Oliver Platt is a physically imposing, and yet rarely threatening, Canadian born character actor who's been knocking around for over twenty years, adding his very dry comic bluster to numerous movies and television shows. He's hung out with a lot of big names over the years and somehow never managed to get his name first up on the marquee but he invariably leaves a strong impression on whatever the piece is he is doing.

FLATLINERS (1990) was an intriguing thriller which is probably more famous for the pairing of Keifer Sutherland and the fresh faced Julia Roberts than for anything else. The cast of young stars invariably went on to bigger and better things (except perhaps Billy Baldwin whose career evaporated): Sutherland now eponymous with Fox Television and "24", Julia Roberts became the highest paid actress in Hollywood and Kevin Bacon has continued to get involved with a wide range of projects. Oliver played the character with the conscience and as such his part was less showy, limiting him to a solid backup role. However, he took that and rolled with it, following it up with some memorable supporting parts in movies like POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, BENNY AND JOON, INDECENT PROPOSAL and playing for big laughs in BEETHOVEN, where he played one of the two dognappers with his close friend Stanley Tucci.

After that the young bucks got another chance to shine in a remake of the 3 Musketeers, where Keifer Sutherland got to play the moody Athos, Charlie Sheen, riding a crest of popularity, played Aramis and Chris O'Donnell as the movies' D'Artagnan. So, to play the barrel chested Porthos they had to have Oliver to provide a solid assist to the headliners.

And so it would go on, always popping in and out of movies, adding his heft to many memorable supporting roles, never over-staying his welcome but simply doing the comedic heavy lifting and then moving on.

His undoubted physical presence has lead ot him being cast as lawyers and judges frequently in television over the years, where he's played it straight down the middle in the short lived QUEEN'S SUPREME or been allowed to really stretch his dramatic and comedic muscles as he did in HUFF as the certifiably loopy Russell Tupper.

While he's ostensibly recognised for his comedy talents, he is a gifted dramatic actor, able to switch between the two at will giving him a broader range than many of his peers. In FUNNY BONES he gets a rare leading role as he plays a bitter comic, trying to follow in his famous father's footsteps, who bombs horribly in his big Las Vegas show so he heads off to England to hide and then to learn what funny is. Along the way Oliver gets to show off his dramtic chops and a wide array of comedic disciplines, from one-liners to physical and slapstick, the movie runs the gamut.

He almost steals the show in LAKE PLACID, an underrated comedy thriller about a giant crocodile tormenting the residents of a small town. The movie is packed with terrific character players, from Brendan Gleeson to Betty White but it's Oliver as the madcap extreme hunter who blasts in and takes control. His banter with Gleeson's character is first rate and is the highlight of the movie.

He has continued to do a wide range of parts and will no doubt keep cropping up in many good movies, allowing the headliners to shine as he sets them up and let them have the show while he just does his bit and disappears to come back and fight another day.