Scott Grimes

In Band of Brothers (2001), Scott Grimes keeps Donald G. Malarkey recognisable even when another man has the scene. Alongside Michael Cudlitz and Rick Gomez, he helps prevent the men of Easy Company from becoming interchangeable. We were moved by the company partly because Grimes gives us a man to recognise and care about among the others. Damian Lewis anchors the series, but its patient attention to the company depends on supporting work of this kind.

The early parts include Critters (1986) and Will McCorkle in Party of Five (1994–2000), before longer television employment gave Grimes room to develop a character over time. As Dr. Archie Morris in ER, between 2003 and 2009, he progressed from recurring comic relief to a central figure. That gave his humour somewhere to go beyond supplying a break from the serious business. We value that possibility in a supporting actor: the apparently minor character who becomes worth following for more than the next joke.

For Band of Brothers, Grimes checked each script with the real Donald Malarkey, asking about details as small as whether he smoked. That care fits the performance we see, in which being distinguishable from the other men matters more than making a bid for attention. We would not credit Grimes alone for an ensemble built so patiently, and the series sometimes overstates its action and music. His contribution is one reason those excesses do not define it.

His voice work as Steve Smith and recurring collaborations with Seth MacFarlane make comedy a substantial part of his work. As Gordon Malloy in MacFarlane’s The Orville (2017–2022), he brings comic timing and warmth to another ensemble. Those are useful qualities, though we would be wary of asking him only to provide relief from whatever matters to the other characters. Start with Band of Brothers, and pay attention when the scene belongs to somebody else.