Being a character actor's a pretty sweet deal.
While they might not earn the fame, fortune, or accolades afforded A-list movie stars,
some do get to live their dream and become very well regarded for their work.
And there are other perks to the gig: like, landing in a delightful, crowd-pleasing gag
reel.
Here are some performers who, at the end of the day, are probably best loved for their
bloopers.
Christopher Darga in Bruce Almighty
Jim Carrey improvises so much on set that directors are left with a wealth of extra,
hilarious, and often unusable footage.
This means that any day player who had a scene with Carrey could also wind up in the gag
reel.
That's what happened to Christopher Darga, who played a baker in Bruce Almighty.
"It must be wonderful seeing the smiles on their little faces."
"I work in back.
I see no smiles."
Darga was forever immortalized in film history as a guy who can't keep a straight face...forever.
"Oompa."
"Loompa."
"Doompa."
[Laughter]
"Oh, jeez."
Ken Foree in Halloween
Horror movies can provide a cathartic, psychological release, but you have to laugh a little at
this tragic fate.
And when actor Ken Foree did just that, he provided perhaps his most famous screen work.
"Hey buddy, just to give you a heads up: I got a taco deluxe supreme talkin' back at
me, so I'ma be a while."
While filming his character's violent end for 2007's remake of Halloween, Foree can't
help but find his stabbing rather humorous.
[Grunting then laughter]
Some kid in North by Northwest
One of the most memorable outtakes from classic cinema comes from Alfred Hitchcock's 1959
classic North by Northwest.
It includes one of Cary Grant's best performances...
"You know, I have that effect on people, it's something about my face."
"It's a nice face."
...But the actor who really made history is an anonymous child extra.
Grant's costar, Eva Marie Saint, is about to fire a gun in a crowded cafeteria, which
we know, from the kid in the background who plugs his ears in anticipation.
"You just stay away from me."
[Gunshots and screaming]
Paul Freeman in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Character actor Paul Freeman appeared in one of the most acclaimed and highest-grossing
blockbusters of all time.
"I see your taste in friends remains consistent."
But Freeman would become most famous for his role as Belloq in 1981's Raiders of the Lost
Ark, because of a fly that crawled into his mouth.
"Your persistence surprises even me.
[BUZZ, CHOMP]
You're gonna give mercenaries a bad name."
Soupy Sales in The Soupy Sales Show
Unlike other iconic kiddie TV show hosts like Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers, Soupy Sales
didn't run a cuddly educational show.
Lunch with Soupy Sales, aka The Soupy Sales Show, was pure comedy.
For example, he took a pie to the face most every day, and he used a stage door from where
all manner of crazy guests would emerge.
Perhaps because the show was light and ephemeral, or perhaps because it wasn't rerun for decades,
Sales is probably best remembered for a stage door prank, where a topless dancer greets
him by surprise — a gag which obviously never hit the air.
"Thank you for being with us, have a nice evening and great day tomorrow, bye bye everybody."
Stanley Anderson in Spider-Man
Probably thanks to an extensive theatrical background, Stanley Anderson projects a lot
of gravitas and hubris, which certainly helped him win the role of General Slocum, an intimidating
military official who could handle bossing around Willem Dafoe in 2002's Spider-Man.
But Anderson just couldn't get through the word "predecessor," which means he'll live
on forever in the gag reel.
"I never supported your program.
We have my predess…
[Gibberish]"
Brian Steel in Blade: Trinity
Even the biggest fan of Wesley Snipes' vampire-hunter trilogy probably wouldn't recognize Brian
Steele.
In Blade: Trinity, he played the mighty Dracula, which required layers of prosthetics and makeup.
Steele was supposed to play his character's death as an extremely violent one, but ended
up laughing his way through the outtakes.
[Laughter]
"Cut."
Rachel Dratch as "Debbie Downer"
A remarkably talented comedian and actress, Rachel Dratch, is best known for her seven-year
stint on Saturday Night Live.
She performed several recurring characters, but the piece for which Dratch will forever
be remembered is a Debbie Downer sketch that went completely off the rails.
While portraying a family eating breakfast at Disney World, almost the entire cast cracked
up.
"By the way, it's official.
I can't have children."
[Laughter]
Til Schweiger in Inglourious Basterds
While German writer, director, and actor Til Schweiger is quite well-known in Europe, his
most memorable American screen appearance was as Sargeant Stiglitz in 2009's Inglourious
Basterds.
Arguably, Schweiger's best moment is when he rises from the dead to say hello to Sally
Menke, the film's editor, and only person who would see him come back to life.
"Sally, I am not dead!
I just pretended.
Now I'm gonna go after him and I'm gonna kick his f---ing nazi balls ok?"
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