Thomas McCarthy is his name. You didn’t know this. Don’t feel too bad though, I didn’t either. And I’m just a try-hard with the IMDb app. You don’t know his name because Thomas McCarthy belongs to that rare genus of Hollywood actors, the “that guy, who’s in loads of things, you know him, with the glasses, and the hair. You know him, honestly.” And trust me, when I say you do know him, because his everyman qualities have been right there, on display for all to see, in such diverse fare as Meet the Parents, Good Night… and Good Luck, Syriana, Baby Mama and 2012. Ringing any bells? Probably not, but campanology generally occurs when people learn of his role as dodgy journalist Scott Templeton in the final season of HBO’s The Wire. Yeah, that guy. Ironically, however, despite the failure of his name to register with his on screen skills, McCarthy has been making quite the name for himself behind it.
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There’s his Academy Award nomination for his script to Pixar’s tearjerker Up. Not to mention his 2003 BAFTA for the screenplay to his directorial debut, The Station Agent. His follow up, The Visitor, nabbed an acting nomination from Oscar for Richard (another “that guy, you know him”) Jenkins in 2007, and along with new movie WinWin, his trinity of indie darlings has been earning bracketed stamps for promotional posters from film festivals in every corner of the globe.
Which is why it’s a shame that WinWin just didn’t win me over.
