List-Mania: Who are your all time favorite character actresses?
Monday, June 4, 2018 at 9:49PM by Nathaniel R
With the announcement of the latest panel for the next celebration of actressing at the edges, how about a related list discussion? Who are you favorite character actresses ever? I've listed 21 of my favorites after the jump from throughout film history. This list was off the top of our heads so there's surely some glaring "how did you forget about ________ ???" examples of missing geniuses...
For the following list major stardom was NOT applicable. i.e. the actress can't be primarily a leading lady but she should be mostly known for supporting roles. People like Amy Adams and Julianne Moore don't count, we'd argue, because for as much as they've filled big filmographies with a lot of supporting roles, they're essentially leading ladies. Likewise some older ladies like Maggie Smith and Judi Dench that people think of as 'character actors' due to their age still semi-regularly take leading roles.
Anyway... the list!
21 FAVORITES
DEFINITELY NOT A COMPLETE LIST -- AND IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER
DELIGHTED WHEN THEY POP UP IN ANYTHING
(I'VE LISTED SOME KEY ROLES FOR EACH TO JOG YOUR MEMORIES)
• Maureen Stapleton (Interiors, Reds, Lonelyheart, Airport, Heartburn, Cocoon)
• Joan Cusack (Toys, Working Girl, Broadcast News, Shameless, Addams Family Values, In and Out)
• Celeste Holm (All About Eve, Gentleman's Agreement, The Snake Pit, High Society)
• Glynis Johns (The Sundowners, The Ref, Mary Poppins, Miranda, The Court Jester)
• Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time, West Side Story, Carnal Knowledge, The Ritz, The King and I)
• Ann Dowd (Compliance, The Handmaid's Tale, The Leftovers, Captain Fantastic, Nothing Sacred)
• Lee Grant (In the Heat of the Night, The Landlord, Shampoo, Damian the Omen II, Plaza Suite)
• Claire Trevor (Key Largo, The High and the Mighty, Marjorie Morningstar, Raw Deal)
• Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, In the Bedroom, My Cousin Vinny, Untamed Heart, Love is Strange)
• Agnes Moorehead (Magnificent Ambersons, Bewitched, Jane Eyre, Citizen Kane, Dark Passage)
• Madeline Kahn (Young Frankenstein, Paper Moon, Clue, What's Up Doc?, History of the World)
• Thelma Ritter (Pillow Talk, With a Song In My Heart, The Misfits, Rear Window, Bird Man of Alcatraz)
• Barbara Harris (Family Plot, Freaky Friday, Nashville, Peggy Sue Got Married, Seduction of Joe Tynan)
• Fay Bainter (White Banners, The Children's Hour, Jezebel, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)
• Regina King (Year of the Dog, Poetic Justice, Ray, American Crime, Miss Congeniality, Jerry Maguire)
• Miranda Richardson (Damage, The Crying Game, Sleepy Hollow, Dance With a Stranger, Spider)
• Ann Miller (Kiss Me Kate, Easter Parade, Mulholland Drive, On the Town, Stage Door)
• Dianne Wiest (Lost Boys, Edward Scissorhands, Hannah and Her Sisters, Parenthood, Rabbit Hole)
• Samantha Morton (Synecdoche New York, Harlots, Jesus's Son, Morvern Callar, Control)
• Hattie McDaniel (Show Boat, Gone With the Wind, Alice Adams, The Great Lie, Since You Went Away)
• Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein, Bell Book and Candle, Naughty Marietta, Inspector General)
Reader Comments (73)
OMG Nat! Great minds think alike! My list would be the same as yours with the exception of 5 actresses,
In my list these 5 are out: Glynis Johns, Claire Trevor, Miranda Richarson, Ann Miller and Samantha Morton.
And these are in: Gladys Cooper, Anne Revere, Eileen Heckart, Catherine Keener and Julie Walters.
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Marcia Gay Harden, Blythe Danner, Swoozie Kurtz, Celia Weston, Mary Kay Place, Alfre Woodward...
