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M. Emmet Walsh is dead at the age of 88, his manager Sandy Joseph told IndieWire. The grizzled character actor appeared in Hollywood movies across 55 years and was one of the most recognizable “oh yeah, that guy!” performers in the industry. Even just by saying “grizzled character actor” you probably pictured him, even if you didn’t know his name.

Walsh had bit parts in “Midnight Cowboy,” “Little Big Man,” “Serpico,” “What’s Up, Doc?” and “The Gambler” at the start of his career. But it’s two films from the early 1980s that put him on the map and truly lodged him in the consciousness of cinephiles: “Blade Runner” and “Blood Simple.” In Ridley Scott’s film he played Capt. Bryant, who sends Harrison Ford’s Decker on his quest to terminate the escaped, murderous replicants. Or “retire” them, rather. That’s the kind of euphemism Walsh, in his rumpled way,...

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For a lot of actors, becoming a director is a long held ambition. The reason that this transition from in-front-of-the-camera talent to behind-the-scenes wrangler became the basis of the Entourage movie is because it’s become something of a Hollywood cliché.

Sometimes, this career switch can have brilliant results. But, seemingly more often, it goes really badly. Clint Eastwood is a prime example of both camps: Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River and Gran Torino are awesome, but they sit right next to J. Edgar, Jersey Boys and Changeling in his filmography.

Not all actors are lucky enough to get this many chances to prove themselves in the director’s chair. Some have their one big shot, totally blow it, and retreat quietly back to acting roles. Here are the worst of the worst, then, from great actors who tried their hand as directors…

10. Beyond The Sea...

Moviefone's New Release Pick of the Week "American Reunion" What's It About? The gang from "American Pie" get together for their 13-year high-school reunion (because why not)? Sexual misadventures occur. See It Because: Unlike other teen sex comedies (including some installments in the "Pie" series), "Reunion" has a sweetness to it that makes these characters actually likeable; the cast clearly had a lot of fun resuming their roles and their charm creates an infectious nostalgia trip. (Also Available on Amazon Instant Video) Watch an Exclusive Outtake Reel from "American Reunion" - Moviefone's Blu-ray Pick of the Week "Chariots of Fire" What's It About? Two young men from very different backgrounds compete as runners in the 1924 Paris Olympics, one motivated by God, the other hoping to overcome prejudices. See It Because: Watching "Chariots," the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 1981, is like completing sophomore year of "Film Buff University." Plus, you can finally...

Scorecard: Debuts by Actors as Directors Not everyone gets it right on the first try. by Chason Gordon With the upcoming release of Angelina Jolie’s In the Land of Blood and Honey, we decided to take a look at other actors and their directorial debuts. Did they overreach, or chafe their colleagues with hitherto-unrecognized talents? Let’s see. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind — George Clooney 7/10 In Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Clooney takes the story of Chuck Barris about as seriously as anyone could. Every scene is wonderfully over-the top, including the requisite moment when a table is cleared before sex. As Barris, Sam Rockwell adds an anxious charm that makes the character of a game show host/CIA hitman believable, if only for moments at a time. Albino Alligator — Kevin Spacey 3/10 Albino Alligator is an incredibly dry film about a hostage crisis, so much so that even [...]...

For many, mention the name Darwin and images of evolution are conjured. While Charles Darwin Herbert Spencer is the origin of the term “survival of the fittest,” which carries a coincidental resonance, he has nothing to do with director Nick Brandestini’s film Darwin, a film about a small, isolated town that sits at the end of a worn out road in the middle of Death Valley.

Population 35, no children, no true government of any form, Darwin is the decaying remnants of a town more than 150 years old. Once inhabited by miners, prostitutes and outlaws at varying staged of its turbulent past, Darwin now is the unlikely home for a handful of intriguing characters, all of them real, each of them with their own story. Together, the lives captured on film create one of the most compelling documentaries I’ve seen in years.

