Latest news with #ClancyBrown
Geek Girl Authority
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
RESIDENT ALIEN Season Premiere Recap: (S04E01) Prisoners
Resident Alien Season 4 Episode 1, 'Prisoners,' is a solid opener, brimming with hilarious character beats and plenty of narrative movement. I didn't expect Harry to return to Earth so quickly, but I'm glad we didn't waste time in that regard. Alan Tudyk is a once-in-a-lifetime comedy talent, effortlessly breathing life into Harry and the Mantid. He nails their shared awkward alien mannerisms while making them significantly different. I'm curious to see where this season takes us. RELATED: Read our recap of the Resident Alien Season 3 finale, 'Homecoming' Resident Alien, 'Prisoners' We open with Harry (Tudyk) and Bridget attempting to find Asta and … is it Marcy? Darby? (Just kidding, I know it's D'arcy with a lowercase 'a.') Anyway, instead, he discovers his pizza delivery guy imprisoned in a cell within the Greys' Moon base. Pizza Joe offers to give Harry a delicious pizza and a discount on his next order in exchange for freedom. Unfortunately, Pizza Joe is the Mantid, and this is how Harry winds up trapped on the Moon base while the Mantid takes up residence in his cabin in Patience. This is some bullsh*t. Later, we see Harry has a beard now. He instructs Robert (Paul Piaskowski) on how to draw all his Patience friends. Harry needs fresh wall art for his cell. On Earth, the Mantid (voiced by the legendary Clancy Brown) is livin' on Easy Street. As Harry, he's got his hair slicked back. He puffs on a cigarette like those cool kids who smoked under the bleachers in the '90s. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'Prisoners' Season 4 Episode 1 — Pictured: Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) Too Cool for School Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds), who's in civilian clothes, and Deputy Liv (Elizabeth Bowen) greet him. Mayor Snowflake — ahem, Ben (Levi Fiehler) and Kate (Meredith Garretson) say hi. Ben asks Mantid/Harry if he's ready for their therapy session. Mantid offers a dry remark before setting fire to a newspaper dispenser. Before it goes up in flames, we see the headline for today's paper involves a missing hunter. Hmm. His head's probably missing, too, knowing the Mantid. RELATED: TV Review: Resident Alien Season 4 Finally, the Mantid runs into Asta (Sara Tomko) and D'arcy (Alice Wetterlund) outside the clinic. It's Titty Tuesday, or is that Thursday? Asta clocks 'Harry's' peculiar behavior. Meanwhile, on the Greys' Moon base, Harry sings Bridget's praises. You know, Robert's brother. (Robert insists they aren't related.) Prison looks good on Bridget. He's King of the Yard. He even has a b*tch now, Reese. Admittedly, this line made me snort laugh. Harry admits to himself that he misses his old life, but especially Asta. He puts up Robert's drawing of Asta in his cell before we see her in bed with Joseph (Enver Gjokaj). Asta wakes up, surprised to discover that Joseph slept over. She emerges from her room to find D'arcy in the kitchen. She looks suspicious. Asta claims she stayed up all night studying medical reports. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'Prisoners' Season 4 Episode 1 — Pictured: Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) Dumb, Cute Face However, our girl D'arc can spot that hookup hair a mile away. Joseph makes his grand entrance. D'arcy thought Asta was done sleeping with this particular half-alien. Asta admits she had some wine, and Joseph has a 'dumb, cute face.' Totally fair. RELATED: 10 Out-of-This-World Predictions for Resident Alien Season 4 The conversation pivots to another roommate — Ben and Kate's baby. D'arcy still has her. Joseph reminds D'arcy that she can't give the aforementioned couple their child. The Greys will simply take the baby from Kate again. It's best to keep them separated. As Joseph leaves — insisting he'll call Asta — we see Max (Judah Prehn) and Sahar (Gracelyn Awad Rinke) spying on him. Well, and Asta, too. They categorize her as an enemy since she's sleeping with Joseph. We learn that they got away from the Mantid because Sahar persuaded the alien that Max had simply stepped on a bee. They butt heads on how to proceed with their investigation. When in Doubt, Punch Aliens Before Asta leaves for work, she advises D'arcy not to get too attached to the baby, which the latter has already named Daisy. Aw. Elsewhere, in the woods, we find that missing hunter — but not his head. At the same time, Kate beats the snot out of a dummy, throwing herself headfirst into training. Ben remarks that the dummy looks an awful lot like him. RELATED: All Is Not Well in Patience in Resident Alien Season 4 Trailer Anyway, he has a lead. Mrs. Brown reported she saw something strange in her backyard, so Ben plans to chat with her. They must exhaust all avenues if they're to find their baby. Well, Kate plans to punch the aliens out of this solar system. I'm Team Kate. