A Viewer's Guide to the Minor Characters of Heat (1995)

Heat was a Los Angeles Crime Saga that employed a quarter of the actors in Los Angeles. You may have seen it once years ago. If it wasn't to your taste there isn't anything I can say but if you didn't get as much out of it as you might've because of the difficulty in keeping a couple dozen characters and subplots straight I can be of help. I've watched it about as many times as there are speaking parts in the film [hold for applause] so I've created a cheat sheet for you to print out and consult the next time you watch it. 

I'm skipping the names above the title on the poster (Pacino, De Niro and Kilmer). Those characters (Hanna, McCauley and Chris) may be the only ones who receive as much screen time as they deserve. Two-thirds of the rest could've been the protagonists of their own movies (and I'll take some time to talk about what a few of those movies would've been like). We'll go in credits order. 

Jon Voight as Nate 

Character Shorthand: McCauley's facilitator 

Defining Quote: "He collects 100% from the insurance. He's a player. Maybe he buys his bonds back from us for 60% of their value. Make 40% on top of the 100%. Sell it back to him instead of going to the street that's an extra 320,000 to you."  

IMDb Keyword: Career Criminal 

Notes: He doesn't have a mullet and a fu manchu mustache on a whim and there's a reason he's played by Jon Voight. Nate looks and acts like it's been years since he was in his element. Offering to sell Van Zant his own bonds back to him is an extraordinarily lousy idea. It causes nothing but problems for Neil and his crew. Arguably, it's what ends up getting almost all of them killed. 

Nate's decline in judgment is shown by referring to Van Zant as a "businessman" based on a 2-minute phone call. He should've known what Van Zant's reaction would be and there's no "arguably" about telling Neil where to find Waingro leading directly to Neil's death. The only one in the crew to survive (Chris) does so after leaving Nate's to go "on his own." That's not a coincidence. 

Tom Sizemore as Michael Cheritto 

Character Shorthand: He's got a big-ass peacock somewhere on his arm. Not quite a "Born to Lose" tattoo on his chest, but it's close. 

Defining Quote: " .. for me, the action is the juice." / "She doesn't know [what she wants to be when she grows up]. Just like me. I don't know, either." 

IMDb Keyword: Mozambique Drill 

Notes: See Shorthand. When Jimmy McIlwaine was dispensing wisdom on the yard he must've considered it understood that if you want to be makin' moves on the street don't get a massive, multicolored tattoo that can easily be used to identify you by car thieves looking to rid themselves of their competition. And don't call everyone "Slick" like it's a verbal tic. Because he didn't say it, and that was the undoing of Michael, Neil, Breedan, Bosko ..

Does Vincent bring half the police force with him and turn downtown Los Angeles into a war zone if Robbery-Homicide isn't already after Neil's crew? It's doubtful. A black and white might've done a drive-by and not seen it as suspicious that several men in suits were walking out single-file with large canvas bags over their shoulders and bulges under their jackets .. Maybe it would've looked suspicious, but Neil & co. had more than enough firepower to deal with that contingency. They had enough firepower to overthrow a Third World government.

Diane Venora as Justine Hanna 

Character Shorthand: The verbose woman (and I know verbose) on the downslope of a marriage with Vincent. His third.

Defining Quote: "I may be stoned on grass and Prozac but you've been walking through our life dead and now I have to demean myself with Ralph just to get closure with you." 

IMDb Keyword: Marital Strife 

Notes: I've never seen a poll on the subject but I wouldn't be surprised if Justine's able to compete with Waingro for Most Unlikable Character in the movie. If so it'd be for the wrong reason. She may be a wet blanket. She may cheat on Vincent. Both are forgivable. I can see reason in the argument that Hanna's neglect and obsession with his work is a form of infidelity equal to humping Xander Berkeley. What's really terrible about Justine is while she sits there quietly judging Vincent and preparing the wording of her next marital complaint her daughter gets closer and closer to this: 

I'm not saying it's her fault, though she could have had a lot to do with it. Lauren may have had a chemical imbalance passed on to her by her mother and for as little fun as someone might have as Justine's husband they could only have had less as her child. She still may not have been able to prevent a suicide attempt but the least she could manage is to not have to have the newspaper she's reading taken away from her to notice that something's wrong with her daughter. When Vincent asks her if her ex-husband has "any idea what's going on with this kid" he doesn't have to cough or use air quotes when he says "this guy." I take his hint. Justine doesn't. She thinks Vincent is changing the subject from what's really important: how he's not paying enough attention to her. You know what? Where's this poll? I want to change my vote. 

