Maury Chaykin made eccentric characters feel like people rather than interruptions. We rate him for the care beneath the oddness: precise gestures, deft speech and a self-mocking humour that kept darker characters from becoming stock figures.
Fi1m perspective
Chaykin's eccentric characters drew attention, but he was also worth watching for a small gesture or the careful handling of a phrase. Major Fambrough in Dances with Wolves (1990) is a useful starting point: a supporting part made to feel like a person with more to him than the scene requires. The role also helped establish him in American films. Kevin Costner's patient Western gives its supporting cast time to become good company. We recommend it for those actors, while wishing the narration would stop explaining what they have already made clear.
Atom Egoyan became a recurring collaborator during the 1990s, casting him as Bubba in The Adjuster (1991) and Wendell Walker in The Sweet Hereafter (1997). We were moved by the latter's bereaved town, especially the silences that Ian Holm and Sarah Polley make so painful. The fragmented storytelling occasionally draws too much attention to how carefully everything has been arranged. Egoyan's patience makes the effort worthwhile, and the film is a useful reminder that there is more to Chaykin's work than his conspicuously eccentric characters.
He had room to lead as Desmond Howl in Whale Music (1994), then as Nero Wolfe in A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–2002). The latter makes particular use of his precise gestures and verbal dexterity, skills easily overlooked when an actor is remembered chiefly for being unusual. His humour could be self-mocking, which helped the darker characters avoid becoming a collection of familiar mannerisms. Those leading roles are worth keeping in mind when his supporting appearances threaten to become the whole account of his work.
Small roles make it tempting to praise only the actor who attracts the most attention. With Chaykin, we would look closely at the small choices that made the oddness convincing. Begin with Dances with Wolves for the supporting cast; save The Sweet Hereafter for an evening when there is no need to hurry.
Biography
Maury Chaykin was an American-Canadian actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on 27 July 1949, he studied at the University at Buffalo and moved to Toronto in 1974. He appeared in more than 150 film and television roles in Canada and the United States over a career spanning 1968 to 2010.
He is known for his performances as Major Fambrough in Dances with Wolves (1990) and Wendell Walker in The Sweet Hereafter (1997). Other notable film roles include those in WarGames (1983), Twins (1988), My Cousin Vinny (1992), The Mask of Zorro (1998) and Entrapment (1999). On television he starred as Nero Wolfe in A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–2002) and appeared in series including Stargate SG-1 and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Chaykin won a Genie Award for best actor for Whale Music (1994) and received two Gemini Awards. He died in Toronto on 27 July 2010.
