TFB - THAT Guy! 2

Tom Maguire
22 April 2003

We here at the Film Basement have long-appreciated the work of not just the big-name actors, but also of the bit players, character-actors if you will, who've played endless thugs, bad guys, clerks, police sergeants, and newspaper vendors over the years. These are the actors whose name you don't know, but whose face you recognize immediately. Often such actors are used in the same type or role again and again. There are some actors you see so often as the Chief of Police, that when you see them selling the Hero an ice cream cone, something feels wrong. Others are just reliable faces that can be used as "filler people" in any slot. We feel that these unsung actors deserve their moment in the spotlight, free from the shadows of the Name Talent they so often support.

Hailing from Texas and graduating from Oklahoma State, it comes as no surprise that versatile actor Rex Linn has played the role of FBI Agent/Sheriff/Treasury Agent/or general-all-around John Law at least a dozen times since 1992. His unique look and southern drawl make him a perfect fit the role of either tough guy villain or take no crap lawman, both of which he played in his most memorable roll in Cliffhanger as a Treasury Agent gone bad. Like all good candidates for this series, he fills in the cracks of any movie he appears in by disappearing in his role like no "big name star" ever could. Unfortunately with the dismal state of the action movie the way it is right now, roles for guys like this are hard to come by.

Where you've probably seen him:
Thunderheart(1992)
Cliffhanger (1993)
Clear and Present Danger(1994)
Independence Day(1994)
Breakdown(1997)
Rush Hour(1998)

That Guy!