M. Emmet Walsh

Michael Emmet Walsh (born March 22, 1935 in Ogdensburg, New York) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions. One of his most acclaimed roles was as the double crossing private detective in Blood Simple (1984) for which he won the 1986 Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

Filmography (partial)

 * Straight Time (1978)
 * The Jerk (1979)
 * Blade Runner (1982)
 * Blood Simple (1984)
 * Fletch (1985)
 * Back to School (1986)
 * Wildcats (1986)
 * The Mighty Quinn (1989)
 * Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
 * Romeo + Juliet (1996)
 * A Time to Kill (1996)
 * Christmas With The Cranks (2004)
 * Sherman's Way (2006) (Not yet released)
 * Your Name Here (2007) (Not yet released)

Selected quotes

 * "Max, I think you've got a serious attitude problem." - As parole officer Earl Frank in Straight Time.
 * "I need ya, Deck. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the old blade runner, I need your magic." - As Detective Bryant in Blade Runner.

Trivia

 * Walsh made occasional guest appearances on the American TV show Home Improvement as Tim Allen's father-in-law. In Christmas with the Kranks, he plays one of Allen's neighbors.
 * Stanton-Walsh Rule: according to Roger Ebert "no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad". Ebert later conceded that this rule was broken by 1999's Wild Wild West.