Tom Berenger

Goodbar (1977) to the cavalier heroics of Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979). After such relatively sympathetic assignments as The Big Chill in 1983, Berenger followed in the role of the sociopathic, battle-scarred Sergeant Barnes in Platoon (1986), a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination. This did not, however, stop the versatile actor from trying future good-guy roles like the irresponsible baseball player in Major League (1988). Berenger continued to successfully fluctuate between heroes and villains into the '90s, with a few side trips into television, notably in an amusing, unheralded guest stint in the waning days of the sitcom Cheers. In 1998, he gave a particularly good portrayal of a villainous low life in Robert Altman's adaptation of John Grisham's The Gingerbread Man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide