8 Great Side Characters From M. Night Shyamalan Movies

6. The Army Recruiter From Signs

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Character Name: S.F.C. Cunningham

Actor Name: Ted Sutton

This is a character that is so easy to get wrong that you marvel when someone gets it right. You know the character; it's the crazy kook who just happens to be on the ball about what is really happening in the story. They usually show up in horror movies warning the lost teenagers about the dangers to come. Sometimes directors can go too campy with that type of character. Other times too serious. M. Night finds manages to find just the right tone for his crazy army recruiter. He's campy while still being scary, funny without making you laugh. Overall watching the scene makes for a uneasy experience. The cool thing is Shyamalan just doesn't leave the character as a crazy old kook. He evolves throughout the scene. At first he's the conspiracy theorist government man. Then he morphs into the very frank baseball fanboy. Its a genius way to mess with the audiences expectation of basic horror movie conventions while also giving the main character (Joaquin Phoenix) a chance to shine with his hilarious heartfelt deadpanning. A classic scene. (5:12 for Cunningham's scenes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqXdqAP9GW0
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Contributor

Raymond Woods is too busy watching movies to give you a decent bio. If he wasn't too busy watching movies and reading books about movies and listening to podcasts about movies, this is what he'd tell you. "I know more about film than you. Accept this as a fact and we might be able to talk."