Toni Collette and Sigourney Weaver don't quite qualify—but if neither headlined a movie in their lives they'd still make this list. A testament to how great their supporting turns are.
Off the top of my head:
Robin Weigert
Molly Parker
Miriam Shor
Christine Elise
Kathy Najimy
Lupe Ontiveros
Each of them also belongs on a list of actresses who should be more famous and/or get more work.
Lili Taylor and Robin Weigert immediately come to mind.
Miz Miz -- oooh i love your list. why didnt i think of those. especially MARCIA GAY! and I thought about Toni Collette and Sigourney but they seem like headliners to me.
In addition to the ones mentioned above, some more of my favorites from the golden age of Hollywood - with a special favorite performance: Edna May Oliver (David Copperfield), Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz (duh)), Una O'Connor (The Adventures of Robin Hood), Butterfly McQueen (Duel in the Sun), Jane Darwell (The Ox-Bow Incident), Ethel Barrymore (None but the Lonely Heart), Marjorie Main (Dead End), Diana Lynn (The Major and the Minor), Una Merkel (Gold Diggers of 1933), Charlotte Greenwood (Down Argentine Way), Mary Astor (The Palm Beach Story), Gracie Allen (Honolulu), Alice Brady (My Man Godfrey), Maria Ouspenskaya (Tarzan and the Amazons (trust me on this one))
Two actresses I believe I've only seen once but left an indelible impression are Fredi Washington in Imitation of Life and Blanche Yurka in A Tale of Two Cities.
But my all-time favorite, as a Laurel and Hardy fanatic, has to be Mae Clark, the most hilarious battle-axe from hell ever in Sons of the Desert and The Bohemian Girl, as well as myriad shorts.
And finally, one of my favorite quotes ever comes from Ann Miller a propos Mulholland Drive "I don't understand a thing about it, but don't you think it's a hoot that I'm in it?"
Sandy Dennis!
Although she did have quite a few leading role so maybe she wouldn't count.
Angela Lansbury -- she qualifies, right?
One of my favorites is Judy Greer. I always enjoy watching her whenever she appears on screen even when she plays the frenemy.
Hopefully, she can have an "Allison Janney-type" Oscar run at some point. She's proven she can do comedy and drama quite well. Maybe she could do a role that's a straddler.
Kathryn Hahn!
Khandi Alexander
Loretta Devine
Love Nathaniel's original list, and co-sign the addition of Marcia Gay Harden, Molly Parker, and Mary Kay Place.
Additions: Catherine O'Hara & Parker Posy (they always lift any film they are in, and leave an indelible comic presence.
British Ladies: Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Celia Imrie, Kathy Burke, Joanna Lumley, Eileen Atkins.
You could practically include every Broadway actress who appeared in "The Good Wife" - but I will settle for Christine Baranski.
Frances McDormand is a character actress despite her triple crown wins being for leading roles. Kathy Bates had a good 90s run as a leading lady but her station these days is almost exclusively supporting. Anjelica Huston despite her pedigree is a character actress. Tilda Swinton no longer books leads as she did prior and seems to be thriving in character roles. Meryl Streep would have been a fantastic character actress if her myth never took off.
Pardon the nitpick, but your first listing for Hattie McDaniel is the original Imitation of Life, where she plays…“Woman at Funeral (uncredited).” (I hope you're not confusing her with Louise Beavers here.) Just saying, there are better roles of hers to choose from; I've not seen them, but I understand she was particularly good in Saratoga and The Mad Miss Manton. And if you don't know those and you're only listing the movie roles you've personally seen…maybe Show Boat?
JP... i wasn't confusing her. I was just scrolling quickly and not thinking straight. The hilarious thing is I saw "Beulah" on her credits and thought "no, that's a Louise Beavers role!" but then remembered that they both played the role. I shall fix. I meant to include show boat.
Catherine Kener for me. She seems to treat every role- no matter what it is- like is the most important part she will ever play. She takes each character seriously. Did she ever give a bad- like BAAAD- performance?
