I Love Supporting Actors: Lee Garlington

You know, this gal:
Notable Roles:

Beulah Gasnick - "Field of Dreams"

Dr. Elena Rhyzkov - "Sneakers"

Alana Waterman - "The West Wing"

Carlene - "FlashForward"



Why She's Awesome:



She will never, ever play a weak woman. The woman she plays might be deluded or even easily deceived, but she's never ditzy and always together. When you look at her, you may or may not remember exactly what movie you know her from, but you do recognize her. She's been playing small roles since the early '80s, and she's always working.

My favorite of her roles was in "Sneakers," which is coincidentally one of my favorite movies. She catches Robert Redford her mathmetician lover's office. To escape, Redford's Marty concocts a ridiculous story about her lover being married and him being a P.I. She rides the emotional roller coaster, nailing every beat along the way: outraged, confused, betrayed, and ultimately resolved. Like I said, you don't always remember her, but you always remember the performance.

Nowadays, she just sort of shows up in roles that require ball-busting. Whether it's a tough lawyer or a take-no-shit super spy, she's always a woman you don't want to mess with.


You'd Be Surprised to Learn:

In the "Seinfeld" pilot, Garlington was the female lead. She played a waitress at the cafe who always got into Jerry and George's shit. The dynamic didn't work, and they changed the character to Jerry's ex-girlfriend.

Check out her imdb page.