No. 2 on Pop Candy

This What's His Face? is the one that finally kicked me in to gear to start doing this blog.

While watching "Lost" last week, the guy playing Kate's attorney was bothering me. I knew him from somewhere, so I checked IMDb. Turns out, the guy was in the film "Frequency" and played a character named--wait for it--Jack Shepard. (For those who don't watch "Lost," Matthew Fox also plays Jack Shephard). Granted, the spellings are different, and the names might not mean anything in the long run, but surely this wasn't just a happy accident. There's no such thing on this show.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/02/lost-in-a-fla-2.html

For the record...

Actor: Shawn Doyle
Previous work: "Frequency" and "Big Love"

Note: I altered the image above to save space and get everything on the same page. Also, I blurred my username for safety's sake, although you can view it if you go to the blog itself.

Gus' Nicknames

Burton Guster (Gus) is the sidekick to Shawn on "Psych." This is a list of his nicknames, as given to him by Shawn.

Lavender Gooms
Ovaltine Jenkins (my personal favorite)
Nick Knack
Silly Pants Jackson
The SuperSniffer
Magic Head
Spellmaster
Weepy Boy Santos
Schoonie "U-Turn" Singleton
Gus T.T. Showbiz
Chocolate Columbo
Burton "Oil Can" Guster
Big Head Burton
Dr. Mc[click][cluck][click]Toock
Tan (of Black & Tan)
Schmuyel Cohen
Francois
Vernus Lambert Watkins
Shutterfly Simmons
Galileo Humpkins
Convertible LeBaron (it was more of an adjective, not a nickname, but I liked it)

... more to come as the show continues.

Woodstock (Ill.) Represent!

For those of you who don't know, "Groundhog Day," starring Bill Murray, was filmed primarily in Woodstock, Ill., not Punxsutawney, Pa. When watching "Groundhog Day," look in the background when Ned Ryerson (Bing!) first appears. You'll see Woodstock Jewelers.

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THIS JUST IN: "Groundhog Day" was recently named to AFI's 10 Top 10. The film placed No. 8 all time in the Fantasy category.
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Jake 'Gill'-en-hall

We know that isn't how it is pronounced, but the voiceover artist of the trailers for "Donnie Darko" didn't. The trailers are on the DVD. You'd think they would have caught on before they released it. It's just interesting that even then, no one could decide how to pronounce his last name.

For the record, it’s "Jill-en-hall."

On a personal note, I must say that I feel for the guy. My last name is mispronounced all the time. Only after knowing me do people get it right. Well, most of the time.

The Green Inmate

This actor played a former inmate from the Stamford branch of Dunder-Mifflin, and at times he appears in Toyota commercials. Oh, and puts a lot of old greedy (sometimes naked) white men in their place. That's him leading the show, as well.



Actor: Wayne Wilderson
Commercial(s): Chevy green vehicles (he explains green to children while walking around the vehicle); Washington Mutual (all the WaMu vs. all the old white guys); Fruit of the Loom (the grapes)
Previous work: "Evan Almighty" and "The Office"

My So-Called Best Buy

With the relatively recent release of "My So-Called Life" on DVD, this one was fresh in my head. Delia Fisher, the short, frizzy-haired girl that had a thing for Brian (who also frizzy-haired, oddly enough), now is in a Best Buy commercial.



Actress: Senta Moses
Commercial(s): Best Buy (the "psychic" salesperson helps pick out a laptop)
Previous work: "My So-Called Life" and "Beakman's World"

Domino's Cures the Munchies

… I'm told. Anyway, I was just sitting here watching "Monk," and a Domino's commercial comes on. The delivery person is finding her stride as a new mom who helps distribute marijuana alongside Conrad and Heylia on "Weeds."

Actress: Indigo
Commercial(s): Domino's (Sharpied eyebrows)
Previous work: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Family Guy"

Both Sides of the Law

He now has a big bushy moustache and generally plays cops or military men. In fact, he is SFPD Captain Leland Stottlemeyer on "Monk." However, many people probably know him better in a completely different role. Maybe it would help if he lost some weight, shaved, wore make-up (among other things), tucked "it" in and "put the f---ing lotion in the basket."

