"I'm just thinking of changing my name to Earl and Harlan. I think I've played a half a dozen of each one."
"With a face like this, there aren't a lot of lawyers or priest roles coming my way. I've got a face that was meant for a mug shot and that's what I've been doing for the past thirty years. If I play a cop, it's always a racist cop, or a trigger-happy cop or a crooked cop - but by and large I play cowboys, bikers, and convicts."
Michael Connor "Mike" Gainey (born January 18, 1948 in Jackson, Mississippi), better known as M. C. Gainey, is an American film and television actor. He is also a professional 'That Guy', who often gets cast as villains, criminals and evil hillbilly types due to his height (6'2) and his badass facial hair. Chances are, you've seen him in a hundred things without realizing it. Gainey is possibly best known for his roles as Swamp Thing in Con Air, Murdock in Wild Hogs, Tom Friendly in Lost and Bo Crowder in Justified. He appeared as retired cop Ryan Rodgers in the fifth and sixth seasons of Bosch.
Tropes:
- Affably Evil: An expert at such characters. He plays a lot of villains but he always infuses them with boat loads of charisma, genuine charm and friendliness and a dry wit that makes them damn near impossible not to like.
- Deadpan Snarker: His characters usually get many of the best lines. Being evil doesn't mean one can't be witty, after all.
- Evil Is Bigger: He's 6'2 with a heavy build and he's an expert at playing bad guys.
- Face of a Thug: If the page quote is any indication.
- Hidden Depths: He's a classically trained Shakespearean actor. Similarly, many of his characters are often shown to be a lot smarter than they appear at first glance.
- Genius Bruiser: His characters are rough and know how to handle themselves but that doesn't make them stupid.
- Male Frontal Nudity: In Sideways.
- Smarter Than You Look: He's an expert at playing characters who look like barely literate thugs but reveal that they are much more intelligent and capable than they appear, most notably Swamp Thing and Tom Friendly.
- Southern-Fried Genius: His characters are almost always from the south, same as he is, and have the accent and personality to match but also regularly show themselves to be a lot smarter and more cunning than they seem.
- Typecasting: Almost always plays rough and intimidating bad guys.
