Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Rubenstein.So, I was watching half of a Law & Order episode that's part of one of the ubiquitous Labor Day marathons, the episode about a shooting of a City Councilman that ends up hinging on a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant. Fred Thompson's making the conservative case for government surveillance, Sam Waterston's figuring out something clever he can do to win a case while also revealing an injustice. And suddenly, Lance Reddick's standing in Waterston's office, mysteriously producing the murder weapon and acting enigmatic when he's subpoenaed in court. It was a weird reminder of Reddick's ubiquitousness.
There are two kinds of Hollywood ubiquitous. There are people so big they're cast in all sorts of things. And there are people who pop up everywhere because they turn out to be very good at inhabiting a very specific sort of role for which there is limited but steady demand. In Reddick's case, while he's had long-term, nuanced roles on both Oz and The Wire, his ubiquity seems to stem from his ability to project a certain kind of menace, a sense of authority that stems from an unknown source. It's a sort of weird niche to accept, but I suppose if you're going to get pigeonholed, there are worse pigeon holes to occupy.