Chris Cooper Graduation

You Know, That Guy! Graduates Chris Cooper out of its ranks because, well, you probably really DO know that guy!

Chris Cooper (1951 - present)

Total on-screen appearances (per the IMDb): 41 (37 movie/4 TV)

You've most likely seen him in:

• Adaptation
• The Bourne Identity
• American Beauty
• A Time to Kill
• Lonesome Dove

Official web-site: none

Back in November 2000 Mutant Clare deemed Chris Cooper one of her collection of You Know, That Guys. Today we'd like to graduate Mr. Cooper by changing some punctuation. Today he's more of a You Know That Guy! Since the turning of the millennium, Chris Cooper has appeared in 6 films. 4 of those 6 films were movies that, you know, people actually went to see, and then went home and talked about with their friends, and movie critics actually wrote about and industry insiders took note of and all the other things that happen when someone is moving up a little higher up in the Hollywood food chain than your average YKTG.

It went down like this: Cooper followed up his tremendously excellent turn in American Beauty with an unlikely appearance as a cop (just kidding, Cooper plays some kind of law enforcement officer in almost every other role he takes) in Jim Carrey's Me, Myself and Irene. Seemingly to prove his range and put to rest any nay-saying, he then appeared in Mel Gibson's period drama The Patriot as Harry Burwell. In 2002 he played the uptight CIA manager attempting to clean up Matt Damon's mess (kinky!) in The Bourne Identity. He then turned in a performance that recently garnered him 13 film industry awards, including his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of orchid thief and toothless man-about-town, John Laroche, in Spike Jonze's Adaptation. (A fitting category for a man who has been kicking ass and taking names in supporting roles for the vast duration of his career). It is this recognition that we're hoping takes him from being relatively unknown but highly respected to being widely known and still highly respected. Because he's earned some recognition and definitely has the talent to match the brouhaha.

Basically, Chris Cooper can do anything. And if you've seen him in one film you may not recognize him when you see him in another because he is one of those actors who will alter his appearance for a role so dramatically and so naturally that audiences believe him in whatever manner he presents himself. Highly intelligent toothless hillbilly? Sure thing. Nazi-loving, homophobic, gay father? Absolutely. Uptight, harried and conflicted CIA boss? No problem.

Besides all of this, both his Golden Globes and Academy Awards speeches this year were hilarious and touching respectively, so he seems both unaffected and humbled by all the attention. In a year when YKTG's were being hand picked for fame and fortune (Adrien Brody and John C. Reilly were also up for Academy Awards this year), Chris Cooper holds a special place in our hearts. We hate to see you go, Mr. Cooper, but we're proud to watch you leave. Thanks for being a You Know That Guy to beat the band.

Here's what we had to say about Chris Cooper before he went and got all famous and widely renowned and whatnot:

Compared to the other YKTG's already covered for this feature, Chris Cooper has the least amount of actual screen performances. I felt obliged however to make him a YKTG because he is one of the best and most under appreciated actors working today. Director John Sayles gave Cooper his first movie role in the highly acclaimed but not often seen Matewan (1987) as lead character Joe Kenehan. Since then, he's appeared in a variety of different films and made-for-television movies forging a career of solid, always powerful performances. He's probably best known for his role as Colonel Fitts in American Beauty where he turned in one of the most compelling and complicated performances in a film full of outstanding actors and characters. Usually playing hard-nosed, hard-working men, Cooper always seems to infuse his characters with an unexpected amount of heart and realism. Since he's hardly ever given the recognition he deserves, I've decided to use my awesome powers as a MRFH to pay homage to an actor who should be heartily commended for all his amazing work.

If you want more Chris Cooper, go rent:

• Adaptation
• The Bourne Identity
• American Beauty
• Matewan
• Lone Star