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'Prisoners' Season 4 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Levi Fiehler as Mayor Ben Hawthorne, Meredith Garretson as Kate Hawthorne — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) Later, at the diner, Liv confronts Mike about his leave of absence. Apparently, after punching a Grey, Mike bagged it and threw it in the trunk of his vehicle. However, he and Liv opened said bag to find it empty. So, Mike assumes he hallucinated the alien due to a radiation leak in the abandoned high school. Liv tries to persuade him that he did see an alien because they're real. Mike is incredulous. He also doesn't notice that Liv's uniform is too baggy on her. Bruce the Grey And when Ben enters the diner, he, too, pretends not to notice. After she leaves in a huff, Ben insists he dodged a bullet. He and Mike agree that she looks great all the time, but they can't remark on it. Ben tells Mike that the town's insurance only covers two therapy sessions a week, and Mike saw Harry three times the previous week. So, prepare to pay that out of pocket, bud. RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (June 1 – 7) Next, Harry and Robert meet Bruce, a Grey who's obsessed with Earth. He wants to visit so badly. Bruce leaves after giving the prisoners their meals. Robert believes they should ask Bruce to help them escape. In exchange, he'll finally visit Earth. Bruce doesn't seem like the other Greys, nor like he'd rigorously adhere to protocol. In the woods, Liv visits Peter (Terry O'Quinn), who is legless and in a cave. She tries to brainstorm ways to reassemble his robot legs, but this is, admittedly, a first for her. Liv gives him his favorite fried chicken and soda, which he promptly spits out because he no longer has a stomach. Liv asks him about the bullets that struck him — Where did they come from? Who turned him into a Terminator? Peter insists he can't disclose that to Liv for her safety. Human Heads Are a Delicacy Later, Ben meets with Mrs. Brown in his office. Apparently, that strange thing she saw in her backyard wasn't an alien but her intoxicated cousin rummaging through her empties. Ben presses on, though, unconvinced by this. He closes his door. Mrs. Brown questions why his fly is open. Uh-oh. That ain't good. RELATED: The Premise and How Star Trek Fans Created Fanfic as We Know It Outside the clinic, the Mantid smokes and observes the residents of Patience. He can't wait to eat more people. He compliments Judy (Jenna Lamia) as she walks by. Then, the Mantid reunites with Asta in the clinic breakroom. He's feelin' sexy, so he, obviously, does a couple of lunges. Asta believes 'Harry' is still mourning the loss of Bridget. She encourages him to give therapy a shot. Asta admits she might try therapy. Ever since they returned to Earth, she's felt like she's not really here. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'Prisoners' Season 4 Episode 1 — Pictured: Corey Reynolds as Sheriff Mike Thompson — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) The Mantid finds it difficult to focus during his therapy session with Mike, who claims he's the last bastion of civility, grace and sanity in this town. And good looks, too. The Mantid wonders if he could grill Mike's head at Harry's cabin and season it with fennel. On the Run Then, D'arcy returns home with the baby. She gives Asta the explanation she's told the townsfolk who question when D'arcy had a child: the kid belongs to her cousin, who just lost her husband. Tragic. The conversation pivots to Ben and Kate. D'arcy set up cameras in their living room to inspect any potential alien activity. Not invasive at all. RELATED: Read our SurrealEstate recaps Next, Bruce visits Harry, Bridget and Robert again. This time, Harry and Robert ask Bruce to help them escape. Bruce is tickled at the prospect of finally checking out our little blue planet. And just like that, Bruce releases the prisoners and leads them to a ship. Thankfully, all the guards on the Moon base are on strike. I guess Bruce isn't down with sticking it to the man. Meanwhile, Ben tells a table full of ladies outside a restaurant to prepare to iron their skirts since spring is around the corner. Oof. He just keeps digging a hole for himself, doesn't he? Try Manticide Today Then, Ben spots Joseph outside a flower shop. He has a bouquet of flowers (undoubtedly for Asta) and a red umbrella under his arm. Ben calls Kate, who's getting her hair done across the street, and informs her that Joseph is still in town. Joseph clocks Ben from afar and devises a plan to flee. Kate barrels across the street and tackles who we think is Joseph. Unfortunately, it's Mrs. Brown. She tells Ben and Kate that a handsome man gave her the flowers and the umbrella. RELATED: Revival : Check Out 9 First-Look Photos From Melanie Scrofano-Led Series In the woods, Sahar and Max prepare to storm Harry's cabin. Or, at the very least, continue spying on the Mantid. Sahar has invented Manticide, a special spray to repel the Mantid. Max takes offense at her creating a weapon without his knowledge, as the bona fide alien tracker. He improvises, grabbing a nearby stick and deciding to sharpen it. Well, this is Sahar's world, and we're just living in it. Later, Richard Nixon — ahem, Ben, meets Liv in her vehicle. He pretends not to be Ben, though. Simply an anonymous stranger divulging the truth. He tells Liv that Joseph is back. She should investigate him. However, it's best not to involve the mayor in all this. RESIDENT ALIEN — 'Prisoners' Season 4 Episode 1 — Pictured: Elizabeth Bowen as Deputy Liv Baker — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) Looking for a Mate At the same time, D'arcy takes Daisy to work at the bar. Liv confronts Mike, who's playing pool. She informs him about Joseph. Mike insists this isn't his job. He's on leave. Liv tries to persuade him to come back to work. When he refuses, she messes up the pool balls on the table before storming out. And he still hasn't noticed why she's not wearing her uniform. Ben and Kate enter the bar as she leaves. D'arcy urges Judy to take Daisy out back so her real parents don't see her. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Asta Twelvetrees The Mantid watches two ladybugs get it on — because nothing revs the engine quite like nature documentaries. Asta arrives with pizza. The Mantid assumes she's into him, so he decides to mate with her. Can she hold, say, 300 Mantid eggs within a sack in her body? Let's find out. Asta's put off by the Mantid's indisputably sexy mating moves. He even lights two cigarettes at the same time before offering one to her. Who is he, Humphrey Bogart? RESIDENT ALIEN — 'Prisoners' Season 4 Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Alan Tudyk as Harry Vanderspeigle, Sara Tomko as Asta Twelvetrees — (Photo by: James Dittiger/USA Network) When the Mantid makes his intention known, Asta hightails it out of there. Outside, she runs into Sahar and Max, who accuse her of working with the Mantid. That's when the Mantid reappears to blow his cover. He brings them back inside to prepare them for dinner. He even busts out the condiments. Harry's Return Before he can properly season them, though, Harry barges into his own cabin. Asta and Sahar are thrilled to see him. However, Max doesn't recognize Harry. He's never seen Harry in his human disguise, only as an alien. Who's this dude? Harry eats a slice of Asta's pizza before attempting to fight the Mantid. Unfortunately, he can't transform into his big, bad alien self. Bridget tries to attack the Mantid to no avail. RELATED: Read our Resident Alien recaps After a few futile attempts at alien transformation, Sahar realizes that Harry's alien magic is gone. Thankfully, Max zaps the Mantid unconscious with his alien device before they all pile into Asta's car and zoom away. Elsewhere, Mike returns to his office, ready to get back to work. He gifts Liv with a new uniform that fits. Aw. During the night, Kate is questioned by three green glowing alien balls courtesy of the Greys. They ask her if she's seen her daughter. She hasn't. D'arcy could've watched this exchange unfold via her laptop, but she's giving Ben and Kate's baby to Kayla (Sarah Podemski) to keep. Permanently, perhaps? We'll find out. Robert takes Bruce to Las Vegas for a proper Earthling experience. After this, D'arcy snuggles with the child's blanket on the couch. While on the road, Harry contemplates his new normal. It seems he might be fully human now. That certainly won't help their battle with the Mantid. Asta drives the group through the woods. Resident Alien drops new episodes every Friday at 11 pm ET on Syfy and USA Network. Syfy Renews THE ARK for Season 3 Contact: [email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium. Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
The Independent
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘Oh, THAT guy!': 17 instantly recognisable actors whose names you don't know
Hollywood stars might lure in the punters – but it's the hardworking supporting actors who truly keep the machine whirring. The life of a jobbing actor is no doubt difficult; keeping a career alive in an industry so reliant on box-office dollar signs and TV ratings must be increasingly tough at a time when metrics dictate who gets cast in films. If you're lucky, you'll find a role you become synonymous with, but it's the people who show up time and again to fill in the roles further down the call sheet that deserve our respect. These are actors defined by their longevity – their dependable presence can often hike a project's quality, making them a casting director's dream. But chances are that if we asked casual viewers what these actors were called, they'd likely shrug. Well, shrug no more – below, we run through 17 terrific actors