Oh, That Guy!

New ongoing feature! So we've all had that experience of watching a movie and seeing some random minor character and thinking, "Ahhhh! Who is that guy?" And if you're anything like me, that persistent question nags at you for the remainder of the film until you remember where you've seen that actor before.

So in acknowledgment of the great, uncelebrated character actors who fill the background of our films, I'm going to start introducing them. First up:

JOHN SLATTERY

John has a long history of being "the other guy" in television shows, starting with the role of Amy's ex-husband on "Judging Amy," then Dennis Martino, the principal who kept Carol away from Ed on "Ed," and most recently Eva Longoria's love interest, Victor Lang on "Desperate Housewives." He also has an active film career, the most notable being Julia Robert's long distance boyfriend in Mona Lisa Smile (2003), the father in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), and the man leading the bond tour in Flags of our Fathers (2006). And if none of these sound familiar, here's a list of other roles:

*Charlie Wilson's War (2007)...............................Henry Cravely
*"Mad Men" (on AMC) (2007).................................Roger Sterling (9 episodes)
*Underdog (2007)......................................................Mayor
*"Jack and Bobby"(2004-2005)............................Peter Benedict (18 episodes)
*The Station Agent (2003).....................................David
*Bad Company (2002)............................................Roland Yates
*Traffic (2000)...........................................................ADA Dan Collier
*"Sex and the City" (2000).....................................Bill Kelley (2 episodes)
*"Law and Order" (1998, 2000)..............................Arlen Levitt (2 episodes)
*"Will and Grace" (1999).........................................Sam Truman (2 episodes)
*"From the Earth to the Moon" (1998).................Sen. Walter Mondale
*Eraser (1996)..............................................................FBI Agent Corman