Steven Ogg, the guy who plays Negan's brutal right-hand man Simon on The Walking Dead,
is a classic "that guy."
You know you've seen him in… something… somewhere… but you can't just quite put
your finger on it.
So where exactly have you seen that beautiful mustache before?
Here's why Simon from The Walking Dead looks so familiar.
Mail Order Bride
Ogg's official screen debut came in a cameo in the 1999 romcom flop Giving It Up, and
he followed that with a guest appearance on an episode of Law & Order in 2000.
But his first major role came in the 2003 mob comedy Mail Order bride, which featured
Danny Aiello and Sopranos alum Vincent Pastore alongside Ogg in a movie The New York Times
called "a strained, incoherent farce."
"Find the broad."
"Broad?"
"Yeah… a broad."
"A… a broad?"
Hey, everyone has to start somewhere.
Grand Theft Auto V
After more than a decade toiling away in bit roles and bad films like Mail Order Bride,
Ogg finally got his big break in 2013 by switching mediums.
He wound up being cast to do voicework and motion capture for the hit video game Grand
Theft Auto V. Ogg played the fan-favorite, bank-robbing meth-chef Trevor Philips, one
of the game's three main characters.
And he was pretty gratified that fans seemed to love the result of his work.
He told Buzzfeed, "I have been so thrilled that the GTA fans have responded so positively
to the performance.
They have enjoyed his impulsive, psychopathic nature but have reveled in his humor."
"Hey there, Wade."
"Did you meet Debra?"
"Ooh, interesting lady."
"I should probably go say, 'Hi.'"
"I wouldn't…"
Seems that Ogg doesn't keep his unique brand of insanity restricted to video games, though.
"I wanna do something else, move on to the next thing.
Probably zombies."
Unforgettable
CBS cop drama Unforgettable, which followed the daily exploits of a detective with photographic
memory, managed to get canceled three times — but not before Ogg popped up as sleazy
receptionist Larry Yablonski in the episode "Day of the Jackie."
Wearing an open shirt over a string vest and sporting a wild mess of greasy hair, this
is the first time the Canadian character actor showcased the kind of unkempt crazy that Walking
Dead fans would later love to hate.
Person of Interest
Ogg made another cameo on a CBS procedural when he popped up as an angry barfly in a
season three episode of Person of Interest.
Luckily for Ogg's character, the authorities happen to already be in the bar because the
sailor he's fighting has been tagged as a potential victim of an upcoming crime, so
Ogg managed to get off without too bad a beatdown.
​Broad City
Ogg made a memorable guest appearance in Comedy Central's Broad City in 2014.
After stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson manage to get locked out of their apartment,
they call for a locksmith and receive a lot more than they bargained for when Ogg shows
up.
"Yolanda"
"Mmm, Yolanda.
So where is it you sleep?"
"What?"
"Which apartment's yours?"
Even though the guest appearance lasted just a couple minutes, Ogg told The Calgary Herald
that he still gets recognized at airports for the role of Creepy Locksmith.
Murdoch Mysteries
Based on the series of novels by British-Canadian author Maureen Jennings, Murdoch Mysteries
explores crime in 20th-century Ontario through the eyes of detective William Murdoch.
Ogg turned up on the show in Season 8 episode "Glory Days," trimming down his handlebar
to a respectable shortness to play Bat Masterson, a legendary frontier lawman who's tracked
infamous bandits Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to Toronto.
Despite being a proud Canadian, Ogg played Masterson as a brash American unimpressed
by law enforcement north of the border, something he told Dorkshelf he played up on purpose
to prove a point.
"So many people come up to me and say, 'There is no difference between Canadians and Americans.'
Well, I disagree."
"Where are your guns?"
"We don't carry guns.
North of the border, we rely on our wits."
"Ohh.
Fat lot of good your wits just did us."
Better Call Saul
Another of AMC's shows that Ogg has worked on, Better Call Saul has evolved from a Breaking
Bad spinoff into a show more than capable of standing on its own two feet.
Star Bob Odenkirk is the linchpin of the prequel's success, but he's given ample help by the
show's supporting cast, in particular Jonathan Banks, who plays ex-cop Mike.
And in a memorable scene from season one, Ogg got to be on the receiving end of a short
and painful life lesson from Mike.
Man, that's a tough way to make a living.
The Escort
Dark indie romance The Escort is the story of two sex addicts brought together by a mutually
beneficial arrangement — a down-and-out journalist in need of a good story and a Stanford-educated
prostitute in need of protection from her clients.
One of those clients?
Yup.
It's Ogg.
This time around, the Oggster actually backs down before getting punched, smacked, or beaten.
Who says an old Ogg can't learn new tricks?
Westworld
We saw a lot of Steven Ogg in Westworld.
Not a lot in terms of screen time, but a lot of Ogg himself, as the actor shot scenes naked
for HBO's hit sci-fi series about robotic hosts programmed to entertain guests in an
Old West themed amusement park.
His character, Rebus, is one such host, a villainous cowboy who plays a major part in
a narrative involving fellow host Dolores Abernathy.
Old Spice ads
In 2016 Ogg began portraying the so-called King of Products Bob Giovanni in an advertising
campaign for the "Hardest Working Collection" range, a new series of deodorant from retro
men's groomer Old Spice.
The company devised a tongue-in-cheek plan to go back to the days when it offered a money-back
guarantee if Old Spice wasn't up for the job, resurrecting its 1-800-PROVE-IT hotline and
launching some hilariously bad parody ads starring Ogg.
"So men can focus on other, more important things."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!