Great Contemporary Character Actors

Back in the thirties and forties, many Hollywood movies that were otherwise pretty mundane could be brought to life by the appearance of a familiar face in a small but critical role; in the case of good films, they could be counted on to make the proceedings even better. I'm thinking of folks like William Demerest, Eugene Pallette, Ned Sparks, Charles Coburn, Peter Lorre (with or without Sidney Greenstreet), Beulah Bondi, Jane Darwell, Spring Byington, and many, many others. The character actor always seemed to play the same part-- their careers pretty much depended on typecasting, where they so perfectly embodied some common type that they could essentially play the same role over and over and always make it fresh and relevant to the story at hand. We don't often think of actors in such simplistic ways today, but there are a number of fine character actors around, and I thought I'd like to give them a little attention. So, here's the first installment in what will be another intermittent feature on this blog: celebrating the great contemporary character actors. My first subject: the sublime Carlos Jacott, who I first rememebr encountering in the Noah Baumbach feature Kicking and Screaming (see below). Some of you may recognize him from other fine work he's done in Grosse Pointe Blank, Mr. Jealousy, The Last Days of Disco, or as Ramon the pool boy from Seinfeld. Here are some highlights from Kicking and Screaming, most of which feature Carlos (in his role as Otis, the pajama-wearing guy with a drinking problem):



So, a heartfelt tip of the hat to Carlos Jacott-- keep up the good work!