How DATE you not list Footloose with Dianne! ;-)
No one has mentioned Cherry Jones yet?
Ooh, love this list and so many of the names on it!
I'd add:
Allison Janney, even if she wasn't my #1 choice last year
Margo Martindale
Maggie Smith
Gloria Grahame
Paulette Goddard (especially when working with Chaplin)
Super list Nathaniel but my No.1 in the artful area of character actressing is always Patricia Clarkson ♡
Grace Zabriskie, of course!
May I add a few more:
- Diane Sands (A Face in the Crowd, The Landlord, A Raisin in the Sun)
- Gloria Grahame (The Bad and the Beautiful, Crossfire, In a Lonely Place)
- Lois Smith (East of Eden, Five Easy Pieces, Lady Bird)
- Margo Martindale (August: Osage County, Paris Je T'aime, Twilight)
- Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Married to the Mob)
- Rosie Perez (Fearless, It Could Happen to You, White Men Can't Jump)
Also, technically Anne Heche may not qualify (given her all-too-brief headlining run in the late '90s), but I'd suggest her, too, if for no other reason than her film-elevating work in Birth, Cedar Rapids, Donnie Brasco, Wag the Dog, and—no joke—I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Oh, and the Carrie actresses: Betty Buckley (Split, Tender Mercies) and Piper Laurie (Children of a Lesser God, The Dead Girl + Twin Peaks)!
Meryl is no myth, sir.
But by always including her in your venom, you doth protest too much @/3rtful
Imelda Staunton
Julie Walters
Olivia Coleman
Eileen Atkins
Celia Imrie
Alison Steadman
Madeline Kahn
Lupe Ontiveros
Dianne Wiest
Teri Garr
I think Carrie Fisher qualifies here - always a treat.
And I'd add Robin Bartlett as well.
Miriam Margolyes, Shirley Henderson, Gemma Jones, Imelda Staunton, Julie Walters, Helena Bonham Carter... basically the cast of Harry Potter. Also Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Wiest, Margo Martindale.
Is Miranda Richardson a character actress? She's had a fair few lead roles scattered about but I guess she has been mostly supporting since the late 90s.
I can see her being Damed soon though with her Staunton and HBC (Emma Thompson will never accept a damehood) getting some leads and taking over the mantle of Dench, Smith, Mirren.
JUDY DAVIS
Toni Collette.
So many character actresses. Here are ten artists who come to mind right away and the performances I thought come close to essential.
Eva Le Gallienne (Resurrection, The Royal Family)
Lili Taylor (Mystic Pizza, The Addiction, Household Saints, Say Anything)
Juliet Stevenson (Emma, Bend it Like Beckham, Ladder of Swords)
Kate Nelligan (Frankie & Johnny, Prince of Tides, How To Make an American Quilt)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets & Lies, Mr Jealousy, Won't Back Down, Spy Game)
Judith Anderson (Rebecca, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)
Jane Horrocks (Little Voice, Born Romantic, Life is Sweet, Sunshine on Leith)
Paprika Steen (Applause, The Idiots, Festen)
Hope Davis (American Splendor, Next Stop Wonderland, The Secret Lives of Dentists)
Kimberly Elise (Beloved, The Manchurian Candidate, For Colored Girls)
After yesterday's stupid Supreme Court decision, I needed some cheering up ... and this is the perfect cheer! Every single actress named in the article and in these comments ... I love them ALL! You all are geniuses.
