The reappearance of character actor god Steve Bacic in the first new Smallville of 2010 reminded me that I'd wanted a list of actors we see over and over again, in small roles, meaty roles, alien prosthetic roles. These are the ultimate "Hey, it's that guy!" actors, popping up often when your attention is on the next actor over.
Vancouver-based actors are more likely to recur, since so many shows are made there. But not everyone here is from Vancouver.
For this list, I crunched the credited casts of all shows on my roster that aired regularly in the last 10 years. I then totaled unique combos of actor/show/role.
BBCDoctor Who and Torchwood fans know Paul Kasey, since they see him almost as often as the regulars. Kasey is an actor, dancer, choreographer, and movement director who's choreographed and performed in a large number of film and TV productions. He's been in every season of Doctor Who, performing the Cyber Leader and a number of other characters (most recently Ood Sigma in "The End of Time"), the Weevil and other characters in Torchwood (where he is also the movement director), and as Slitheen characters and Kudlak in The Sarah Jane Adventures. He has also recently played a werewolf in season 2 of Being Human.
Malcolm Stewart has played a lot of background roles, but cumulatively, they add up. The tall, 61-year-old Broadway-trained actor often plays authority figures of varying authority, perhaps most recognizably Mr. Hooper on
Kyle XY. He also appeared last summer in
Moon. His other TV credits include
Andromeda (Chancellor Chandos),
Battlestar Galactica (Marshall Bagot),
Bionic Woman (Mr. Von Fleet),
Dark Angel (Paul Simms),
Dead Like Me (Dr. Pressman),
Eureka (Rick Wallace),
Seven Days (Charlie De Witt), 3 pops on
Smallville ,
Stargate SG-1 (Dollen),
The Dead Zone (Roger Chattsworth),
Supernatural (Aaron Fuller),
The 4400 (Principal Meyer), and several pops on
The Outer Limits . Back in the 1990s he was also in
X-Files, and so on.
ABCThanks to being talented, tough-looking but still handsome, and conveniently based in Vancouver, Ty has become the ultimate "it's that guy" guy, appearing in everything from Flash Gordon to Agent Cody Banks to The Day the Earth Stood Still. His TV credits for this list include Andromeda (Mick, Morehead), Battlestar Galactica (Captain Aaron Kelly), Dark Angel (Driver, Mario), Dead Like Me (Buddy Briggs), Defying Gravity (Rollie Crane), Eureka (Sheriff Andy), Fallen (Hawkins), Flash Gordon (Vulton), Jeremiah (Rourke), Stargate SG-1 (Col. Barnes, Jaffa), Supernatural (Eli), The Outer Limits (Franklin, Mike), and Tru Calling (Matt). He also had an extended run in Men in Trees and will shortly be appearing in Human Target.
The genial-looking Canadian has been around a while, but he recently got a fresh burst of exposure as the ill-fated dad, Mr. Oliver, in the ill-fated series
Reaper. On TV he's been on everything from
Monk to
House, and had fairly visible roles in
Normal,
Common Ground, and
Final Destination 2 (Christopher Corman). His credits on today's list include
Defying Gravity (Mike Goss),
Earth: Final Conflict (Coach Bickwell),
Eureka (Jason Anderson),
Fringe (Dr. Carson),
Reaper (Mr. Oliver),
Smallville (Mr. Woodward),
Stargate SG-1 (Dr. Carmichael, Kalan),
Stephen King's Dead Zone (Nathan Burke),
Supernatural (Larry Pike),
The 4400 (Brian Moore), several appearances on
The Outer Limits , and
Tru Calling (Dr. Frank Colvin).
Colin Lawrence's most visible presence recently has been as Skulls on
Battlestar, but the tall, British-born actor has been in everything -- including
Andromeda (Renegade),
Battlestar Galactica (Lt. Hamish 'Skulls' McCall),
Dark Angel (TAC OP O'Neill),
Dead Like Me (Businessman),
Jeremiah (Team Leader),
Seven Days (FBI Lead Agent, Lamar Pitts),
Smallville (Agent Stocker, Doctor),
Stargate SG-1 (Major Lawrence, Major Warren),
Supernatural (Jason, Reggie Hull),
The 4400 (David Kendrick),
The Outer Limits (Technician), and
Wolf Lake (Robinson). His film appearances include
Watchmen,
Fantastic Four, and
Hollow Man II.
