M. Emmet Walsh, Character Actor Who Always Stood Out, Dies at 88

His roles in films like “Knives Out” and “Blade Runner” were sometimes big, sometimes small. But he invariably made a strong impression.

www.nytimes.com

The unknown Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the pivotal character of a detective in “Blood Simple” for Mr. Walsh. To their surprise, and despite offering little more in compensation than a per diem stipend, he accepted the role.

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On the set, he took pleasure in hazing the neophyte directors. “Let’s cut this sophomoric stuff, it’s not N.Y.U. anymore,” Joel Coen recalled him saying, according to a Times article in 1985. “One time I asked him to do something just to humor me, and he said, ‘Joel, this whole damn movie is just to humor you.’”