Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

M. Emmet Walsh

  • Actor
  • Stunts
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00092
M. Emmet Walsh
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:03
Change in the Air (2018)
46 Videos
46 Photos
Wonderfully talented, heavyset character actor (from New York, but regularly playing Southerners) M. Emmet Walsh has made a solid career of playing corrupt cops, deadly crooks, and zany comedic roles since the early 1970s.

Michael Emmet Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, to Agnes Katharine (Sullivan) and Harry Maurice Walsh, a customs agent. He is of Irish descent. Walsh first appeared in a few fairly forgettable roles both on TV and onscreen before cropping up in several well remembered films, including a courtroom police officer in What's Up, Doc? (1972), as the weird Dickie Dunn in Slap Shot (1977), and as a loony sniper hunting Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979). On-screen demand heated up for him in the early 1980s with attention-grabbing work in key hits, including Brubaker (1980), Reds (1981), and as Harrison Ford's police chief in the futuristic thriller Blade Runner (1982). Walsh then turned in a stellar performance as the sleazy, double-crossing private detective in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen film noir Blood Simple (1984), and showed up again for the Coens as a loud-mouthed sheet-metal worker bugging Nicolas Cage in the hilarious Raising Arizona (1987). As Walsh moved into his fifties and beyond, Hollywood continued to offer him plenty of work, and he has appeared in over 50 movies since passing the half-century mark. His consistent ability to turn out highly entertaining portrayals led film critic Roger Ebert to coin the "Stanton-Walsh Rule," which states that any film starring Walsh or Harry Dean Stanton has to have some merit. And the "M" stands for Michael!
BornMarch 22, 1935
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMarch 22, 1935
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00092
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos46

Dustin Hoffman and M. Emmet Walsh in Straight Time (1978)
M. Emmet Walsh in Straight Time (1978)
Dustin Hoffman and M. Emmet Walsh in Straight Time (1978)
James Caan and M. Emmet Walsh in The Gambler (1974)
M. Emmet Walsh, Daniel Craig, Noah Segan, and LaKeith Stanfield in Knives Out (2019)
M. Emmet Walsh in Blade Runner (1982)
M. Emmet Walsh in Blade Runner (1982)
M. Emmet Walsh in The Guardian (2001)
M. Emmet Walsh in Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories (2013)
M. Emmet Walsh in Tales from the Crypt (1989)
M. Emmet Walsh in Blood Simple (1984)
Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh in Blood Simple (1984)

Known for

Blood Simple (1984)
Blood Simple
7.6
  • Private Detective Loren Visser
  • 1984
Harrison Ford and Sean Young in Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner
8.1
  • Bryant
  • 1982
The Jerk (1979)
The Jerk
7.1
  • Madman
  • 1979
Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
My Best Friend's Wedding
6.3
  • Joe O'Neal
  • 1997

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • A Little White Lie
    • Completed
  • Outlaw Posse
    • Post-production
  • Dotty & Soul (2022)
    Dotty & Soul
  • Jon Bernthal in American Gigolo (2022)
    American Gigolo
  • Kate Bosworth and Emile Hirsch in The Immaculate Room (2022)
    The Immaculate Room
  • John Goodman in The Righteous Gemstones (2019)
    The Righteous Gemstones
  • The Mimic (2020)
    The Mimic
  • Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Ana de Armas, LaKeith Stanfield, Jaeden Martell, and Katherine Langford in Knives Out (2019)
    Knives Out
  • South of Bix (2019)
    South of Bix
  • Giovanni Ribisi in Sneaky Pete (2015)
    Sneaky Pete
  • Rene Auberjonois and Amanda Melby in Raising Buchanan (2019)
    Raising Buchanan
  • Edward Asner, Corbin Bernsen, Robert Krantz, Natasha Bure, and Peta Murgatroyd in Faith, Hope & Love (2019)
    Faith, Hope & Love
  • Sorry, Not Sorry (2019)
    Sorry, Not Sorry
  • Toto (2018)
    Toto
  • Olympia Dukakis, Aidan Quinn, Mary Beth Hurt, Macy Gray, and Rachel Brosnahan in Change in the Air (2018)
    Change in the Air
  • Shifting Gears (2018)
    Shifting Gears
  • Captain America: Civil War Reenactors (2016)
    Captain America: Civil War Reenactors

Stunts

  • The Kite Runner (2007)
    The Kite Runner
    • (as E. Emmet Walsh)

Soundtrack

  • Michael Rapaport, Eric McCormack, and John DiMaggio in Pound Puppies (2010)
    Pound Puppies

Videos46

"Masturbation" from Youth in Revolt
Clip 0:21
"Masturbation" from Youth in Revolt
"Erection" from Youth in Revolt
Clip 0:21
"Erection" from Youth in Revolt
"Synopsis" from Youth in Revolt
Clip 0:21
"Synopsis" from Youth in Revolt
"Twisp" from Youth in Revolt
Clip 0:21
"Twisp" from Youth in Revolt
"Puppy Love" from Youth in Revolt
Clip 0:34
"Puppy Love" from Youth in Revolt
"Supplementary Persona" from Youth in Revolt
Clip 0:34
"Supplementary Persona" from Youth in Revolt
Calvary
Clip 0:55
Calvary
Calvary
Clip 1:27
Calvary
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Clip 0:38
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Clip 1:20
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Clip 1:20
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Clip 1:16
The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Personal details

Edit
    • March 22, 1935
    • Ogdensburg, New York, USA
  • Other works
    In his London stage debut, portrayed "Dodge" in "Buried Child" at the National Theatre Lyttelton, London, England, UK. Written by Sam Shepard, directed by Matthew Warchus.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Article
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Critic Roger Ebert so admired him that he created the "Stanton-Walsh Rule," which states that "no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad." Ebert later admitted this rule was broken by Wild Wild West (1999), in which Walsh appeared.
  • Quotes
    I'm being paid for what I'd do for nothing.
    • Hang-dog face

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.