"So you, personally, aren’t a psycho, right?"

Noir and B-movies are filled with actresses who specialised in one type of role. My favourite horror pin-up is Barbara Steele, she of Black Sunday (AKA The Mask of Satan). I saw it as a kid and was never quite the same way again. Steele always reminds me of Michelle Forbes: both actresses share an underbite, an eight-ball stare and a frangible quality.

In other words, Forbes is a character actor - the exact tool for a certain type of job. Her roles are typically noirish, dead-end and hard to love, but they also have their negative qualities. Forbes has appeared in in 24, Ronald D. Moore's terrific remake of Battlestar Galactica and, most recently, in True Blood. Each time she appears in viewers notice her, say she's really good, and then forget her. But I have a feeling she's going to be on T-shirts for a couple of generations. Here's a quote from the actress and a link to a good interview on New York magazine:

"For whatever reason, every project I do becomes sort of a cult, or a cultish show, you know, like Battlestar, or even a film I did years ago, Kalifornia, people refer to it as a cult film."

Michelle Forbes interview.