Monday, September 8, 2014

In Character: Stephen Tobolowsky

One of the things I love most about character actors is that the great ones really can play anything. Stephen Tobolowsky is a perfect example. Looking through the roles I’ve highlighted below, there isn’t a common thread among them. We have psychopathic murders, goofballs, straight-laced business exe­­cs, zany film producers, and so on. The man has 232 IMDb credits, most of which defy the notion of typecasting. Very few of his best roles are alike, but damn near all of them are enjoyable. Stephen Tobolowsky is one of the best, most recognizable character actors currently in film. Below are just six of many reasons why.

Five Essential Roles
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Clayton Townley
Stephen Tobolowsky has played a lot of assholes, but few of them rival Clayton Townley. For the purposes of Mississippi Burning, Townley was based on Samuel Bowers, the founder of one of the KKK’s most violent chapters. Tobolowsky’s incarnation of Townley is cold, calculating, and smartly two-faced. He’s expert at denying any of his wrongdoings to the press, but behind closed doors, he reveals himself to be a callous monster. Clayton Townley was one of Tobolowsky’s first film roles, and looking back now (after the actor has had such a prolific career), it’s great to see that Tobolowsky always had it.

Groundhog Day (1993)
Ned
We’ve all known guys like Ned. Guys who are so ceaseless with their optimism that we actually try to avoid them. Passing him on the street day after day would be hard enough, but the fact that Phil Connors has to endure a “new” introduction to Ned every single day must be pure hell.

Groundhog Day is so accomplished because it manages to make good use of repetitiveness. Seeing the same things (and meeting the same people) over and over should grow tired at some point. Yet it never does. Tobolowsky essentially repeats variations of the same few sentences in this film, but it is hilarious every time he does it. The best, of course, being when Ned reacts timidly to being hit on by Phil. The way Ned scurries away down the sidewalk never fails to crack me up. “Bing!”

The Insider (1999)
Eric Kluster
As the president of CBS News, it is Eric Kluster’s ultimate decision to alter what will be one of 60 Minutes’ most controversial segments. 60 Minutes recently interviewed Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a scientist who broke his confidentiality agreement with his former Big Tobacco employer, so he could blow the whistle on their practices. But with the tobacco company threatening legal action against CBS if they run the segment, Kluster decides to air a heavily doctored version of the show, leaving CBS out of risk. This infuriates 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), who lashes out at Kluster, essentially calling him a greedy coward.

Now, Tobolowsky isn’t in The Insider for very long, but there’s an exactitude to his language that I absolutely love. Guarded by a thick beard and a smug smile, Kluster is a guy with his finger on the trigger, only he’s too afraid to pull it. It’s also worth noting that Tobolowsky takes a verbal beating in a way that few are able to do. He gets his ass thoroughly chewed out by Pacino and Christopher Plummer in this movie, both times trying so hard to keep his dignity intact. If only.

Entourage (2007)
Mayor of Beverly Hills
Stephen Tobolowsky has delivered dozens of one episode arcs on popular TV shows, but his brief stint on Entourage is my favorite. Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) lives right on the edge of Beverly Hills, and if he takes the Mayor of Beverly Hills out for a night on the town, the Mayor will annex Drama’s condo, giving Drama a 90210 address. So the boys hit the town, with the intention of having superstar Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) pick up chicks for the Mayor. If you’ve seen this episode of Entourage (Sorry, Harvey – Season 4, Episode 4), then you know how the Mayor’s night ends up. But for those who haven’t, believe me, few things inspire as good a laugh as Stephen Tobolowsky cruising Beverly Hills in a ridiculous Ed Hardy shirt, doing his damndest to swoon exotic European women. Truly, the final scene of this episode is one of my all-time favorite Entourage moments.

Californication (2011-2014)
Stu Beggs
Stu Beggs is arguably Stephen Tobolowsky’s most outlandish character. He’s an insanely wealthy, hard living movie producer who cares little about what other people think. Stu is the kind of guy who not only tries to woo the wife of one of his closest colleagues, but he actually asks the colleague if it’s okay first. Upon receiving said colleague’s approval to go after his wife, Stu returns the favor by hooking the colleague up with a bimbo on Stu’s staff. So that’s who Stu Beggs is.