Actor: Ted Levine
Monk episode: All (as far as I can tell)
Previous work: "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Joy Ride" (voice)
Image source: http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/

Hertz Donut

When most people see this guy, they generally say, "He looks like Chris Farley." Well, that's probably because he is Chris's younger brother. He can now be seen as an undercover agent who infiltrates Hertz rental cars.

Actor: Kevin P. Farley
Monk episode: "Mr. Monk is on the Air"
Commercial(s): Hertz ("Well, I'm not a spy!")
Previous work: "2Gether" and "Black Sheep"
Bonus material (from "2Gether"): http://314degrees.blogspot.com/2008/02/getting-2gether-on-hgtv.html

Getting 2Gether on HGTV

You plus Me equals Us. Turns out, calculus is pretty easy. Why didn't anyone explain it like this before?

This guy was the "leader/heartthrob" of 2Gether (remember, from MTV), but now is more known for hosting home design/improvement shows like "FreeStyle" on HGTV.

Actor: Evan Farmer
Previous work: "2Gether" and "While You Were Out"

And because this one is so exciting, here's some bonus material. It's kind of blurry and I don't know who this Mikey guy is at the start of the video, but, damn, if this isn't awesome:

Big Fish in the Office

He played Roy, Pam's boyfriend/fiancé who wanted to kill Jim, as well as a deaf football player and a gay bartender. That's quite the spectrum of roles, wouldn't you say?

Actor: David Denman
Previous work: "Big Fish" and "Out Cold"

Bring It On, Ducks!!

Alternate headline: "Ees tha Go-leee!"

The male cheerleader in "Bring It On" (the straight one who has an affinity for spanks) is also the goaltender of the Iceland team in "D2: The Mighty Ducks." And keeping with the hockey theme, he was Rob McClanahan in "Miracle," which chronicled the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's defeat of the powerhouse Soviets, as they were known then.

Actor: Nathan West
Previous work: "7th Heaven" and "Not Another Teen Movie"

Geico and the Clampetts

Jed Clampett probably doesn't like this guy. In the Geico commercial, this actor plays the investigator who determined that Jed didn't just have funds generated by the "bubbling crude," he also had Geico, which saves you 15 percent on your car insurance--so I'm told.

Actor: Shuler Hensley
Commercial(s): Geico TRS—The Clampetts; very recently: TMobile family plan (The Hatfields and McCoys)
Previous work: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Van Helsing"

Not Another Abe Lincoln at Wendy's

He's wearing a red Wendy's wig in his commercial and starts the slow clap in one of the greatest films of all time. In said movie, he played the hopelessly devoted Ricky, who enjoyed making little tiny Janey hairballs. But who doesn't, really?

Actor: Eric Jungmann
Commercial(s): Wendy's 99-cent menu (with all the Abe Lincolns)
Previous work: "Not Another Teen Movie" and "Veronica Mars"

Seth Rogen: Bully

He's also a Halle Berry look-alike, arguably. But back to the subject at hand: While re-watching "Donnie Darko," I was astonished to see that Seth Rogen played Ricky Danforth, a bully. No big ado, just thought it was interesting, and the first time I would have seen the movie, I would have had no idea that was him.

Check out No. 19 under his Actor profile
Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0736622/

Now, Milton, Switch to Comcast

The actor who played Milton in "Office Space" recently has been seen in a Comcast commercial, where he reads a fairy tale about low introductory rates. He gets a little testy while reading, but he doesn't burn anything down. And we appreciate that.

Actor: Stephen Root
Commercial(s): Comcast (the one where they tell fairy tales about sheep and low introductory rates)
Previous work: "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and both "Ice Age" films

Teenage Mutant Tax Cuts

It wasn't difficult to spot April O'Neil (that's right, from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles") in a recent H&R Block commercial. But, hey, I have a thing for redheads, so they tend to make an impression in my memory (although the second actress to play April O'Neil, Paige Turco, was better).