whose faces you know, but whose names might have passed you by. Clancy Brown You know the face of Clancy Brown – and you certainly know the voice. Brown's gravelly vocals have enhanced many projects since his breakout role in the 1983 film Bad Boys – putting him in demand for villains, gruff authoritarians and all-round s***birds. The immortal Kurgan in Highlander? That's Brown. The tyrannical guard in The Shawshank Redemption? Brown again. Starship Troopers ' rough-and-ready Sergeant Zim? You bet it's Brown. Viewers will have seen him more recently in The Penguin – he played mob boss Salvatore Maroni. Néstor Carbonell For years, Lost viewers knew him as 'the guy with eyeliner', his character Richard Alpert becoming such a favourite that his role was drastically bumped up in the later seasons. Before this, he was the mayor of Gotham in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. But in the last decade, Carbonell has found himself associated with a few TV hits that have firmly placed him as a 'mum's favourite': Psycho prequel Bates Motel and Apple TV+'s The Morning Show. Thanks to his Emmy-winning role as Spanish sailor Vasco in Shōgun, it seems Carbonell will soon not be eligible to appear on this list. David Krumholtz Whenever David Krumholtz shows up in something, you know it's going to be good: he's an actor who knows a quality project when he sees one. The early roles were on point – he was head elf Bernard in the Santa Clause franchise, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's nerdy pal in 10 Things I Hate About You. Since then, he's worked with Ang Lee (The Ice Storm), the Coen brothers (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), David Simon (The Deuce and The Plot Against America) – and should have been Oscar-nominated over Robert Downey Jr for playing the physicist Isidor in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Oppenheimer. Frankly, the guy has a better filmography than most bankable Hollywood stars. Kevin Dunn Kevin Dunn's Wikipedia page introduces him as an actor 'who has appeared in supporting roles in numerous films and television series since the 1980s'. That's putting it lightly. What this description fails to mention is that Dunn quietly elevates everything he's in – whether it's the Transformers franchise (admittedly not hard) or Tony Scott's unsung masterpiece Unstoppable. He's probably best known, though, for Veep, where he played the grumpy White House chief of staff Ben Cafferty. John Hawkes Two – the number of Oscars and Emmys John Hawkes has been nominated for. They were deserved for his role in Winter's Bone, as Jennifer Lawrence's ominous uncle, and as an enigmatic sheriff in the fourth season of True Detective, but that figure should be around five. Highlights include gentle merchant Sol Star, an oasis in the otherwise chaotic Deadwood; a polio-suffering poet in The Sessions; and a creepy cult leader in Martha Marcy May Marlene. But this is the tip of the iceberg: you might not even realise you're watching Hawkes thanks to his chameleonic ability to escape into the role. This generation's Harry Dean Stanton? Just maybe. CCH Pounder This entry excuses anyone who's watched The Shield, who will be fully aware of the name CCH Pounder thanks to the crime drama's in-your-face credits. But since making her acting debut in Bob Fosse's film All That Jazz (1979), Pounder has become a supporting acting titan of TV, with roles in everything from ER and Law & Order to NCIS. Pounder is known by the cultists, but not the masses – she was considered for Allison Janney's role in The West Wing, which would have helped with that – and you might not realise, but she's one of the Na'vi under all that CGI in James Cameron's Avatar franchise. Lois Smith Let's hear it for Lois Smith. At 94, she's still turning in the roles, 70 years after making her debut – opposite James Dean! – in East of Eden. She's stolen scenes in films across the decades, including Five Easy Pieces (1970), Fatal Attraction (1987), Dead Man Walking (1995), Minority Report (2002) and The Nice Guys (2016). That's quite the list of credits. TV viewers will know her as Sookie Stackhouse's warm grandmother Adele in vampire drama True Blood. Smith has become the most dependable ninetysomething actor around. Someone needs to cast her and June Squibb in their own project immediately. Bill Camp Most lead stars wish they had the gravitas of perennial supporting actor Bill Camp. He's dependable, always understated – and plays pissed off better than anyone on the list (sorry, Kevin Dunn). Whether he's playing a 19th-century politician (Lincoln), an experienced chess tutor (The Queen's Gambit) or a detective sergeant named Dennis Box (The Night Of), Camp is go-to support for good reason. Shea Whigham The Mission Impossible franchise is full to the brim with character actors who'll have you consulting IMDb to remind yourself where you've seen them before. For all your Henry Czernys