RIP Wilford Brimley .
Another one of my all-time favourite character actors, you know the kind, right?, as soon as you see their name in the credits you can't wait for them to show up and strut their stuff, making everything they're in just a little bit better.
I suppose I "discovered" him, like most people, in Cocoon, or more precisely, all the clips I saw before actually watching that awesome, and terrifyingly now-age-appropriate wish-fulfillment fantasy. I'm guessing he wasn't given the chance too often to stretch beyond that curmudgeonly-grandpa-with-a-heart-of-gold typecast, but he never seemed to phone it in. And when was he given the chance…yeah man, he was awesome: The Firm(!), The Thing(!!(, The Natural, Hard Target(love that movie!), The China Syndrome, In & Out (inspired casting), Tender Mercies, Absence of Malice, that awesome timel-y/ess cameo on Seinfeld… etc. etc. etc.
Heck , just thinking about him makes me want to watch these movies all over again. And that, ultimately, is the sign of an fantastic career, and a life fully lived, no? May we all be so lucky.
Now excuse me while I go look for a magical pool, my knees have begun to act up lately…
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#RIP #Wilford #Brimley #actor #acting #characteractor #Hollywood #legend
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Cocoon (1985)
Tender Mercies (1983)
The Thing (1982)
The Firm (1993)
The Natural (1984)
The China Syndrome (1979)
Absence of Malice (1981)
Hard Target (1993)
In & Out (1997)
Seinfeld (1997)
Our House (1986)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
Homicide: Life on the Street (1994)
My Fellow Americans (1996)
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
Tough Enough (1983)
Brubaker (1980)
The Waltons (1977)
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