Recognition Hall of Fame: Matt Walsh

Character acting is a redundant term. People love to remember actors, so they give the name character actor to someone who does the same thing in every movie, so now the general public can say: "oh it's that guy. I love that guy." And that's a tricky business. You shouldn't love that guy, you should learn his name and love the person. Now people have made careers of being character actors, and that is nothing against them, because there is a beauty to one's personal stamp. To leave your own imprint on a film much bigger than your part, to add your subtle facial expression or witty commentary, to remembered as a force within your time. I lost my train of thought: Simply I am saying- sometimes these actors are more amazing than the lead actors, and their body of work more than shows for it. I simply want to pay a respect to ones people call that guy.

For the first time ever doing this, there is really only one choice: Matt Walsh.

Where do you know him from?: Well you should know him as a founder and resident genius of the Upright Citizens Brigade, but that was on cable. You'd recognize his doughy demeanor and dim, but lovable characters from: Conan circa '96-2002, Todd Phillips movies, a stretch of commercial in the mid '00s, the Daily Show, the referee in Semi-Pro, or Davith of Glencracken in Role Models. Sometimes he tends to play a straight-er charcter with rough Chicago edges that make hi vulnerable (see Be Kind Rewind or Father Pat in Semi Pro) which he ably does knowing the meat of the comedy is coming in part from his seriousness. That is because Matt Walsh is a comedic genius. Now anyone who knows anything about improv, I shouldn't have to tell you how deep his genius goes or what Matt Walsh is capable of doing. For those less familiar with Walsh, I turn your attention to the funniest, yet overlooked scene, from Elf. At the end where Charlotte the TV reporter interviews people outside of Central Park. Vintage Walsh. (note: 10 minutes of youtube searching- nada gulp). So, I hope everyone knows who Matt Walsh is, not for the betterment of his career or anything. But for me. If I have people who read my blog not know who Matt Walsh is, what hope should I have for my blog? Respect, Recognize.