@avclub-955d864a62659945cc9434898e275deb:disqus  Waterston is wonderful in it.  And he lost to Salieri from Amadeus for Best Actor.  I'm still pissed about it.  Even though I wasn't actually alive when it happened.

Begging the question = assuming the answer to the question in the question.

Every time I see anything about Christian Bale, I feel the need to point out that his stepmother is Gloria Steinem.  Not sure what to make of that, but it's an awesome fun fact.

Agreed.  I'd bet Bale knew he'd never get in the front door.  "Why can I not visit this free man?" sounds scripted.  Also he brought a CNN crew with him—he clearly was trying to make a point.  I think he made it well and he should be commended for it.

I loved the fake Britishisms.  And his fear of the London Olympics:

The moving forest is actually from Macbeth.

I actually saw this in New York over the summer.  It's hilarious.  I can't stand The Silence of the Lambs and they skewered it beautifully.  Even my friend who loves the movie thought Silence! was great.

I was about to suggest him for this list—he's got ethics violations up the wazoo.

Dream come true.  I loved it the first time around but am too cheap to buy the DVD.  Really excited to rewatch it.  David Morrissey, who as far as I can tell is criminally underrated, is fantastic in it.  And it's Bill Nighy playing his Nighyest character ever.

He's just delightful in House of Cards.  You can really tell how much he's enjoying himself.

I love you.  This metaphor is flawless.

I think that line is actually in the Guinness miniseries—does Oldman use it in the movie?

Patrick Stewart is mesmerizing as Karla.  The final confrontation between him and Guinness in Smiley's People, without him uttering a single word…flawless.

Not for long, I think.  This role will definitely land him at least a nomination.

Also Robert Todd Lincoln was closely connected to three of the four successful assassinations of American presidents: He was at his father's bedside, he was with Garfield when Garfield was shot, and he arrived in Buffalo minutes after McKinley was shot.  Poor man thought he was cursed.

Johnny Booth was a handsome devil,
Got up in his rings and fancy silks.
Had him a temper but kept it level.
Everybody called him Wilkes.

Have any of you seen Law & Order UK?  I caught the first few seasons on BBC America.  It's very well-acted but hilariously unsubtle and self-righteous.  So dumbed-down from the original, which was surprising to me.  I sort of assumed British audiences were smarter than we are.

My friend's dad is a reasonably well-known New York character actor who's been in about six episodes of Law & Order.  I always call her if I see her dad.  Some of the episodes were made before she was born—it's like a time capsule.

@avclub-3be42d8a3412057f79af152555e39bd4:disqus It was "Dutch Ambassador Played by Rob Lowe in Glasses," I think.  Definitely Rob Lowe and definitely a mention of glasses somewhere.  So funny.

I caught one of the Moriarty reruns on TV last weekend—season one, I think.  It's really sad what happened to him.  I think he must have been a crazy alcoholic or something—his mind is seriously addled.