Actress: Judith Hoag
Commercial(s): H&R Block Tax Cut ("Maybe you should ask the box.")
Previous work: "Grey's Anatomy" and "Women's Murder Club"

Best Chappelle's Show Ever

Chad: "You stabbed my dad!"
Tron: "I mean, really, Chad, we could just f--k you up."
He's also a mainstay on most of the VH1 shows where people say funny things about stuff that happened this week or in the '80s or '90s.



Actor: Christian Finnegan
Previous work: "Comedy Central Presents" and "Chappelle's Show"

[Expletive deleted] Begins with Kay

He played Adam Davies, Drama's agent on "Entourage," before Ari was fired. You'll also see him in the Journey diamond necklace commercial from Kay Jewelers (the one with the first kiss, love kiss and baby kiss--or something like that).

Actor: Jordan Belfi
Commercial(s): Kay Jewelers Journey diamond necklace
Previous work: "Entourage" and "Smallville"

Progressively Checking Out at the Barbershop

He was a nervous Dinka in both "Barbershop" films, and then showed up in a recent Progressive commercial, where he is at the check out with that funny/annoying clerk. But hey, he saved $350. Cha-ching, Dinka!

Actor: Leonard Earl Howze
Commercial(s): Progressive checkout
Previous work: "Antwone Fisher" and "My Name is Earl"

Un-pimped Out Auto

They're the commercials where the "German" guy and the hot assistant (still working on who she is) smash a ridiculously pimped-out car. You probably know him better as the rarely clean-shaven, hobo-looking Russian bad guy. But in actuality, the actor is Swedish.

Actor: Peter Stormare
Commercial(s): VW Mark 5
Monk episode: "Mr. Monk Paints His Masterpiece"
Previous work: "Fargo" and "Prison Break"

Yellow Office Pages

This guy played the manager of the fast-food restaurant in which a guy strips down, lays out on the counter and "tans" under the burger heat lamps. He also was the IT specialist helping Michael tap into Dunder-Mifflin's e-mail on "The Office."

Actor: Omi Vaidya
Commercial(s): YellowPages.com commercial (heat lamp tanning)
Previous work: "The Office" and "Arrested Development"

Truth in Advertising?

Do you ever wonder if the people they pick for STD ads actually have STDs? Well, if that were true, then this is just unfortunate. Mark D. Wilson plays one of the people with the herp in the Valtrex commercials, and he played a guy with gonorrhea on "Scrubs." If you remember the stigma Joey on "Friends" experiences when he models for the VD poster, then just imagine what this guy encounters. Two STD-related credits. C'mon, give him a break.

That's him on the left.



Actor: Mark D. Wilson
Commercial(s): Valtrex
Previous work: "Dirty Sexy Money" and "NCIS"

Tobey Maguire: Spider-Man, Strong-Man

Before Spider-Man was wailing on the Goblins, Doc Ock, Sandman and Venom, he was playing Strong-Man in "The Wizard." OK, he actually played "Lucas' goon at video Armageddon" and was a head shorter than everyone else. He must have been labeled a goon because of the hot-pink shirt and the mullet. That stuff just screams "goon," don't you think?

I guess I shouldn't talk, though. I was always partial to hot green, at least according to my biker shorts. Unfortunately, I also had a mullet when I was younger.

See the end of the cast list if you're not convinced that is him in the image.
Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/fullcredits#cast

One Face at a Time...

So, Name That Actor was created because I have some strange ability to recognize faces and names of actors, as well as their roles, whether bit parts in a summer blockbuster or in a TV commercial.

My friends always seem to come to me to get these types of answers, so I thought I would extend it to everyone (or at least to my friends via the Web so they quit bothering me).

If you have anyone you need help with, let me know. I'll do my best.



Note: If you are wondering about the "314 degrees," it combines a number I have some connection with and the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.
» I do not claim to be the end-all, be-all. I am bound to mess up, so if I do, call me on it.
» Likewise, any constructive suggestions or additions are appreciated. I already know that I am an ass-clown, blowhard and/or douche. Please don't remind me.

Note 2: There are other sites that do this, but they only give you an alphabetical listing of "That Guy" actors, which you then must sift through in hopes of finding your (wo)man.