Our Top Five Favorite Male Character Actors

The Top Five Podcast

Happy Belated Independence Day, or as I like to say, "Happy Birthday to My Favorite Sibling Co-Host!" Yes, that's right, our own Annie Pruitt was Born on the 4th of July and we still totally let her think that the fireworks are all for her!

We had a couple of weeks off, ish, while Annie was in Europe with her family, but we have a HUGE new list of amazing topics coming down the pike soon, AND I promise that Doug Ferguson and Heather Zeitzwolfe will be back as well.

So - this character actor thing...Annie and I both approached our research a little differently and found some "rules" on what qualifies as a character actor role. A fairly standard definition, like this one from Studio Binder, states, "A character actor is a film or television performer who specializes in portraying unique, offbeat, colorful characters in supporting roles. The term can be applied to actors who excel in one specific type of character or those who transform themselves for each role and take on a wide range of character types."

However, I found myself trying desperately to stay within the lines of these particular rules, as stated on New York Magazine's VULTURE site:

➼ The Jenkins Rule: If a performer has been nominated for an Oscar, that performer is ineligible.

➼ The Dowd-Martindale Rule: If a performer has won a lead or supporting actor Emmy, that performer is ineligible. (Winners of an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor are permitted.)

➼ The Hahn Rule: If a performer currently works primarily as a lead, that performer is ineligible.

Well, you will notice that Annie and I tried to yield to those "recommendations," and it's easier said than done, let me tell you. Our list primarily consists of contemporary actors who are still with us, but I do pull one very classic actor out of the mix for my list. and having said that, not only will we be bringing out a list of our Top Five Favorite Female Character Actors, but we'll be throwing out a few additional mixes because I'll be damned if we're going to have a character actor conversation which does not include Gary Oldman (come to think of it, he might even get his own show!).

Anyway - enjoy!!