***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!”***
Dan Hedaya….a man that
has enough chest hair for three men, and also makes a perfect edition to Hey,
It’s That One Guy.
I recently pulled Commando
out of mothballs because I was on an Arnold Schwarzenegger kick. What a kick ass movie. You’ve got David Patrick Kelly from The
Warriors, Chong’s daughter, Rae Dawn Chong (She can Dawn my Chong any day!)
and Bill Duke from Predator. Not
to mention Alyssa Milano…before she was hot.
Among this all-star cast, Hedaya shines in the spotlight as Arius, a Latin
American dictator. No, he’s NOT the
over-weight Freddy Mercury looking guy that’s in chain-mail.
You’ve undoubtedly seen Hedaya’s work before…if you
walk into a movie store a throw a stone, he’s probably in the first movie it
hits. Some popular roles of his include;
The father in Clueless and the
general in Alien: Resurrection whom
gets skull-fucked. He’s played small
roles in Nixon, The Usual Suspects and Shaft.
In addition to movies, the man has a huge television
resume. You’ve seen him on Law & Order, Cheers, E.R. and even
fucking St. Elsewhere!
According to his biography on imdb.com, Hedaya often
plays a villain. He has also done much stage work, appearing opposite Alien:
Resurrection star Sigourney Weaver
in “The Conjuring an Event” at the American Place Theater. Other
stage performances include Broadway roles such as “The
Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel” and many New York Shakespeare Festival
productions. Although he mostly plays
Italian-Americans, Hedaya is actually of Syrian heritage and comes from a
tight-knit Sephardic-Jewish family.
I’ve always taken notice to Hedaya, and his presence
brings an ominous glow to any flick.
There’s something about his eyes that freaks me out….even in Clueless, he had that leering stare that
gives you the same feeling of dread that Tony Soprano does.
All in all, I’ve always enjoyed the small, albeit
great roles he is cast in. There isn’t
one role that particularly defines his acting ability, because most can be
perceived as menial and designed to simply move the plot along through exposition. Regardless, his presence brings a layer of
thick gravitas to any film.
Check out the imdb resume for Hedaya’s credentials:
://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000445/bio
You’re fuckin out,
I’m Fucking in – Kenny Powers