Do you remember William Ragsdale? Some people probably will since he’s been around and done a few things that are definitely worthy of note, especially since he’s worked with some very popular actors in his time and made a few flops that, well, are still worth watching at least once. If anyone remembers the original Fright Night then they’ll probably be able to place him since he was the young lead that was there to fight the vampire along with Roddy McDowall, as well as the same character in Fright Night II, which only got cheesier and corner. One can’t really blame Wiliam for this since the movies were kind of made to be a bit cheesy anyway and were bound to go down in history as something that people could watch and laugh at more often than not. Plus, whether they’re dark marks on his record or not, according to him, they’re still proof that he’s been around and that he’s done a few things with his career since this wasn’t the end of his time in show business. He’s been in quite a few projects and is still acting to this day, though it’s likely that a lot of people would remember him, maybe, from other projects that are more recent and probably only because they recall seeing him in shows like Justified with Timothy Olyphant or other that feature stars that are a little more prominent.
He did star in a show that was a precursor of sorts to Pixar’s movie, Inside Out, that was titled Herman’s Head, and had roughly the same concept considering that the titular character, played by William, was ruled by his differing emotions. The show was rather entertaining since it was designed to give a look inside the head of the main character in a manner that was new and innovative, but it didn’t last that long as one might realize, and so William was on the move again when it came to his career. The great thing is that nothing appears to keep him down as he keeps moving forward and is bound and determined to stick to what he knows how to do. He did participate in a second Mannequin movie as well, which was probably ill-advised since to be fair, the first one was campy in a way but still enjoyable. But it should have been the only one since the second movie was beyond campy and was actually cringe-worthy in a lot of ways. In a way, it almost feels as though William’s career has been a series of good ideas and bad ideas when it comes to the projects he’s participated in, which is pretty normal for a lot of actors since asking any of them might produce the answer that many actors have movies and shows they would have rather not done if they’d given it a second thought.
In recent years he’s taken to accepting smaller parts in quite a few movies and TV series, so perhaps he’s decided to slow down or recognizes that his time for being the lead has long since passed. Or maybe there’s another reason he’s content to take smaller roles, it’s hard to say. What is evident is that he wants to be a part of the business and is doing so by taking what he can get and being a part of each project he’s accepted into. It makes a person wonder in a way just what goes through an actor’s head when they get to a certain age and realize that they’re not as big of a star as they wanted to be, but are still wanting to be a part of the picture when it comes to show business. Some might say that it’s a desperate and pathetic attempt to stay popular and hold onto whatever scrap of glory a person can get, but in a bigger way, it feels as though there’s enough love for the business that a lot of people just want to be a part of it no matter how popular they are or aren’t. People don’t always stick around just to be the biggest person on campus after all, since sometimes it is all about the experience and what it does to make a person feel good, especially if they can make a living from it. People will actually do something simply because of the love of it, which kind of eliminates the need for cynicism at times since it’s easy to understand doing something for the sheer pleasure of it, even if some folks have to peck and hate in their own peculiar ways.
So yes, William is more or less a glorified extra at times and a supporting actor at other times, but he’s in there doing what he loves to do obviously and that’s very easy to respect.
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