"That Guy"!

"That Guy" traits...

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that most of the guys on this page didn't turn down a lot of roles.   They're not making $10 Million per film; these guys had to work to get paid.

When you can say, "You know the guy that always plays the head gypsy? - and everybody pictures Nehemiah Persoff, then he's a That Guy.

An actor is a That Guy if he can be described as:  "The poor
man's                    ".   Buddy Ebsen's not available?   Get Royal Dano. instead.

Italian Guy = Robert Costanzo
Asian Dude = James Hong
Jewish Guy = Milton Selzer
American Indian = Michael Ansara

Mean hick = Bill McKinney
Bad cop = Brion James
Slimy boss = Logan Ramsey
Kindly grandfather = John Randolph

If you're the bad guy in a movie that ends in "2" or "II" and doesn't begin with "Godfather"; then you might be a That Guy.

Seriously, I estimate that 80% of the guys on this list have no picture on their IMDb page.   Check it out for yourself.

And here are the deal breakers...

You can't be a "That Guy" if too many people know your name.   There are some borderline cases on here, most notably Michael Ironside, James Cromwell, and John Saxon - but they still haven't quite shed their anonymity.

There are some classic That Guy's that jumped from obscurity into the mainstream.   A good example is Len Lesser who would've made the "That Guy Hall of Fame" if he didn't become Uncle Leo on Seinfeld.

Just because he played a Bar Patron in "Sorority Girls and the Creature From Hell" doesn't mean that Martin Powell makes this list.   It just means that he was drinking on the day the video crew was shooting "Sorority Girls and the Creature From Hell".

With a total of 227 movie and TV roles, Alan Hale Jr would have been a pretty good That Guy candidate.   Unfortunately, he will forever be known as "The Skipper" from Gilligan's Island.   When you see him, you don't say, "Hey! It's That Guy!"; you say "Hey! It's the Skipper!".   The effect is so strong that even his father, Alan Hale Sr can't make this list because they look too much alike.

"That Guy" status is temporarily suspended if an actor is in a current hit series or popular movie.   HBO's The Sopranos has temporarily removed most of the Mafia-type That Guy's from this list.   Fortunately, most of them will probably be back.   For sentimental reasons, I've kept Frank Vincent on the list.   If you don't like it, you can go home and get your shine box.