and Holt McCallanys you've got Shea Whigham, who might be the cream of the crop when it comes to modern character actors. Whether he's chasing Tom Cruise through Abu Dhabi airport or captaining Leonardo DiCaprio's superyacht in The Wolf of Wall Street, Whigham, with his impressively high hair, is likely to pop up. Stephen Tobolowsky We can't be sure how often Stephen Tobolowsky said 'Ned Ryerson' when he was making Groundhog Day, but it's possibly more than he's said his own name. While he is best known for playing the overly cheerful insurance salesman in the Bill Murray comedy, he's arguably the king of the 'Hey, it's that guy' actors, having appeared in everything from Christopher Nolan's Memento to high-school jukebox musical show Glee. John Carroll Lynch One of the many moments of genius in David Fincher's Zodiac was casting everyman John Carroll Lynch as the prime suspect in an unsolved serial killer case, a role in which he delivered a uniquely disturbing performance. Lynch's impressive set of credits has seen him play a smorgasbord of roles, from one of the founders of McDonald's (The Founder) to President Lyndon B Johnson (Jackie). He memorably played Frances McDormand's loving husband in Fargo and was even the guy who melts to death in Volcano. He's also flexed his muscles behind the camera, directing the critically acclaimed Lucky in 2017, which featured one of the final roles of the great Harry Dean Stanton. Amy Ryan Amy Ryan is arguably on the cusp of becoming a more widely recognised actor thanks to prominent roles in hit TV shows like The Office and Only Murders in the Building. Ryan, though, had been working for well over a decade before she received wider recognition for her performances, popping up in numerous Law & Order episodes and in bit parts opposite Tom Cruise and Philip Seymour Hoffman, in War of the Worlds and Capote, respectively. Fans of The Wire will best remember her as port authority officer Beadie Russell. Wood Harris If there is a cooler character actor than Wood Harris, then we don't want to know about them. Best known for playing Avon Barksdale, the drug kingpin in The Wire, Harris has been quietly delivering stellar performances for more than 30 years. He's collaborated with fellow The Wire alumnus Michael B Jordan as a boxing trainer in the three Creed films to date, and was last seen as a shady nightclub owner in Lady in the Lake with Natalie Portman. Cinephiles will also be delighted to learn that he's set to appear in Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie One Battle After Another. Larry Miller Another contender for the king of the 'that guy' actors is Larry Miller, who we would estimate has been in at least 10 per cent of the movies and TV shows released from 1990 until the present day. As well as filling frequent guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld and Boston Legal, Miller also has a successful stand-up comedy career. His varied filmography has seen him play Anne Hathaway's stylist in The Princess Diaries and the hypocritical head of an architecture firm in the abysmal Hulk Hogan superhero comedy Suburban Commando. Harriet Sansom Harris A Tony Award winner for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Harris is perhaps better known for her work in the world of theatre, where she is a Broadway mainstay. Fans of Frasier would contest this though, as she played Kelsey Grammer's unhinged, chain-smoking agent, Bebe Glazer, for the entirety of the sitcom's original run. More modern viewers might recognise her for supporting roles in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza and Phantom Thread as well as a recurring role in Desperate Housewives. William Fichtner It's no secret that Christopher Nolan's 2008 masterpiece The Dark Knight was heavily inspired by Michael Mann's equally masterful Heat, but did you know he even went as far as to cast an actor from the 1995 thriller? William Fichtner plays money launderer Roger Van Zant in Mann's film and also briefly appears in Nolan's movie as the bank manager who attempts to stop the Joker's daring heist. As well as having a prominent role in Prison Break, Fichtner can also be seen in classics like Black Hawk Down (2001), Contact (1997) and Strange Days (1995). He's also got the best line in Michael Bay's Armageddon: 'Requesting permission to shake the hand of the daughter of the bravest man I've ever met.' Leaves a lump in the throat every time. David Dastmalchian If you need a creepy, slightly nervous guy with an angular face who could also pass for the lead singer in an emo band, then David Dastmalchian is your man. As well as playing numerous supporting roles in superhero films from The Suicide Squad to Ant-Man, Dastmalchian has become a favourite of Denis Villeneuve, who has cast the star in Dune, Blade Runner 2049 and Prisoners. Dastmalchian is not just a character actor, though, as he showed with his smarmy but complex lead performance in .
