Underappreciated Actors: Harvey Atkin
Filed Under (Movies) by admin on 20-04-2009
Tagged Under : Cagney and Lacey, Harvey Atkin, Underappreciated Actors
Much like some of the great character actors of the last several decades, Harvey Atkin was never in danger of stealing the role of Maverick from Tom Cruise, or Rambo from Sylvester Stallone. Atkin was molded to play the cop-behind-a-desk, the judge, the university professor…basically any number of roles that didn’t call for physical imposition.
A little on the soft side, Atkin just looks like a quietly intelligent, probably a bit insecure, all-around nice guy. And these are the qualities he has brought to most of his performances either on the small or big screen.
Most notably, Harvey Atkin worked his way up, over the course of several seasons, from a guy whose name appeared in the small credits, once the show returned from the first set of commercials, to one of the primary cast members and “before the commercials” billing in the 1980s classic cop series Cagney and Lacey. A critical success like few other shows before or since, it featured a talented ensemble cast of which Atkin (Desk Sergeant Ronald Coleman) was a colorful and notable contrast to the largely burst-through-the-door squad that audiences got to know every week.
In addition to this defining role, Atkin has also appeared on several other noted series, including Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU and Law and Order: Criminal Intent with a recurring role as a judge as well as Night Heat. He also did voice work in the cult classic animated feature Heavy Metal.
One of Canada’s most prolific character actors, he also broke onto the scene in the 1970s with fellow Canadian Cagney and Lacey star Al Waxman, in the popular series King of Kensington.
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