I haven’t seen every episode of Californication, but as I slowly make my way through the series, I can happily admit that the show was given new life in Season 4 with the introduction of Stu Beggs. Tobolowsky remained on the show for the rest of its run, which leaves me so eager to see what kind of crazy shit Stu Beggs still has to get into.

The Best of the Best
Memento (2001)
Sammy Jankis
I’ve always loved Stephen Tobolowsky’s work in Memento. But I have a newfound appreciation for it, having recently learned that Tobolowsky himself considers Sammy the most difficult role he’s ever played. When speaking with the A.V. Club a few years ago, Tobolowsky said that Sammy had no lines in the script for Memento. Instead, Christopher Nolan encouraged Tobolowsky to improvise his dialogue. A tough feat, given that Sammy is essentially a man with no memory. “Part of my brain had to remember what it was doing, and another part had to not remember what I was doing,” Tobolowsky said. For an actor, that’s a damn difficult world to live in. But obviously Nolan’s methods paid off, as Sammy represents the most evocative work Tobolowsky has delivered yet.

The scene in which Sammy’s wife “tests” Sammy’s condition is one of the most shocking moments in the film. The arc Tobolowsky hits – from fond appreciation to utter indifference to scared shitless puppy dog – is rather miraculous. It’s a great and haunting moment in a great and haunting film. Pure conviction, made up on the spot. That’s the work of a stellar actor at play.

Other Notable Roles
in Spaceballs
Spaceballs (1987)
Two Idiots in Hollywood (1988)
Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
Bird on a Wire (1990)
Mirror Mirror (1990)
The Grifters (1990)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Single White Female (1992)
Sneakers (1992)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Hero (1992)
Calendar Girl (1993)
Murder in the First (1995)
The Prime Gig (2000)
Love Liza (2002)
Freaky Friday (2003)
CSI: Miami (2003-2005)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2005)
Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party (2005)
Deadwood (2005-2006)
John from Cincinnati (2007)
Heroes (2007-2008)
Glee (2009-2011)
Justified (2012-2013)

38 comments:

  1. I love your In Character series Alex! I remember Mr Tobolowsky from Groundhog Day & The Insider but he's one of those face you remember in something but don't remember the name. So once again, it's great that you spotlight them here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Ruth! He really does have one of the most recognizable faces in the game, which is great. Love this guy.

      Delete
  2. I'm so happy to see Memento at top. He was absolutely fantastic there. I had always thought of him as the annoying guy from Groundhog Day before i saw Memento, but after that i always get excited when i see him pop up in something i'm watching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell yeah man, that's the strength of his work in Memento. It makes you appreciate Tobolowsky even more, AND anticipate his upcoming work. Love his performance there.

      Delete
  3. My favourite performance of his is also in Memento :) He's truly a chameleon, and like you mentioned, he really does defy typecasting. Great post for a great actor! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! So happy other people dig his work in Memento as well. He was so perfect for that role.

      Delete
  4. Blogger ate my first comment. Please just assume it was exceedingly witty and informative.

    I'll now go with:

    "Ned? Ned Ryerson? C'mon! Needle Nose Ned? Ned the Head?"
    "...Ned Ryerson?"
    "BING!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahh sorry man, that's such a bummer when Blooger ditches comments. Appreciate you trying again, because, well.. BING!

      Delete
  5. Tobolowsky is one of those people who, when I see him pop up in a movie no matter how small the role or how bad the film, always makes me like the film just a little bit more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES. My thoughts exactly. I know that I'm at least going to enjoy his scenes.

      Delete
  6. Hey, what's-his-face! That's how I always identified him before this post. I knew he was active, but 232 credits? Wow. Yeah, his work in "Memento" is outstanding. And I thought that before I learned that little bombshell you just dropped about his dialogue. That's truly incredible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't this guy's work ethic insane? I mean holy hell, 232 credits. It's crazy to think that Sammy Jankis is largely improvised - really makes me respect Tobolowsky more than I already did. So happy to hear you're a fan of his work.

