Graham Beckel vs. Bruce McGill
Battle of the Slab-Faced Everymen

Specialty: Crooked Cops, Bartenders, Quick-Tempered Toughs, and Other Assorted Slab-Faced Everymen

As with many Hey! It's That Guy!s, this one started with a sighting: Bruce McGill as Reverend Larson, young Hal's dying father at the very start of Shallow Hal; he dispenses some dubious and profane wisdom to his son before shuffling off his mortal coil. McGill, of course, is a familiar character actor, having turned up as baseball manager Ralph Houk in 61*, golf legend Walter Hagen in The Legend of Bagger Vance, and that fiery Southern D.A. in The Insider, who delivers the film's most rousing speech. ("Wipe that smirk off your face!") McGill could also be seen recently as Duffy, the bookie bartender with a heart of gold in Hardball, or as Sargeant Dick Stensland, Russell Crowe's slab-faced and crooked partner in L.A. Confidential, although in both of those roles he appeared under his alternate identity, "Graham Beckel."

You see, Bruce McGill has apparently created an entirely separate persona under the name Graham Beckel, probably as a tax dodge. The giveaway, however, is that both actors play exactly the same kind of roles, and also look exactly alike. You'd think if you were going to invent a separate persona, you'd at least go to the trouble to disguise "Graham Beckel" with a fake scar, eyepatch, or beard!

"Graham Beckel" seems to be the persona McGill favours when playing police detective and bartenders, while choosing to play senators, sheriffs, golf legends, and blacksmith roles under his real name, Bruce McGill. Either way, he's a fine, fine slab-faced everyman, as we're sure you will agree.

Now, there may be people out there who'll say that Bruce McGill and Graham Beckel are actually two different people, to which we'd say: yes, you're right. Of course they are. But the whole dual-identity thing seemed like a convenient, if somewhat thin and easily exhausted, conceit for examining their respective careers. So sue us.

Advantage: Even. Because they're not exactly in competition if they're the same guy.