Mark Metcalf

Actor Mark Metcalf is typically cast as an over-the-top authority figure and villain, usually played for comic effect. His most famous role originated in John Landis's classic fraternity comedy "National Lampoon's Animal House" as humorously extreme and sadistic ROTC cadet officer Douglas Neidermeyer--one of the film's major adversaries. It's been a type that Metcalf has reprised a number of times throughout his career. The first time Metcalf revisited a Neidermeyer-esque character was nearly a decade later, in heavy metal/hair band Twisted Sister's iconic video "We're Not Gonna Take It"; the most memorable moment was the opening in which Neidermeyer screams dramatically at his teenage head-banger son: "What are you gonna do with your life?" (The son, lip synching the voice of band frontman Dee Snider, responds, "I wanna rock!") It was yet another iconic Neidermeyer catchphrase for a whole other generation. The second and last time Metcalf reprised the role was in another John Landis-directed comedy "The Stupids," starring Tom Arnold. Other memorable parts for Metcalf include a twice-recurring character in the sitcom "Seinfeld" as a pretentious conductor and one-time boyfriend to main character Elaine, Bob "Maestro" Cobb; and as vampire-in-chief "The Master" in the teen series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as well as its spinoff "Angel."