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The term “stock company” generally refers to a group of actors who’ve appeared almost regularly in a particular filmmaker’s movies, sometimes spanning a decade or more.<\/p>\nThe term “stock company” generally refers to a group of actors who’ve appeared almost regularly in a particular filmmaker’s movies, sometimes spanning a decade or more.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the best known example in classic films are the many unique faces – William Demarest, Eddie Bracken – who co-starred or sometimes starred in the works of that creative meteorite, writer-director-producer Preston Sturges (Christmas in July<\/strong>, The\u00a0Miracle of Morgan Creek<\/strong>, Unfaithfully Yours<\/strong>).<\/p>\n 1980s action maestros Richard Donner and producer Joel Silver would cast actress\u00a0Mary Ellen Trainor in small parts in Goonies<\/strong>, Lethal Weapon<\/strong>, Die Hard<\/strong>, Scrooged<\/strong> – movies either involving both filmmakers, or Donner exclusively – whereas steady, prolific studio man Alfred Hitchcock might occasionally stick with a star for a few pictures (Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman) or work a second time with the odd character actor, but over 50 films, he never established his own repertory company.<\/p>\n Whether it was to work with a pal or as a good luck charm, Trainor’s recurrence in small roles wasn’t that different from Dick Miller, a prolific character actor who began as part of Roger Corman’s team of actors, and later popped up in almost ever Joe Dante film – Dante being a graduate of the Corman school, and a filmmaker who similarly (and rather quickly) developed his own stock company of actors, including Miller, Robert Picardo, Wendy Schaal, and more. (The ‘Burbs<\/strong> is especially company-packed.)<\/p>\n