Gerard Plunkett

Veteran Irish actor Gerard Plunkett has enjoyed a long and varied career as an actor, but he actually got his start as a skilled comedian in his native country. Making a name for himself in Irish Cabaret, Plunkett worked as an impressionist and stand-up comedian. That comedic prowess led to work as an improv player and, eventually, stage acting, but Plunkett has left his most enduring mark as a character actor in both television and film. With his everyman looks and versatile skills, he got his start with one-off roles in a variety of forgettable or simply forgotten TV series. He (rather unusually) landed a voice acting part as Yotsuya in the animated Japanese show "Mezon Ikkoku," and that facet of his skills became a go-to quality during the '90s, as he lent his voice to a number of animated projects. In 1995 alone he racked up 12 voice acting credits in projects including versions of "Black Beauty," "Snow White," "Jungle Book," and "The Nutcracker." Meanwhile, he also managed to find a few live-action roles here and there, and in the 2000s, moved almost exclusively to those roles. Notable roles in the decade include a three-episode stint on the J.J. Abrams-produced sci-fi fantasy show, "Fringe," and side roles in films like the intentionally stupid action-comedy "Snakes on a Plane" and the Zack Snyder-directed fantasy "Sucker Punch."