Django Unchained Adds M.C. Gainey
October 3rd, 2011
The Lost co-star will play Big John Brittle in Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti Western.
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- Birth Date:January 18th, 1948 - Jackson, Mississippi, USA
- Credits: Acting
Full Bio
Notorious for his uncanny portrayals of jocks, rednecks, hellraisers, and good ol' boys, the rough-hewn American character actor M.C. Gainey built a career for himself as the prototypical onscreen lowlife. Gainey observed in an interview, "With a face like this, there aren't a lot of lawyers or priest roles coming my way. I've gotta face that was meant for a mug shot and that's what I've been doing for the past 30 years...by and large I play cowboys, bikers, and convicts."
Born in Jackson, MS, in 1947, Gainey debuted onscreen -- effectively portraying a young police officer -- in Herbert Ross' fascinating, ambitious, and stillborn musical film version of the Dennis Potter miniseries Pennies from Heaven (alongside Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, and Christopher Walken). Some might call Gainey's evocation of a cop uncharacteristic, given his later turns, but at least two additional roles as a policeman followed during the '80s, in John Carpenter's Starman (1984) and Sondra Locke's ill-advised sentimental fantasy Ratboy (1986). Gainey landed a number of additional assignments through the end of that decade, but his career did not fully catch fire until the '90s, when he sustained several turns per year. Additional films during this period include 1993's Geronimo: An American Legend (as a miner), 1996's Citizen Ruth (as Harlan), 1997's Con Air (as the villain Swamp Thing), 1999's Happy, Texas (as Bob Allen), and 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (as a bouncer).
In the late '90s and early 2000s, Gainey delivered two particularly memorable and dark performances that gave him instant recognition among viewers. In the first picture -- Jonathan Mostow's Breakdown (1997) -- Gainey played Earl, one of the psychopathic redneck kidnappers who torments Kurt Russell. In the second, Alexander Payne's character comedy Sideways (2004), Gainey played the unnamed husband of waitress Cammi, who chases intruder Thomas Haden Church out of his house while fully naked.
Gainey found his broadest exposure to date, however, as Mr. Friendly/Tom -- seemingly the leader of the Others and as enigmatic as can be -- in the blockbuster ABC series Lost. ~ Nathan Southern
Born in Jackson, MS, in 1947, Gainey debuted onscreen -- effectively portraying a young police officer -- in Herbert Ross' fascinating, ambitious, and stillborn musical film version of the Dennis Potter miniseries Pennies from Heaven (alongside Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, and Christopher Walken). Some might call Gainey's evocation of a cop uncharacteristic, given his later turns, but at least two additional roles as a policeman followed during the '80s, in John Carpenter's Starman (1984) and Sondra Locke's ill-advised sentimental fantasy Ratboy (1986). Gainey landed a number of additional assignments through the end of that decade, but his career did not fully catch fire until the '90s, when he sustained several turns per year. Additional films during this period include 1993's Geronimo: An American Legend (as a miner), 1996's Citizen Ruth (as Harlan), 1997's Con Air (as the villain Swamp Thing), 1999's Happy, Texas (as Bob Allen), and 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (as a bouncer).
In the late '90s and early 2000s, Gainey delivered two particularly memorable and dark performances that gave him instant recognition among viewers. In the first picture -- Jonathan Mostow's Breakdown (1997) -- Gainey played Earl, one of the psychopathic redneck kidnappers who torments Kurt Russell. In the second, Alexander Payne's character comedy Sideways (2004), Gainey played the unnamed husband of waitress Cammi, who chases intruder Thomas Haden Church out of his house while fully naked.
Gainey found his broadest exposure to date, however, as Mr. Friendly/Tom -- seemingly the leader of the Others and as enigmatic as can be -- in the blockbuster ABC series Lost. ~ Nathan Southern
ACTING CREDITS
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Happy Town TV (6 episodes)-
Dallas Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
Jul 1, 2010 -
Blame It on Rio Bravo
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
Jul 1, 2010 -
This Is Why We Stay
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
Jun 9, 2010 -
Slight of Hand
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
May 19, 2010 -
I Came to Haplin for the Waters
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
May 5, 2010 -
In This Home on Ice
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
Apr 28, 2010
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Dallas Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
...Sheriff Griffin Conroy
HEADLINES
Haunted High Lands Danny Trejo and M.C. Gainey
August 18th, 2011The Syfy horror will tell a story of a demonic Headmaster set out to destroy a fictional private school in New England.