That same year Starr became a television regular with a role on the Fox sitcom "Hardball," playing veteran catcher and family man Mike Widmer. The following year he racked up a number of memorable if buffoonish film credits, taking beatings from Chris Elliot in "Cabin Boy" and Steven Seagal in "On Deadly Ground" and playing the man on the trail of two lovestruck idiots in the Farrelly brothers hit "Dumb and Dumber." He broke away from his usual roles in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood," playing Georgie Weiss, a slick producer who gives Wood his first green light. In 1993, Starr was featured in the comedy "Mad Dog and Glory," with a sharply played comedic turn as Bill Murray's bodyguard that steered clear of gangster stereotypes. He returned to mob films with a role in the 1930s NYC-set gangster feature "Billy Bathgate" and gave a memorable supporting performance the following year, playing a bad guy who surprisingly falls in a battle with Kevin Costner's comparably tiny title character in "The Bodyguard" (1992). Appearances in the hit films "The Money Pit" (1986), "Radio Days" (1987) and "Punchline" (1988) as well as several others took him through the 1980s, finishing up the decade with 1989 turns in "Born on the Fourth of July" (featured alongside his brother, fellow actor Beau Starr) "Lean on Me," "Uncle Buck" and "Last Exit to Brooklyn." Starr started the 1990s with featured turns in the acclaimed organized crime dramas "GoodFellas" and "Miller's Crossing," and acted on television in the fact-based CBS desegregation miniseries "Common Ground" (all 1990). A role on Broadway in "Requiem For a Heavyweight" and turns in the features "The Last Dragon" and "The Protector" came in 1985. Often typecast as thugs, Mafia henchmen and police officers but just as effective as gentle giants and more cerebral characters, Starr was rarely at a loss for work. The actor appeared onstage in the 1983 Broadway flop "The Guys in the Truck," but rebounded the following year with roles in CBS' "Terrible Joe Moran" (James Cagney's TV-movie debut) and Barry Levinson's baseball homage "The Natural." While the film remained shelved for years, he subsequently debuted to audiences as a patrolman in William Friedkin's controversial crime drama "Cruising" (1980). The actor lensed a role in his first film "The Bushido Blade" (released in 1981) in 1978, working with veteran actor Richard Boone, an experience Starr has noted as an influence on his career. A Queens native who attended Hofstra University on both drama and football scholarships, Starr worked as a bartender and bouncer and appeared in regional theater productions while waiting for his acting break. The actor appeared onstage in the 1983 Broadway flop "The Guys in the Truck," but rebounded the following year with roles in CBS' "Terrible Joe Moran" (James Cagney's TV-movie debut) and Barry Levinson's baseball homage "The Natural.A tall (6'3"), burly, and remarkably versatile character actor, Mike Starr built an impressive career with a steady stream of work, appearing consistently on screens big and small with dozens of memorable supporting performances. A tall (6'3"), burly, and remarkably versatile character actor, Mike Starr built an impressive career with a steady stream of work, appearing consistently on screens big and small with dozens of memorable supporting performances.
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