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I've got another batch of character actors I'd like to honor today. As you may know, I've done this one two three four times before, but I've accumulated another batch, so it's about time I discuss them.

First up, one of my personal favorites, whom I can't believe I've neglected until now. William H. Macy. Probably his biggest role was in Fargo, which I believe won all kinds of awards. But probably my favorite role of his was in Mystery Men, wherein he played The Shoveler. "God gave me a gift. I shovel well." Amongst a group of misfit superheroes, his superpower was to beat the crap out of enemies with a shovel. I love it. He's also had roles in the recent Dirk Pitt movie Sahara, and in that horrible third sequel to the Jurassic Park franchise.

Next, James Cromwell. He's been a television actor since the 1970s, and his is a face you'd definately recognise. Most recently, he played Jack Bauer's father in the TV series 24, but you'll probably also remember his roles in I Robot, The Green Mile, Deep Impact, and one of my personal old favorites, Explorers. And let's not forget - in Star Trek, his character Zefram Cochrane invented warp travel.

Then we've got Michael Ironside. The only movies I can recall him being in are Starship Troopers and Total Recall, but he makes a great character. Remember the grizzled one-armed teacher-turned-solider he played in Starship Troopers? Remember the mistreated lackey he played in Total Recall? Both great characters. I wish we could see more of him. He's probably more well known for his roles in video games such as Command & Conquer and the Splinter Cell series.

This brings us to Bill Paxton, a tremendous character actor. His sleazy used car salesman character in True Lies is one of the best characters from a movie ever. He also had a tremendous role in Weird Science as Chet. Yes, you remember Chet. He costarred alongside Kurt Russell in Tombstone, and had lead roles in A Simple Plan and Twister. But I like him best in those crazy character roles.

John Hurt wasn't on my radar until I saw him in V for Vendetta and realized that he was the same actor who'd played the wonderful S.R. Hadden in another movie favorite of mine, Contact. It's amazing how different he can look in his different roles. Having now looked him up, he's been in about a million things, most of which I haven't seen. He even had a role in Alien. I'm going to have to watch for him next time I see that flick.

You probably remember Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese in The Terminator. But it wasn't until I looked him up that I recalled two other great characters of his - the psychotic marine in The Abyss, and Johnny Ringo in Tombstone. Michael Biehn can play a downright scary character when he wants. I'd really like to see more of him. He's also had some pretty good roles in The Rock, Aliens, and Logan's Run.

Lastly, another favorite of mine whom I can't believe I've neglected for so long. David Morse. He first showed up on my radar as the father in Contact, but has shown his range by playing a complete psycho in 12 Monkeys and a strongarm in both The Rock and The Green Mile. He was recently in the movie Disturbia, which I have yet to see. But he's another actor I'd like to see in more films.

I have more actors in mind, but I'm saving the more mainstream ones for a separate entry, soon to come.