Tonight’s episode featured Clancy Brown as an intelligence agent of some kind, named Joe Inman. I first noticed Clancy in his role as the Kurgan in the movie Highlander. Since then, I’ve been vaguely aware that he’s been an unusually prolific actor, but little else about him.
Turns out Clancy’s a very interesting guy. Besides Highlander, he’s played more than a hundred roles in all kinds of movies and TV, one notable recent role being Brother Justin Crowe in Carnivàle. There are lots of other roles, some major, some minor, but too many to mention here. In any event, when you see Clancy on the screen, you know you’re in for a good performance. His acting career is given an added dimension by the story of his life outside of show biz.
Like me, he’s a graduate of Northwestern University, where he studied in the school’s prestigious theater program. His father and grandfather served in the U.S. Congress representing Ohio, both members of the Republican party. The family also owns a newspaper chain, Brown Publishing, and Clancy is currently chairman of the board.
Even though he comes from a background of privilege, this is a guy who never just rests on the accomplishments of his past or his family’s past. He’s always working, whether on a new role, on the family business, or for a worthy cause. Although he’s been around a while, I doubt we’ve seen the best he has to offer. I’m going to keep my eyes peeled.