Many actors take pride in disappearing into roles, swapping out accents, mannerisms, and wigs to become their subjects — Christian Bale didn’t get to where he is by taking bit parts. But for every performer whose life involves limousines, designer watches,and Oscar nominations, there are many more actors hiding in plain sight, waiting to make the most of any role that comes their way. The majority of the casts of big-time films are so anonymous that they need to wear name tags on the red carpet lest security tackle them when they stand too close to Tom Cruise.
Quietly propping up the movies while the talent basks in the glory, films wouldn’t be possible without these nameless, thankless side characters propelling the passion projects and star vehicles of the A-listers. There’s a bittersweet tinge to the labels “character actor” and “supporting role,” but there’s only so much space on the marquee or Netflix blurb. Sure, it pays, but don’t assume that everyone in front of a camera has an infinity pool filter clogged with rolled-up hundred-dollar bills.
Performers who exist outside the coveted A-list position in Hollywood aren’t a monolith either, however. While some might be actively pursuing greater fame, it’s not everyone’s dream. Moreover, some actors spend the majority of their careers in obscurity only to suddenly find a breakthrough role.
The Nature of the Business
How do actors get cast? It’s a combination of talent, looks, and the right connections. Fortunately, the truly virtuoso performers stick around regardless of whether they look like a high school teacher from Toledo.
Philip Baker Hall is that guy from Toledo. His resume would make any actor jealous, starring in hundreds of popular films and TV shows over a fifty-year career,ranging fromCheers,Zodiac, theRush Hourfranchise, toMagnolia. You wouldn’t know his name, but you probably know his gravelly voice and tough-guy demeanor, stealing all the laughs from Jerry Seinfeld on his own show, then immediately disappearing back into the shadows as he did for decades.
Speaking of voices, few guys could replace Robert Costanzo. His distinctive Brooklyn accent helped him monopolize the market on cynical tough guys and blue-collar roles. Regardless of your age or whether your preference had you watchingFriends, Total Recall, orBatman: The Animated Series, Costanzo lives rent-free in the mind of anyone who grew up addicted toTV in the nineties.
Clancy Brown got his chance as a memorable villain, shining in meaty roles inShawshank RedemptionandHighlander. Yet his best-known gig, and arguably the one thatmeans the most to him, is the one where he doesn’t show his mug: Mr. Krabs inSpongebob. After two decades, he admits, “I don’t know I could imagine a world not doing Spongebob.”
Harry Dean Stanton Rejected the “Character Actor” Box
Audiences still take the cast of the 1979Alienfilm for granted, reciting their dialogue, but likely unable to name a single performer other than Sigourney Weaver. A deep dive on IMDb produces some remarkably prolific careers: Yahphet Kotto (aka “that guy who blew up in that oneJames Bondmovie”), Ian Holm (“The Hobbitdude”), Tom Skerrit (the mustachioed instructor fromTop Gun), and Harry Dean Stanton. Stanton’s status as a recurring, familiar face without a name became a kind of in-joke in the industry, popping in classic movie after classic movie in various decades:Cool Hand Luke,The Godfather: Part II,Escape from New York,The Green Mile, and eventually awarded a cameo inThe Avengers.
Related:10 Actors Who Are Mostly Known for Playing Supporting Characters
He never seized household-name notoriety. That is unless you were a very attentive movie nerd who stuck around to read the end credits. The actor preferred it that way. His weathered, forgettable face and unplaceable rural accent paired perfectly with his stoic acting, selling dramatic lines in a very silly movie likeRed Dawnthat a more recognizable or glamorous actor could never achieve. Sorry, Burt Reynolds and Robert Redford, but there is such a thing as acting yourself into a corner.
Stanton personally rejected thelabel of “character actor”as casually as he rejected larger roles that would have made him more famous. In a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter shortly before his death, he expressed the view that “every actor is a character actor” and that any person “can be a film actor if you’ve got a good director," no experience or training necessary.
Actors Who Have Crossed Over From Z-List to A-List
The list of great actors that linger in obscurity is too long to list. Occasionally, the movie gods smile on an individual who has loyally toiled at the periphery of the limelight. Before he finally got his break onE.R.,George Clooney was among the horde of almost-familiar faces that you knew but couldn’t quite remember from what film or show. Similarly, after a modest but decent career in bit parts inSeinfeldand a supporting role inMalcolm in the Middle, Bryan Cranston kicked down the door to fame as the chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White inBreaking Bad.
Related:15 TV Character Actors Who Don’t Get the Credit They Deserve
John Turturro and Forrest Whitaker both paid their dues in supporting roles for decades before earning their shot and becoming headliners, Whitaker winning an Oscar and BAFTA award in 2006. Jennifer Coolidge finally walked away with an Emmy after drifting about Hollywood for thirty years in bit part after bit part. At one point in her career, she was informally known to fans only as “Stifler’s Mom” for her small but memorable role inAmerican Pie. Coolidge is proof that if you give it thirty years, or double that, people might one day learn your name.
It’s better to work an entire lifetime, seamlessly slotting into any film or TV show, than to be a superstar and fade away. You might not receive the adoration of the public, but neither do most people for doing their jobs. Plus, if you stick around long enough, the industry, as remorseless as it is, might even reward you with a comfortable living.