      Delete
  7. "Spectacular stunt work. Too bad you're going to locked up. Pity, what a pity... YOU IDIOTS!!! THESE ARE NOT THEM!!!! YOU'VE CAPTURED THEIR STUNT DOUBLES!!!! FIND THEM! FIND THEM!!!!!!!" I fucking love that little scene he's in. The dude is a great character actor. I love him as Stu except that final season which sucked. I would love to trade places with him for that one moment in Californication where Camilla Luddington walks out of that pool naked and tell her "you have a magnificent body". That is my favorite nude scene of the series. The show went downhill after that season. I didn't bother watching the final episode.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha YES! But, I am bummed to here that Californication falls off. That happens with so many shows, and it's always a let down. Still, I'll stick with it for him alone. I'm seriously loving Stu Beggs.

      Delete
    2. What happened to the character in the end was pathetic. The guy was fucking a blow-up doll with Marcy's name on it. Once Charlie and Marcy find out, they just took his money and fucked off. That's all I know as I already gave up on the show.

      Delete
  8. I'm going to go with what everyone else said - no matter how much great work Tobolowksy does, he'll always be ... "NED!?" Nice article :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks man! And hey, always being Ned is certainly not a bad thing to be. Love that guy.

      Delete
  9. Tobolowsky is god. He's one of my favorite character actors and I am always so happy to see him pop up. Hell, I even liked seeing him on Glee (before the show became HIV positive).

    I'm also friends with him on Facebook :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dude, that's so cool that you're friends with him on Facebook. I remember Beth Grant friending me after I wrote an In Character about her. So surreal. I love that these actors we love are such down to Earth people.

      Delete
  10. Sammy Jankis is such a haunting little character. To see Tobolowsky pull it off is just chilling. The same guy who tried to sell life insurance to Bill Murray and told Chris Plummer that cutting the guts out of an interview was necessary because it was a 'time constraint'. That's versatility.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell yeah man. This is one versatile dude. Love your shout out to The Insider. That's seriously one of the best films I've ever seen. I'd love it if more (younger) people discovered it.

      Delete
    2. The Insider is my favorite Mann film. I know Tarantino loves it and it makes a lot of sense. Eric Roth's script for it is basically porn for fans of dialogue. Not to mention the exquisite use of surreal imagery. When I think of lights illuminating a parking lot at night I think of The Insider. It's got such a mysterious quality to it.

      Delete
    3. Oh for sure. That exactitude I mentioned really rings true for the entire film. The characters are so confident with their words, and so damn articulate as well. And Spinotti's cinematography is immaculate. Free-roaming and poetic. Really, there's no other film quite like it.

      Delete
  11. I dearly love Memento! One of my favorite films of all time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So good, right?! One of my favorites too. It never gets old.

      Delete
  12. Nice choice for an in character post, Alex. I didn't realize Stephen Tobolowsky appeared in that much, but for me, his stand-out role was always in Memento, so I was happy to see you considered it his best. That's fascinating that no dialogue was written for his character. I always thought he was the most tragic character of that film, played in such a way that is heart-wrenching. Great actor that is so versatile!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad you like the pick! I agree, his Memento character is the most tragic in the film. That scene at the end with his wife is just... ah, so heartbreaking. So happy to hear that you're a fan of his work!

      Delete
  13. Gosh I didn't even realise it was him in Groundhog day. I loved him in Glee (not that I watch it!!).

    Wanted to let you know that we at Flick Chicks have nominated you for a One Lovely Blog Award, the details are here http://goo.gl/j0rnU7. Happy nominating!

    Jenna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the nomination! I really do appreciate it :)

      Delete
  14. Oh man... every time I see Tobolowsky now, I think of Stu Beggs. I still need to finish Californication, too, but you're spot on about him breathing new life into the show.

    Forgot he was in Memento. I really need to give that another watch -- it's been at least ten years or so.

    Great post, man!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Eric! Stu Beggs ROCKS! Dude is such a trip. And yeah, I highly recommend giving Memento a rewatch. Modern movies don't get much better than that.

      Delete
  15. Tobolowsky will always be Needle Head Ned the Head to me. He's brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh, I was hoping Sammy Jankis would top the list. Tobolowsky is SO GOOD in that performance.

    ReplyDelete