I'm Not an Actor, But I Play One on TV Quiz

Answer: Michael Ironside

Born in Toronto, Canada, Ironside has had numerous roles in both television and film; often cast as a tough or villainous character.

Other film roles include General Katana in "Highlander 2: The Quickening", Richter in "Total Recall", and Lt. Jean Rasczak in "Starship Troopers".

Ironside's numerous TV appearances include "The A-Team", "Hill Street Blues", "ER", "Desperate Housewives", and "Walker, Texas Ranger".

Prior to going into show business, Ironside worked in roofing. Between the construction work and football, he so damaged his knees that he had both replaced. Additionally, he always turned down roles in which the character was in a wheelchair because his last name is the same as Raymond Burr's famous portrayal of "Ironside".

Thanks to player mask100 for the information about Ironside's role in "Command & Conquer 3".

Answer: Jeff Corey

Born in 1914 in Brooklyn, New York, Corey lived a fascinating life. Hooked on show business in high school, he got a scholarship to the Feagin School of Dramatic Arts - one of the top performing arts school in New York at the time.

After school, Corey spent his time on stage until his first film in 1939, "One Third of a Nation".

In 1943, during World War II, Corey joined the United States Navy Photographic Service and was assigned to the Yorktown. One of three citations he received was for a photo series of a kamikaze attack on his ship, the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

Corey resumed his acting career after the war, until 1951, when he was called to appear before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Refusing to name anyone else, Corey was blacklisted.

Not allowed to act, Corey wound up starting a speech and acting class in his garage. The business grew until it was housed in a small theater and Corey had become one of the top acting coaches of his day. His students were a veritable who's who of Hollywood and included James Dean, Penny Marshall, Leonard Nimoy, Anthony Perkins, Robin Williams, and Jack Nicholson, among many others.

After the blacklisting was lifted around 1960, Corey returned to his acting career, and continued teaching as well.

Answer: John Saxon

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Carmine Orrico was discovered at the young age of 16 by Henry Willson, the same talent agent that represented Rock Hudson. Willson moved Orrico to California and changed his name to John Saxon.

Son of Italian immigrants, Saxon is fluent in Italian and spent time sporadically working in Italy. Early in his career, Saxon worked with some of *the* names in film directors - Otto Preminger, Blake Edwards, and Vincente Minnelli. Despite this, he hasn't managed to break out of 'that guy' status.

Answer: Simon Oakland

Born in 1915, Oakland's first career was as a concert violinist. It wasn't until the 1940s that he turned to acting and had a long string of roles in Broadway hits such as "Inherit the Wind".

1958 marked Oakland's film debut, in the movie "I Want to Live!". Other films he appeared in include "Psycho", "The Sand Pebbles", and "West Side Story".

Throughout the 1970s and early '80s, Oakland was a familiar face popping up in dozens of TV shows: "Young Doctor Kildare", "Medical Center", "Ironside", "S.W.A.T.", "Kojak", and "Charlie's Angels" to name a few.

Throughout his film and television career, Oakland continued to perform on stage, and maintained homes in both New York and California so he could pursue both his passions.

Answer: George Tobias

Born in 1901, Tobias began acting at the young age of 15. Snatched up by Warner Brothers, Tobias stuck to films from the 1930s until the mid '50s, when he landed an uncredited role in "Our Miss Brooks" (1954-1955). From then until his retirement in 1977, Tobias had mostly television roles with the odd film thrown in.

His appearances on TV included "Make Room for Daddy", "77 Sunset Strip", "The Untouchables", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", and of course "Bewitched".

Tobias died of cancer in 1980. In a bizarre note, the hearse carrying Tobias's body was in a fender bender, and while the drivers were distracted by the accident, the hearse was stolen. Thankfully both the car and body were found shortly thereafter.

Answer: Michael Lerner

Another Brooklyn-born actor, Lerner was born in 1941 and is of Romanian descent. He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London, England.

While he started acting in the 1960s, his first film appearance was in 1970's "Alex in Wonderland". Thus began decades of supporting roles in movies and guest appearances in television shows.

In addition to "Barton Fink", Lerner also appeared in "Elf", "Godzilla" (1998), and "X-Men: Days of Future Past".

Television appearances include "M*A*S*H", "The Good Wife", "Saving Grace", and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit".

Answer: Billy Drago

Born in a rural part of Kansas, Drago developed a love of horror films as a child, when his parents would let him visit a derelict old theater that still played the classic horror movies. Wanting to act, but having stayed in the small town he grew up in, Drago wound up as a DJ of a syndicated radio show. It just so happened that one of the sponsors of his show was a theater company. On a lark, Drago asked if he could audition for them, and they agreed. The day after his audition, they invited Drago to join their company on a 6 month tour in Canada.

Drago did the tour, then made his way to New York and did more stage work, until heading to Los Angeles and beginning a career in film.

In addition to his film/tv career, Drago also appeared in two music videos: Michael Jackson's "You Rock My World", and Mike + the Mechanics' "Silent Running".

Answer: Danny Trejo

Trejo never pursued a career in acting, it was actually his checkered past that wound up providing the opportunity. A drug addict and armed robber, Trejo was in and out of multiple prisons for 11 years. It was while he was doing time in San Quentin that he got into, and excelled at, boxing; and also entered a 12-step rehab program that he says cured him of his addiction and changed his life.

After his release he worked as a youth drug counselor, and in that capacity was asked to help a teen working on the set of "Runaway Train" (1985). Coincidentally, the screenplay writer for the film had served time with Trejo in San Quentin, which led to Trejo being offered a small part as a boxer in the movie.

From there Trejo went on to appear in multiple films a year, titles include "Anaconda", "Con Air", and Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects".

My favorite Trejo quote is his response to directors asking him if he can act like a convict. The Soledad, Vacaville, Folsom, San Quentin, etc, alum replies "I'll give it a shot."

Answer: Jonathan Banks

Washington, D.C. native Banks was always interested in the entertainment field, so when the opportunity to tour Australia as stage manager with a production of "Hair" came along, he took it.

Returning to the states in 1974 to pursue an acting career, Banks started out on stage and then began getting bit parts in TV shows. Banks was nominated for four Emmy Awards for his Mike Ehrmantraut character.

Film credits include "Gremlins", "Airplane!", and "Flipper".

Banks also voiced the part of Commissioner James Gordon on the video game "Batman: Arkham Knight".

Answer: Vincent Schiavelli

Brooklyn born, Schiavelli was of Sicilian ancestry and spoke fluent Sicilian. Nicknamed 'the man with sad eyes', at a towering 6'4" and with his 'droopy' eyes, he had a very distinctive look caused by a genetic disorder - Marfan Syndrome.

Named by Vanity Fair in 1997 as one of the best character actors in America, Schiavelli's TV credits include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Eerie, Indiana", and "Tales from the Crypt".

Other passions included food, and Schiavelli wrote three cookbooks and numerous articles for food magazines and journals, earning him a James Beard Foundation Journalism Award in 2001.