The residents of Darwin somehow find ways to coexist and survive,...

William Fichtner is one of those actors you’ve seen in a million movies and TV shows. That’s because over the past fifteen years, Fichtner has had memorable characters in The Dark Knight, Go, Prison Break, Contact, Armageddon, Heat, Invasion, Entourage, and that’s just scratching the surface. But no matter the role, Fichtner always brings a real authenticity to whatever character he’s portraying, and that’s why he continues to land so many parts.

Anyway, in director Patrick Lussier’s Drive Angry 3D, Fichtner is playing an all new character as he’s an agent from hell trying to bring back Nicolas Cage. Needless to say, Fichtner told us he jumped at the chance to play this part. Hit the jump for a lot more:

For those not familiar with Drive Angry, you should start by reading my set report. But the quick synopsis is the film...

With the Cormac McCarthy adaptation The Road coming out on DVD on Tuesday (I'm eager to give it another look) I thought we should focus on one of the best actors working: Viggo Mortensen also known as "Aragorn"

Viggo at twenty-two

Aragon's filmography is super odd. Or maybe not. In many professions if you do good work, your career very gradually swells but there's plenty of detours and error along the way as you feel your way up the ladder. I guess it just feels odd in the context of the movies. When we think of leading players in Hollywood don't we tend to think of them in terms of overnight sensations, has beens, or stars that have always been and will always be with us and seem to have arrived fully formed (Streep, Pacino. That type)?

Viggo fits none of those categories but he's very much a leading actor.

Kevin Spacey wants another crack at killing the Man of Steel.

Now if only Warner Brothers would bite. Recently, the star of The Usual Suspects and American Beauty stated that if he had his way, he’d be reprising the role of Lex Luthor for a Superman Returns follow-up.

"If I ran Warner Brothers I could tell you definitively we’d be making that movie," Spacey said. "But I don’t, and they haven’t called me to tell me."

The 2006 superhero adaptation was heavily-hyped, but not a big money-maker. For a while, Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue had expressed an interest in replacing director Bryan Singer, and subsequently rebooting the franchise.

But DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson recently said the company does not have "any current plans for Superman," and McTeigue has moved on, claiming executives are unsure what direction to take the franchise.

Unfortunately for fans of the character,...

"But what I really want to do is direct." We've heard those words spill from a thousand actors' lips, but while some make a seamless transition from standing before to sitting behind the camera (Mel Gibson, Peter Berg, George Clooney), others don't fare so well (maybe you saw Albino Alligator). Natalie Portman is hoping to get more on the acclaimed side with people like Eastwood, Costner and Sean Penn. She'll make her directing debut on an adaptation of Israeli author Amos Oz's...

20th Century Fox has picked up an untitled adventure project from screenwriter Christian Forte that Mikkel Bondesen will produce. The story is described as a lighthearted caper about a group of men in prison who use their incarceration as the perfect alibi when they conspire to steal a stash of diamonds. Robby Brenner is the studio executive on the project. Forte's credits include writing Albino Alligator for Miramax. Alligator was directed by Kevin Spacey and starred Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise and Viggo Mortensen. Forte is repped by Endeavor, manager Bondesen and attorney Carlos Goodman.

Bondesen Graup co-topper Mikkel Bondesen has exited the partnership to launch his own management and production outfit, Fuse Entertainment. Joining him at the new West Hollywood-based company is former Bondesen Graup manager Alex Goldstone and clients including The O.C creator Josh Schwartz, Matt Nix (Being Alexander), Jamie Vanderbilt (Basic), Ron Anderson (Wheels of Fury), Karen Janszen (A Walk to Remember), Christian Forte (Albino Alligator), Rich D'Ovidio (Exit Wounds), Rob Lieber (Slay the Bully), Ian Deitchman and Kristin Rusk-Robinson (Life as We Know It) and writer Heather Hach (Freaky Friday).