As the following list indicates, I tend to focus on vintage actresses. But, for what it's worth, here's a roll call of personal favorites, each name accompanied by a performance or two I especially love:
Jane Darwell "Ramona" The Grapes of Wrath"
Claire Dodd "Footlight Parade"
Una O'Connor "Bride of Frankenstein" "Witness for the Prosecution"
Kathleen Howard (W.C. Field's perfect scene partner) "It's a Gift" "Man on the Flying Trapeze"
Glenda Farrell "Gold-diggers of 1935"
Hattie McDaniel "Alice Adams" "Gone with the Wind"
Alma Kruger "These Three"
Helen Broderick "Swing Time"
Edna May Oliver "David Copperfield"
Lucile Watson "Made for Each Other"
Elizabeth Patterson "Remember the Night"
Dame May Whitty "Return to Yesterday"
Jean Brooks "The Seventh Victim"
Anne Revere "National Velvet"
Rosalind Ivan "The Corn is Green"
Lillian Gish ( a silent star but later a sublime supporting presence) "The Night of the Hunter"
Martita Hunt "Great Expectations"
Helen Walker "Nightmare Alley" "Impact"
Hope Emerson "Cry of the City" "Caged"
Jan Sterling "Appointment with Danger" "The Big Carnival"
Florence Bates "Rebecca" "A Letter to Three Wives"
Adele Jergens "Day the World Ended"
Jean Willes "The King and Four Queens"
Evelyn Varden ""Pinky" "The Night of the Hunter"
Shelley Winters "Lolita" "Next Stop Greenwich Village"
Thelma Ritter "The Misfits"
Joan Copeland "Middle of the Night" Roseland"
Wendy Hiller" Toys in the Attic" "A Man for All Seasons"
Yvonne Furneaux "La Dolce Vita"
Lila Kedrova "Zorba the Greek" "Torn Curtain"
Susan Tyrrell "Fat City"
Madeline Kahn "What's Up, Doc?" "Young Frankenstein"
Mildred Natwick "Daisy Miller" "Barefoot in the Park"
Melinda Dillon "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
Dianne Wiest "Independence Day"(1983) Edward Scissorhands"
Shirley Henderson "Topsy-Turvy"
Lupe Onteveros "Chuck and Buck"
Samantha Morton "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Katrin Sass "Good Bye Lenin!"
Oprah Winfrey (not a fan of her persona as media madonna - but boy does she deliver the goods in "The Color Purple" and "Selma"!)
Thelma Ritter
Chus Lampreave (Almodovar!)
Octavia Spencer
probably they are my Trinity of character actresses.
Dale Dickey
An amazing choice for a list.
Christine Baranski!!!
Carrie Fisher.
Molly Parker.
Jesus -- CHUS. ack. i def. should've included her.
Excellent list! Holly Hunter barely misses this cut due to early 90's stardom but she's one of the first that comes to mind for me.
I knew I could count on you, Mareko!
Anne Heche is always, always at the top of the list, and if a handful of Oscar winners can make it here, I don't see why she cannot.
Anne isn't just my favourite actress to watch, she's *the* case study of all of the awful things that can happen to a woman in Hollywood. Mental illness stigma? Check. Homobhobia? Check. Strong-minded and daringly opinionated while at the top of her game? Check, which is such a ridiculous thing to derail a career, but hello misogyny. Institutionalized sexism? I know this affects literally everyone of any gender but still, Check. And finally, Harvey fucking Weinstein. Heche was fired from Miramax in her early twenties for refusing to sleep with him and she's been blacklisted in more ways than one ever since. I get so angry thinking about how the industry has treated her for years, and all of these reasons are linked to each other. I can fully imagine any Hollywood producer using any combination of these 'reasons' to not cast her. I hope her career is on an upswing because there are literally hundreds of roles I could recast her in that many a headlining star has ruined.
For the record, I think Anne's best performances are (in no particular order)
Return to Paradise (1998)
- IMO the lost gem of that year. The film has serious lapses of judgment but she's phenomenal at every moment.
Birth (2004)
-One of the greatest films of the last twenty years made more chilling with her final scene. The Oscar belonged to her as far as I was concerned.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
-Where Heche gives a supporting actressing masterclass in less than 6 minutes of screentime.
Donnie Brasco (1997)
-Which should have opened the door for so much more...Why no Oscar nomination?
Gracie's Choice (2004 Made for TV Movie)
- Where she's a volcanic fusion of sadistic need, pity and deranged maternalism.
