Chris O'Donnell

Beside Al Pacino's abrasive Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992), Chris O'Donnell makes Charlie Simms's patience worth watching. He gives Pacino someone believable to play against, and their relationship justifies much of the time Martin Brest takes over this overlong drama. We were moved by Charlie's patience with Frank, because O'Donnell makes the effort of keeping such difficult company feel worthwhile. His steadiness allows Pacino's abrasiveness to work without making the whole encounter exhausting. We rate him here, even when we wish Brest would get on with it.

His early film work placed him in ensembles, with Buddy Threadgoode in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and a supporting part in School Ties (1992). Jon Avnet's Fried Green Tomatoes earns its warmth chiefly through the women at its centre, particularly Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy. O'Donnell belongs to the supporting cast, and we would not claim that he is what makes the sentiment work. Charlie is the better introduction to O'Donnell because the relationship depends on his being as persuasive as his much louder partner.

His clean-cut earnestness then found a more conspicuous use as Robin in Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). Those films received largely negative reviews, but we would not use their reception to dismiss the actor who plays Charlie. Later films included Vertical Limit (2000) and Kinsey (2004). We would trust him in a cast without choosing every film on his name alone.

Television gave that reliability a sustained use: he led NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023) as G. Callen for fourteen seasons. A procedural lead needs to be someone worth returning to, and the length of that run suggests how well his unassuming manner suited the job. It need not make the earlier film work look like an apprenticeship. Start with Scent of a Woman, where he has a forceful partner and enough to do.