Ticket 2 Ride

You can’t have a film, TV show or stage play without actors, and most actors work in supporting roles to the leads. Supporting actors are the heavy-lifters in the story. Comic relief, dramatic revelations, new clues or plot elements, decision points for the leads – character actors guide the story and change the mood, and do things the leads cannot. Supporting actors may stay awhile, or just appear for a moment. Some we know by name, others by their face, or even their unique voice.

Here are five very good character actions and some of their memorable roles.

Thelma Ritter – Recipient of a Tony and Emmy, she was nominated six times for Best Supporting Actress. If you appeared in a scene with her, the audience would focused on her. A simple hear gesture or slight inflection in her voice and she stole the scene. Rear Window, Birdman of Alcatraz, Hole in the Head, Pillow Talk and The Misfits were my favorites.

She played roles of women usually seen and not heard, but she made those role come alive. She died at age 66.

Irma P. Hall – Her first acting role was at age 37, a late start to her career, but she made up for it. Admittedly, I haven’t seen her in many roles, but three of them really impressed me: A Family Thing, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and The Ladykillers. Each role is different, but she brings the same level of focus and creativity to these characters – you pay attention to her scenes, each word, every nuance. When she speaks, you sense the experience, the hard-earned wisdom, she should not be discounted. In these films she was directed by Clint Eastwood, Richard Pearce, and the Coen Brothers.

She has acted along side James Earl Jones, Robert Duvall, Tom Hanks, John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, Anthony Hopkins, Kurt Russell, Robin Williams, Kathy Bates, John Hurt and many more. At age 90, I hope there are a few more role for this very engaging actor.

Graham Greene – After seeing him in a few roles playing a nice guy, I couldn’t picture him as a villain. Then I saw him as Malachi on Longmire. Later, he played another villain on Goliath. After than, any thought of him as a nice guy were long gone. An Oneida, born in Canada, Graham Greene was an icon in his home country. Dances With Wolves make him famous and led to all kinds of roles.

He appeared on the Canadian series, The Red Green Show, Northern Exposure and many other Canadian and American TV shows. Other films included The Green Mile, Reservoir Dogs, Thunderheart, Maverick, Wind River and many others. Sadly, he passed away in 2025.

Roscoe Lee Browne – Few actors had a voice as rich baritone voice, which put him in demand as a narrator and presenting poetry. He performed Shakespeare and often appeared onstage. A long career in television and films, some of his most memorable roles included: The Cowboys, Uptown Saturday Night, Legal Eagles, The Mambo Kings, and provided voice work for the Babe films, and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. On television, he was a regular on Soap, appeared in 10 episodes of Falcon Crest, won an Emmy Award for guesting on Barney Miller, appeared on All in the Family, ER, Will & Grace, Columbo, Magnum PI, and tons of other comedies and dramas.

It was often said that Mr. Browne intentionally avoided stereotypical roles for a Black male. I would say he succeeded at that.

Héctor Elizondo – Most of his work has been in television, in the early days, usually when a Latin or Arab male was needed. Later, he took over the role of Monk’s psychiatrist, and then co-starred with Tim Allen in Last Man Standing. Film appearances include: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Pretty Woman, Nothing in Common, Beaches, Overboard, Runaway Bride, The Princess Diaries and many other films. He’s been the recipient of numerous acting awards including an OBIE (off Broadway productions) and two Emmy Awards.

Mr. Elizondo has a very commanding voice (he does a lot of voice roles) but is very understated in his delivery, which is quite effective in comedy roles. His later roles tend toward sage or wise characters. I thought he was wonderful as Tom Hanks’ boss in Nothing in Common, and one of the subway hijackers in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and of course playing off of Monk’s eccentricities in Monk. I always thought he exuded intelligence and being level-headed. He’s going strong at age 89.