Although he was familiar to sci-fi aficionados for his work on TV's "The X-Files" and "Space: Above and Beyond", actor Doug Hutchison came to the attention of filmgoers with his star-making turn as the petulant, venal prison guard Percy Wetmore in Frank Darabont's screen adaptation of Stephen King's "The Green Mile" (1999).
Although born in Delaware, Hutchison was raised in the Midwest in Michigan and Minnesota and began his performing career in high school and local community theater. He moved to NYC to attend Juilliard but dropped out after several months and instead studied acting with noted teacher Sanford Meisner. Following years of stage work in regional theaters and off-off- and off-Broadway productions, Hutchison made his film debut in 1988's "Fresh Horses". Although he initially resisted a move to California, the actor eventually relocated realizing that there were more opportunities for TV and film roles there. Bit parts and small roles in film and TV led up to his first major exposure with a chilling guest appearance as serial killer Eugene Victor Tooms in a 1993 episode of Fox's "The X-Files". The diminutive actor proved so popular, the character was revived for a follow-up show the following season.
James Wong and Glen Morgan, the writer-producers of "The X-Files" who created Tooms, remembered the actor when they were working on the Fox series "Space: Above and Beyond" and "Millennium" and created the recurring villainous roles of silicate Elroy El in the former and the Polaroid Man in the latter especially for Hutchison.
As his small screen profile grew (fueled in part by the actor's willingness to participate at sci-fi conventions), he began making some headway in features. Virtually unrecognizable behind long hair and a scruffy beard, Hutchison was cast as one of the rednecks who molest a young girl in "A Time to Kill" (1996). Casting director Mali Finn had been impressed with the actor and championed him for the role of the arrogant and vicious prison guard in "The Green Mile". Hutchison nearly blew the audition as he had arrived chewing gum, a habit that grated on director Frank Darabont. At Finn's insistence, Darabont viewed a videotape of Hutchison and was won over. In an ensemble of powerful actors (including Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell), Hutchison managed to more than hold his own as the cowardly, craven Percy. He followed with another "bad guy" in "Bait" (lensed 1999-2000), this time playing, in the actors words "a calculated, mathematically-minded, intellectual genius thief who loves money, computers, and f---ing with the FBI almost as much as math." (From The 11th Hour, September 1999; www.11thhour.com).