You might not his name, but you certainly know his work. The embodiment of "Professional Character Actor," his credits include M*A*S*H, Say Anything..., Ghostbusters II, Cheers, The Rock, Seinfeld, The Truman Show, Rush Hour, Enemy of the State, Bruce Almighty, The West Wing, The Amityville Horror, Zodiac, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family, The Newsroom andArgo...plus many, many more. What you might also be unfamiliar with (apart from his name) are some of his large roles in films that really gave his talent a big enough outlet. The first role that really made me stand back and take notice of his dramatic talents beyond "There's that really great actor that's in everything", was his performance as Jimmy Gator in PT Anderson's 1999 epic Magnolia. In it, the consummate professional brings a humanity to a character who is almost entirely undeserving of the audience's pity on paper. His first major breakout, however, was as Richard Nixon in Robert Altman's Secret Honor in 1984. Hall was already 53 years old. Having a long career of stage acting in NYC under his belt before moving out to LA, Secret Honor was based on a one-man show Hall had been performing live. Altman attended a show and approached the playwrights about adapting it into a film. Reprising his role, Hall performs a condensed version of the live show entirely alone in a single room. And he just kills it. (Watch it on Hulu). Despite this powerhouse performance, it was more than a decade until he had another starring role. This time it was as the titular role in PT Anderson's debut Sydney (later renamed Hard Eight ). Again, Hall brings his inherent likability and meticulous professionalism to the character, finding each cadence in the dialogue. Here, he plays down as opposed to the theatricality of Secret Honor. The perfect example of his subtlety is during a game of craps when he encounters a young loud-mouth played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Not only has Hall not even received a single Golden Globe or Academy Award nomination, his only official recognition has been for his ensemble work in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Argo. The man hasn't even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an honor so indiscriminate it's bestowed upon fictional characters (I'm looking at you, Kermit the Frog). Seriously. Can someone get this guy a life-time achievement award or at least his own flavor of Arizona Iced Tea? How about just a BAFTA? Is there no justice in the world? Won't somebody please think of the children?
While studying English and Philosophy at Rutgers University, Andrew worked as a constant contributor to the The Rutgers Review. After graduating in 2010, he began working as a free-lance writer and editor, providing his input to numerous areas including reviews for the New York Film Series, The Express-Times, and private script and story consulting. He is currently the Director of Film Studies at The Morris County Arts Workshop in New Jersey and publishes essays on the subject of film and television at his blog, The Zoetrope.
