A little backstory....In 2001, I was sitting with a cute redhead in the dorm lounge watching Blind Date in the middle of the night having a conversation about the pleasures of recognizing little-known actors in TV shows and movies. I was born with a great memory for faces and names, but the skill unfortunately only translates to the faces and names I care about: people on screen.
I can't tell you the full names of my neighbors and I might not recognize the guy in the office down the hall, but I can tell you the names of the two actresses who played the Fresh Prince's aunt (Janet Hubert first, then Daphne Reid) and I can tell you that I recognized William Sadler (playing Heywood) in The Shawshank Redemption as the guy who played Death in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. And when my redheaded friend asked me if I've ever seen that old Canadian soap opera, Nickelodeon's Fifteen, I of course jumped to the conclusion that she was going to bring up the fact that Ryan Reynolds (who played Billy the shitty garage band drummer) had recently resurfaced on the hit sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place (later renamed simply Two Guys and a Girl). Needless to say, she was impressed. She thought that she was the only one who noticed...And now, nine years later, Amy and I still refer to that conversation as the moment we fell in love.
I created this blog to share my thoughts on pop culture and I thought the perfect first post would be to celebrate one of those moments of actor recognition that always makes me smile....
I was watching the first episode of the second season of Eastbound and Down, a show I loved throughout the first season, and I couldn't shake the feeling that Kenny Powers' new sidekick, a diminutive, profane Mexican cockfighter, looked familiar. After squinting at the screen for a minute, an image started to appear in my head. If you take away the moustache, cut the hair, dub his voice, and maybe put him in a top hat and an old-fashioned magenta suit...yep, it's Deep Roy! - the Indian guy who rides the snail in The NeverEnding Story and apparently played all of the Oompa Loompas in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (I didn't see it - I think I'm done with Tim Burton, but that's a post for another day). That scene with the snail-rider and the Rockbiter was always my favorite! A quick imdb check confirmed my suspicions.
Impressed for sure, but also slightly frightened and more than a little disappointed that you weren't more in awe of what was no doubt one of my proudest accomplishments. This was, of course, before I became fully aware of your freakish talents. And despite being used to it by now, the fact that you correctly identified that snail-riding guy nearly 30 years older and knew that his name was Deep Roy is absolutely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Los Angeles, I'm frequently given occasion to realize how much worse at this I am than you. A few years ago I saw a short, funny looking man shopping in a Whole Foods in Mar Vista. I immediately knew he was an actor, but just couldn't place him. I think it took me a day or two to realize he was from Ally McBeal (which I must have known from commercials, because I don't think I ever watched the show), and after that it was easy to find out his name: Peter MacNicol. I had a similar experience with Adam Baldwin.
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm not that big an entertainment buff, I still get a kick out of seeing actors. And trying to figure out where the hell I know them from is mostly fun, and just a little frustrating. I'm currently working on two sightings: One I saw at a dodgers game a couple months ago and one I saw at a local sandwich place last week. The first one I think is a relatively well known comedic actor, but I just can't put him in context!
I was just telling Jess the other day that somebody should write a computer program that lets you zero in on people whose face you can't quite place. It would start by presenting the faces of four actors, and you choose the one that's closest. Then it presents four more, you choose again, etc., and it slowly (or maybe quickly!) zooms in on the right person. I'm pretty sure we have the technology for this, and it would help me out a ton.
But sounds like it might be the Deep Blue to your Kasparov...
Taylor, that would be an awesome program! I could see using imdb profile pics... It would be be a very popular internet tool.
ReplyDeleteAny blog that begins with a Fifteen reference is a good, good blog.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard anyone mention the Ryan Reynolds Fifteen connection other than me. I will now follow your blog closely.
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