The Canadian voice and screen actor has played a slew of roles in and out of alien make-up, and he's lucky enough to look great either way. His recurring role on
Jeremiah got him some notice, and recently he had a plum role in the
Supernatural episode "Criss Angel Is a Douche Bag." His credits for this list include
Andromeda (Hanno),
Battlestar Galactica (Valance),
Dark Angel (Johanssen),
Fringe (Detective Green),
Jeremiah (Ezekiel),
Sanctuary (Carver),
Stargate SG-1 (Eggar, Iron Shirt, Michael, Shy One, Warrick Finn, Xe'ls),
Stephen King's Dead Zone (Major Reg Granowitz),
Supernatural (Vance),
The Outer Limits (Karl Rademacher), and
Tru Calling (Peter).
Kwesi Ameyaw
The towering Canadian actor of Ghanan descent has played a Goa'uld system lord, a professor (in the classic Supernatural episode "What Is and What Should Never Be"), and -- thanks to his build -- all kinds of guards. His credits here include Dark Angel (Lab Tech), Dead Like Me (Airport Security Guard), Eureka (Special Agent Hicks), Fringe (Agent Frug), Jake 2.0 (Tracey), Jeremiah (Samuel), John Doe (SWAT Captain), Kyle XY (Dispatcher), Seven Days (Somalian), Smallville (Lex's Security Guard Darius), Stargate SG-1 (Olokun), Stargate: Atlantis (Tactical Sergeant), Stephen King's Dead Zone (Phil Rogers), Supernatural (College Professor), The Outer Limits (Dr. Adam Meares), and Tru Calling (Tall Guy).
Another Vancouver utility outfielder, the UK-born Adrian Holmes grew up on stage and has lately broken into TV and film (he was featured, for example, in
White Noise 2 with Nathan Fillion) and recurring roles in Canadian series like
Godiva's and
Cold Squad. His credits for this list include
Battlestar Galactica (Specialist Parr),
Flash Gordon (Earl),
Fringe (Forensics Chief),
Jeremiah (Gunman, Sandor),
John Doe (MRI Tech),
Kyle XY (Radio DJ),
Painkiller Jane (Steve Ford),
Seven Days (Fight Leader),
Smallville (Griff),
Stargate SG-1 (Special Operations Sergeant),
Supernatural (Demon),
The 4400 (Lt. Payton),
The Outer Limits (James), and
Tru Calling (Victor). He's also got a spot in the
Human Target premiere.
The baby-faced Kavan Smith, as art-loving Major Lorne, distracted a few fans from the slightly more rugged star he stood next to, Joe Flanigan, on
Stargate Atlantis -- and he was also one of the
Stargate alumni who helped Amanda Tapping ad Martin Wood launch their new series,
Sanctuary, appearing in the pilot as a furrowed-browed detective. He's been in
Battlestar Galactica (Lt. Richard 'Buster' Bayer),
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ,
Jeremiah (Vincent),
Sanctuary (Det. Joe Kavanaugh),
Smallville (Wade Mahaney),
Stargate SG-1 (Major Evan Lorne),
Stargate: Atlantis (Major Evan Lorne),
Supernatural (Gym Club Victim),
The 4400 (Jed Garrity), several roles in
The Outer Limits , and
Tru Calling (Mark Evans).
Another one of those guys you know you've seen before, Garwin Sanford is most recognizable as Narim from
Stargate SG-1. He's also multifaceted, working as a stunt coordinator, director, and producer; in his spare time he flies planes, draws, and sculpts. His credits for the Workingest list include
Dark Angel (Head Priest),
Earth: Final Conflict (Federov),
Eureka (Congressman Faraday),
Painkiller Jane (Gerald Morgan),
Seven Days (Government Official, Mr. Sackheim),
Smallville (Mr. Brooks),
Stargate SG-1 (Narim),
Stargate: Atlantis (Simon Wallis),
Supernatural (Deacon),
The 4400 (Adam Kensington),
The Outer Limits (Dom Pardo, Peter Chandler, Senator Meade), and
Tru Calling (Mr. Elkins).
