By Maria Esteves - November 17, 2014   The PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, directed by Simon J. Smith and Eric Darnell, a 3D animated action comedy film starring the voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong and Tom McGrath opens in U.S. cinemas on Thanksgiving eve, Wednesday, November 26, 2014. http://madagascar.dreamworks.com ...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   It has been 75 years since Gone With the Wind (1939) groundbreaker Hattie McDaniel won her Best Supporting Actor, but she remains the gold standard of character actors. That said, with Walter Brennan (1894-1974) and late great J. T. Walsh gone since 1998, here's a roster of the top dozen current heavyweight character actors.  But wait, there's more... Disqualified for semi-leading player potential are: John Hawkes ...