Biography

Wonderfully talented, heavyset character actor (from New York, but regularly playing Southerners) M. Emmet Walsh has made a solid career of playing corrupt cops, deadly crooks, and zany comedic roles since the early 1970s.

Michael Emmet Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, to Agnes Katharine (Sullivan) and Harry Maurice Walsh, a customs agent. He is of Irish descent. Walsh first appeared in a few fairly forgettable roles both on TV and onscreen before cropping up in several well remembered films, including a courtroom police officer in What's Up, Doc? (1972), as the weird Dickie Dunn in Slap Shot (1977), and as a loony sniper hunting Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979). On-screen demand heated up for him in the early 1980s with attention-grabbing work in key hits, including Brubaker (1980), Reds (1981), and as Harrison Ford's police chief in the futuristic thriller Blade Runner (1982). Walsh then turned in a stellar performance as the sleazy, double-crossing private detective in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen film noir Blood Simple (1984), and showed up again for the Coens as a loud-mouthed sheet-metal worker bugging Nicolas Cage in the hilarious Raising Arizona (1987). As Walsh moved into his fifties and beyond, Hollywood continued to offer him plenty of work, and he has appeared in over 50 movies since passing the half-century mark. His consistent ability to turn out highly entertaining portrayals led film critic Roger Ebert to coin the "Stanton-Walsh Rule," which states that any film starring Walsh or Harry Dean Stanton has to have some merit. And the "M" stands for Michael!

- IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44

Hang-dog face

Loud, loquacious characters

Attended Tilton School in Tilton, N.H.

Graduated from the Clarkson University School of Business.

Keeps a home in rural West Swanton, Vermont.

In Christmas with the Kranks (2004), he plays a neighbor of Tim Allen. He played Allen's father-in-law on Home Improvement (1991).

National Theatre, London, making his UK stage debut in a major revival of "Buried Child" by Sam Shepard. [September 2004]

The 'M' in his name stands for Michael.

As of 2015, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Bound for Glory (1976), Ordinary People (1980) and Reds (1981). Of those, Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Ordinary People (1980) are winners in the category.

Alumnus of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1961.

I'm being paid for what I'd do for nothing.

I don't have an ego when I get the work. If I'm playing a doctor I want you to see a doctor. I don't want you to see an Emmet Walsh doctor and that's I think been the confusion with my career. People know my work, but they don't know who I am. I've always had fun hiding in the character.