The Dead Will Tell and If these Walls Could Talk (2004 and 1996 Made for TV Movie)
-Where she shows how brilliant she can be in quiet, brittle mode.
That's What She Said (2012)
-Honestly, one of the weirdest independent films I've ever seen. But watch it for her comedic tour de force
Fatal Desire (2006 Made for TV Movie, God, these TV Movie titles...)
-Where she's paired with a stunning Eric Roberts. It's like a sleazier, crazier imagining of Fatal Attraction and is based on a true story. But she's exquisite.
Honourable mentions would be; Cedar Rapids (2011),Psycho (1998), Wag the Dog (1997) Volcano (1997)Girlfight (2011).
How does everyone else feel about Anne Heche?
AMANDA -- i love her, too. great call. And the lack of a nomination for Donnie Brasco was insane.
SAWYER -- yeah, i definitely think of her as a leading lady.
So many dozens of names, and we all love all of them! Character actresses brighten our lives.
A few not mentioned yet:
Joan Greenwood
Joan Hackett
Margaret Rutherford
Amanda Plummer
Rachel Ticotin
Kelly McDonald
Frances O'Connor
Harriet Walter
Eleanor Bron
Helen McCrory
Glenne Headley
Natasha Richardson
Joely Richardson
Bette Davis, in her later years, still burning up the screen
The later years of Sylvia Sidney and Myrna Loy
And TFE favourites: Melanie Lynskey & Missi Pyle
Blair Brown
It's a beautiful list, but the concept of "character actress" is still confusing to me. I will mention the following ladies with a character actress performance I admire: Joan Cusack (School of Rock), Patricia Clarkson (Dogville), Geraldine Fitzgerald (Dark Victory), Valerie Perrine (Superman), Judith Anderson (Rebecca), Thelma Ritter (All About Eve), Sarah Paulson (Carol), Lois Smith (Please Give), Celia Weston (Junebug), Melissa Leo (Conviction), Lesley Manville (Viaggio sola), Maria De Medeiros (My Life Without Me), Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs), Joan Allen (Room), Diane Ladd (Rambling Rose), Dianne Wiest (Hannah and Her Sisters), Estelle Parsons (Rachel, Rachel), Fay Bainter (The Children's Hour), Rose Stradner (The Keys of the Kingdom), Mildred Dunnock (Peyton Place), Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River).
Gladys Cooper
Dame May Witty
Teresa Wright
Anne Revere
Agnes Moorehead
Celeste Holm
Thelma Ritter
Eileen Heckart
Barbara Harris
Sandy Dennis
Christine Lahti
Dianne Wiest
Loretta Devine
Catherine O'Hara
Amy Ryan
Kathleen Chalfant is always a treat. Was thinking about her recently with Angels in America back on Broadway and The Americans coming to an end.
Does Carrie Coon still count? Carrie Coon basically still counts.
Frances Conroy
Ruby Dee
Imelda Staunton
Eileen Heckart
Ann Dowd
Margo Martindale
Melissa Leo
Octavia Spencer
Patricia Clarkson
Alfre Woodard
Dianne Wiest
Nancy Marchand
Nathaniel (and anyone else who might care!): another good Hattie McDaniel film is John Huston's In This Our Life (starring Bette Davis & Olivia DeHavilland). She has a small but very dignified part in it.
Mercedes McCambridge (Johnny Guitar; The Exorcist; Giant; All The King's Men)
Kathleen Byron (Black Narcissus; Matter of Life and Death)
Judith Anderson (Rebecca; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)
Elizabeth Hartman (The Beguiled; a Patch of Blue)
Eileen Brennan (Private Benjamin, Clue, will & Grace)
Veronica Cartwright (Alien; Witches of Eastwick)
Estelle Parsons (Bonnie & Clyde; Rachel Rachel)
Veronica Cartwright! Ooh, what a good one.
CCH Pounder
S Epatha Merkerson