***H.I.T.O.G. is a blog series dedicated to memorable actors we love, but don’t really know. You’ve seen their faces many times, but for any given reason, they aren’t part of the mainstream conscious. Sure Gibson or Clooney have got the fame, but these guys have the moxie. This is a tribute to those actors and actresses whom inspire your inner “Hey, it’s that one guy!”***
It’s seems like I’m on a role with my H.I.T.O.G. series…both have been about Toms! Fuck it, I was recently watching Synecdoche, New York (Actually not watching porn for once!) and saw his silver hair-lined bald head and button nose. Yes, it was Tom Noonan all right. Had I known he was in this movie, I might have gone to the theaters so I could use his noggin for target practice with popcorn.
Noonan has actually been on my “dorkdar” for quite some time, however he’s never received the acknowledgment that he deserves. This is why he qualifies as a H.I.T.O.G. I first remember seeing him in Michael Mann’s brilliant albeit underrated Manhunter. He brilliantly portrayed Francis Dollarhyde A.K.A. the scariest mother-fucker to hit the screen since King Kong. This film was an adaptation of Red Dragon, the first book in the Silence Of The Lamb series. Manhunter was later remade by hack-job Bret Ratner, featuring one of the best casts that has starred in one of the worst movies EVER. While Ralph Fiennes portrayed Dollarhyde as a more deranged character, Noonan made him ominous and god-like, just as the character was written.
According to his imdb.com mini-bio, Noonan started off his career in various theater troupes that utilized
his skills as a guitarist and composer. A graduate from Yale’s acting
school, he founded the Paradise Theatre in 1983, which was instrumental
later in his growth as an artist. He starred in a variety of roles throughout the 80’s, and in the mid-90s was
able to finance his own first play-turned-art house film project What Happened Was…which became the darling of the Sundance Film Festival that
year and won the Grand Jury Prize, not to mention an Independent Spirit
nomination. He filmed it in eleven days at a cost of $300,000, and
managed to edit it only hours before the Sundance deadline.
Looking through his resume, I realize that Noonan has played some key roles in movies of my childhood. He was Frankenstein’s monster in the coming-of-age horror comedy The Monster Squad. His portrayal of Cain as a drug-addict-turned machine in Robocop 2 was a favorite when I was a kid. You’ve also seen him in Heat, Knockaround Guys and Eight Legged Freaks. His television credits include popular shows C.S.I. and The X-Files.
I’ve always liked is Noonan’s incredible versatility. I’ve seen him play some intimidating…even BRUITING characters. And, I’ve seen him soft like warm laundry out of the drier. In OR out of character, he has a presence to him, almost like a looming spirit that could at one moment shake your hand with a smile, and another moment eat your brains with a cereal spoon.
Check out his resume yourself at imdb.com. His next cinematic venture is none other than Where The Wild Things Are.
www.imdb.com/name/nm0006888
You’re fuckin out, I’m Fucking in – Kenny Powers