Can you really believe that Mark Metcalf, one of the reasons why the classic movie Animal House was so great, is in his 70s? One of the few guys that no one could really stand in the National Lampoon movie, Douglas C. Neidermeyer, was a true product of a college movie in that he played the ROTC cadet officer that was a little too serious about his position and went full Patton on his fellow cadets a lot of times, berating them and acting like a drill sergeant while still in college. The caption showing just what happened to each character was great near the end of the movie since it stated that Neidermeyer was sent to Vietnam and was shot by his own troops. While that might not be that funny to everyone it was hysterical since the character of Neidermeyer left a lot of people thinking that his future would be kind of bleak given that he was such a pain in the backside that a person would have to have the patience of Job to put up with him, let alone take orders from the man. So getting drilled by his own troops in a faraway land where such things could be easily explained by the myriad problems that occurred so often could have been about the only end that a character such as Neidermeyer could have hoped for. Of course it’s a bit dark, but it’s comedy too.
It’s kind of funny to realize that Neidermeyer was his first role on screen, especially since it’s the one that he’s remembered the most for considering that it was so over the top. Mark actually started acting on stage and made a name for himself before moving out west to start acting on screen. If you take into account his theatricality in several of the roles he’s taken throughout the years it really makes sense considering that he’s obviously had some classical training and/or experience that has made him that much more effective. For a good part of his career though he kind of flew under the radar with movies and TV show appearances that a person would really need to be watching for to notice. He played the part of The Master on Buffy and the spinoff show Angel, which is a little factoid that even Buffy fans might not be fully aware of until now. He’s definitely been around and done quite a few things in his time, and to tell the truth he’s still acting, though at the age of 74 it’s safe to say that he’s slowing down just a bit as his best years are behind him where we can view them at our leisure as we enjoy yet another classic from our past that helped to make the movie experience so much better in some ways.
There are plenty of actors that will go down in history for several roles since they’re versatile enough to be remembered for a slew of roles that will keep them popular in the eyes of their fans. Mark’s name might not be fully remembered a good deal of the time, but anyone mentioning the movie Animal House is sure to remember Neidermeyer at some point since he was a fairly strong character in the story and, despite not having much of a character arc, he did still contribute quite a bit to the overall story as a fraternity member that was, odd to say the least. Come on, his character had to feed a carrot to his pet horse with his mouth and when it came to the spanking part of the ‘hazing’ of their initiates it was a little too obvious that he was having a little too much fun. Admit it, just the memory of “Thank you sir may I have another?” made you want to join in on the Delta’s initiation and get slobbering drunk while singing “Louie Louie” until dawn. Harry Cheadle of Vice had plenty to say on this, but don’t hold it against him. The movie has been called out for a lot of things in the past, not the least of which is a definite sign of the dreaded toxic masculinity, but back in the day and even now the movie is a fun and hilarious bit of comedy, even if there are moments that are definitely questionable given that they’re just not how we do things today.
Mark has actually been doing pretty well for himself as well since he’s amassed a net worth that’s definitely impressive for someone that’s been in the game this long and hasn’t become a big-time A-lister. He’s comfortable to say the least and despite his advancing age appears to be doing well enough to keep on doing what he enjoys. It’s true that we’ll probably continue to see him as Neidermeyer for a long time, but thankfully he’s done quite a bit more than that throughout the length of his career.
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Lovely article! Great actor. He does these side characters that really steal the scene. There’s a short film, documentary someone did about him. Caught a viewing of it at Big Sky Film Festival. It was an interesting glimpse into his career and life. I believe it’s still making the festival rounds. Definitely worth checking out if you get the opportunity.
I will check that out, he’s a pretty interesting actor and despite looking like the type that would play the part of a**hole all the time, he did kind of have that look when he was younger, he’s still very accomplished in a lot of different roles. He was in The Stupids with Tom Arnold as I recall, and to be real he’s pretty good at what he does. Thanks for the info, I will take a look. Thanks for the input too, it’s really appreciated.