10 Henchman Movie Roles Made Epic By Casting

Someone at FOX saw the dynamic between the band of rouge criminals in Paul Verhoeven's Robocop and thought they had terrific chemistry, because nearly 20 years after its debut, cast members starting showing up randomly as guests on 24.

While it was a nice nod toward the film's legacy, it did make the crucial mistake in breaking up the band. Its leader, Kurtwood Smith, was now a crusading Senator.

Nevertheless, Verhoeven's original brings a kind of manic energy to the action genre that was already jacked on cocaine, and his sharp satiric tongue turns downright acidic whenever he points it toward America.

A lot of the energy relies on the cast, headed by Kurtwood Smith on the villain side. As Clarence J. Boddicker, Smith is the kind of quotable crazy most other eighties villains aspire to. He's unpredictable, coked to the gills and remorseless. Using his short stature to his advantage, he plays a cagey, fast-talking sociopath with absolutely no charm.

There's even a moment in which he tries to flirt with a secretary, only to be rebuffed. He'd perfectly fit in a Frank Miller comic - ironic considering the writer worked on the franchise one film later. All of this is in service of the film's big reveal, that Smith is just a pawn of OCP corporate criminal Dick Jones. It's not meant to be played as much of a shock, but it wouldn't have worked at all if Smith weren't so intimidating for the film's first half.