectly executed (no pun intended) as is the follow up (the overhead framed bathtub shotgun kill was insane!) - yeah, morally reprehensible - but still. This heavily sets the contrasting tone for Stansfield as opposed to the placid Leon, and the threat he imposes for the remainder of the film.

Riki Takeuchi (Still can't believe this guy is also a pop singer - sorry you had to see that) - the perfect menacing grin, unshakable Elvis hairdo and window rattling low frequency voice! No matter what Yakuza film this guy is in consider the scene stolen with his bigger than life and charismatic demeanor.

Kurtwood Smith ("Red" from That 70's show) - think Clarence from Robocop. Just a downright evil bastard, but there's something about the guy that I feel for. Oddly, he's likable. Clarence is the bottom feeder to Alan Rickman's more high-brow version of Hans from Die Hard (filmed years later), but each shares similar characteristics.

Donald Sutherland - Sgt. Oddball from Kelly's Heroes (offbeat themed 70's war/comedy film). Donald perfectly spewing out English dialogue in a babbling, only mildly comprehensible Russian (or some foreign) accent won the film over right there; well, besides the incredibly talented ensemble cast as it were. But the timeliness (in some cases, not) and uncanny delivery made for an extremely funny character. And aside from the German tank commander at the end, Sutherland's role is the most memorable to me.


In any case, who are some of your favorites and why?

riotinmyskull

brad dourif and crispin glover come to mind.

GoldenJCJ

I just watched Zombie's Halloween II and the only thing I could think throughout (aside from this movie is a pile of shit) is that Brad Dourif is giving a great performance and he deserves better.

I'll throw out:

Christopher Walken He's been in a lot of crap in his career but he always seems to elevate the movie a notch or two just by his presence.

Steve Buscemi No matter what mousy little character he plays I always enjoy the hell out of it.

Drexl

Do you want character actors, or just characters?

The first thing that came to mind was Pooh Bear in The Salton Sea, played by Vincent D'Onofrio:

inri222

hardercore

Judah Friedlander in American Splendor.

Fist of Doom

If we're talking characters, then I'll say John Goodman's Walter Sobchak (The Big Lebowski). Just thinking about him makes me . He's completely ridiculous and eminently entertaining.

If we're talking actors, then I'd add Harry Dean Stanton. He brings an offbeat sensibility to his roles, but at the same time seems very sincere and honest to his characters. I think he's a great actor.

gmanca

I agree on both parts; and along the lines of Harry Dean Stanton, check out Repo Man if you want to see a film full of offbeat characters.

Fist of Doom

"Repo Man's got all night, every night."

Hokeyboy

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She appears precisely at 1:17 in. "Thank God she's not too symbolic or anything..." The greatest Bill Murray movie ever

visitor Q

First and foremost I would say character, although if a certain actor delivers an equal performance on multiple accounts feel free to call it.

Tomas Milian (can't believe I forgot this guy) - probably known best by western audiences as the Mexican general in Traffic (Criterion release). This guy brings it to the table in most roles. As Cuchillo in the spaghetti western, Big Gundown and its sequel, Milian plays a cartoon-ishly comical role as an aloof innocent (sort of) on the run. This seems out of place based on the normal expectations of a SW film but works incredibly well in both films. Anything the guy is in is enhanced because of his talents ....

islandclaws

Kakihara from Ichi the Killer.

starman9000

His character in the Break Up was great too. Just completely random and off the wall.

Ash Ketchum

Antonio Fargas used to specialize in those characters starting with PUTNEY SWOPE where he wore Arab headdress and declared, "Putney Swope is a JIVE ******!" He's great as Bernstein in NEXT STOP GREENWICH VILLAGE and as the gay member of the crew in CAR WASH: "I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get!" he asserts to the hardheaded militant on the crew played by Bill Duke. Great bits also in SHAFT and CISCO PIKE. And he's the first member of the ill-fated robbery team to be located and dealt with by mafia pursuers trying to retrieve their money in ACROSS 110TH STREET.

[Hmmm...I just noticed this board's censorship function. There are 6 asterisks in place of the racial epithet I was quoting from PUTNEY SWOPE, a word, I should note, commonly used in the dialogue of black-themed films of the era. If I had typed actual profanities, I bet that wouldn't have happened. Let's try it: fuck, shit, ****, asshole, cocksucker... See? Nothing happened. Now, let's see what happens when I type in other racial/sexual epithets: dago, ****, hebe, coon, jigaboo, honky, spic, ***... Ah hah! Two of them got censored. Can you guess which two? As Alice once noted, "Curiouser and curiouser."]