Clancy Brown

The son of a former US Congressman, prolific performer Clancy Brown began his career with a menacing portrayal of Viking Lofgren, a nemesis to Sean Penn, in "Bad Boys" (1983) and, partly because of his height and hulking presence, made his reputation alternating between heavies and law officers in movies like "Highlander" (1985), "Shoot to Kill" (1988) and "Blue Steel" (1990). Both 1990's "Waiting for the Light," which cast him as a laconic loner in support of an eccentric Shirley MacLaine, and "Past Midnight" (USA Network, 1992), as Natasha Richardson's protective co-worker and former lover, offered him the chance to expand his range beyond the parameters established by his earlier work. He returned to villainy with a memorably sadistic turn as prison guard Captain Hadley in "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), opposite Tim Robbins. When it came time to cast the role of a state trooper in "Dead Man Walking," director Robbins tapped Brown to appear opposite Sean Penn. The actor segued to sci-fi playing Sergeant Zim in Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers" (1997) and then offered a comic turn as a bumbling henchman of a corrupt businessman trying to get his hands on "Flubber" (also 1997).