10 Hugely Talented Actors That Should Be Bigger Stars

3. William Fichtner

Another brilliant character actor that has been given far too few leading roles, William Fichtner is almost the ubiquitous 'guy from that movie' in modern-day Hollywood. He has played memorable supporting characters in dozens of movies since his big-screen debut in 1994, and is comfortable appearing in mega-budget blockbusters, television shows and direct-to-DVD movies. Often cast as an intimidating presence on-screen, Fichtner is equally adept at playing both heroes and villains but always delivers a solid performance no matter what the role. A quick list of movies in which he has appeared shows this incredible versatility; Heat, Armageddon, The Perfect Storm, Black Hawk Down, Crash, Blades of Glory, The Dark Knight, Drive Angry, The Lone Ranger, Elysium and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to name but a few. His extended cameo in The Dark Knight was one of the highlights of the movie, and his villainous turns were the best thing about The Lone Ranger and Drive Angry. Whether it be action, comedy, sci-fi, drama or thriller, the 57 year-old is almost guaranteed to deliver a strong performance regardless of either genre or screentime. Highly regarded within the filmmaking community, it is a real shame that William Fichtner has been unable to crack the Hollywood A-list despite the sheer volume of memorable characters he has played.