Amy Brenneman as Eady 

Character Shorthand: So, I found out my boyfriend has been keeping it a secret from me that he's an armed felon and now he wants me to go on the lam with him in the South Pacific. When I asked him if he'd let me leave later he avoided the question. I don't know if I should but I've got to tell you, I'm thinking it over. 

Defining Quote: "If you don't want to talk to me, that's O.K. Sorry I bothered you." 

IMDb Keyword: Bookstore Clerk 

Notes: When she says she's "not good at meeting people" I don't think she's talking about how if you respond nicely (on your second attempt) when she goes out of her way to make small talk with you you'll be inside her by night's end. Her relationship with Neil may only work because they're similarly damaged. That shows in Neil through his criminal and violent behavior. It shows in Eady in other ways. Some (sexual promiscuity) wouldn't adversely affect her popularity. Others would, such as failing to converse like a normal person. Eady, when someone asks where your family's from originally they're asking where you grew up, not for you to describe your ethnic ancestry going back two hundred years. 

Ashley Judd as Charlene Shiherlis 

Character Shorthand: Another unhappy wife who nags her husband and sleeps around? Sure, why not.

Defining Quote: "What's your end?" 

IMDb Keyword: Child In Peril 

Notes: She's high on the list of characters who come out as winners. She rids herself of a gambling addict husband with no concept of "risk vs. reward," as far as the police know she cooperated fully so she doesn't lose Dominic and Chris must feel simultaneously so grateful and guilty (he never finds out about Alan Marciano) that his percentage is going to go straight to her. She plays the situation so well it almost makes up for Marciano, but I'll get to that later. 

Mykelti Williamson as Sergeant Drucker 

Character Shorthand: Hanna's protege, can't stand fuckin' pagers. 

Defining Quote: "Would you like a cup of coffee while we wait, Mrs. Shiherlis?" 

IMDb Keyword: Witness Protection 

Notes: His good cop-bad cop with Marciano is to help turn Charlene but in our first Spin-Off Movie his straightforward yet smoothly persuasive ways and protective demeanor don't just turn Charlene, they turn her on! "What else are you selling?" Justine isn't the only one who can't take a hint. It's a Stakeout plot, with Ashley Judd as Madeleine Stowe and Val Kilmer as Aidan Quinn. Mykelti / Michael T. / Mykel T. Williamson already has the Dreyfuss mustache. It's only missing the salt and pepper, but "Drucker's Way" already has its own sexy salt and pepper, if you know what I … What am I typing? Next entry. 

Wes Studi as Detective Casals 

Character Shorthand: Hanna's unofficial partner, has the reflexes and skill with an M16 to drop a ponytail-wearin' pretty boy at a comfortable distance

Defining Quote: "We still got bait! Maybe some time."

IMDb Keyword: Detective 

Notes: What's not to like here? Studi gets the chance to play a non-period character, no one brings up Casals' background and when it's time for one of the characters to have a quasi-mystical feel for whether Neil's still in the area it isn't Casals being asked to commune with his ancestral spirits or track McCauley on foot. He's the one humoring Vincent. 

Ted Levine as Bosko 

Character Shorthand: "Oh, wait. Did he have a great big fat mustache?" "Yeah, he had big facial hair, sir." 

Defining Quote: "I knew this guy in grade school. He was named Raul, uh, whatever. Anyway, the guy could take his fingers, right, and .. " 

IMDb Keyword: Shot in the Neck 

Notes: Here's what you need to know about Bosko: when I saw Heat in the theater, there was an audible gasp when Chris (Val Kilmer) gets shot in the neck. When Chris kills Bosko by shooting him in the neck? It was hard to tell over the gunfire, but I think I heard the same woman whisper "I hope Chris isn't scarred mentally from seeing all that blood." 

Dennis Haysbert as Donald Breedan 

Character Shorthand: Michael Mann's commentary on the flaws in the parole system 

Defining Quote: "Ain't a hard time been invented that I cannot handle." 

IMDb Keyword: Parolee 

Notes: In "Pick Up," our second Spin-Off Movie, we stay with Breedan for a tight ninety minutes instead of trying to work his sad arc into an already extremely ambitious storyline. The only thing I'd change about the details would be to introduce Neil earlier. It'd be too abrupt for him to show up ten minutes before the movie ends offering the main character the job that will take his life. Maybe Neil shows up at the coffee shop with his crew once or twice and the Manager wants Breedan to get rid of them but Breedan tells him he's being unfair. Just because they're ex-cons like him doesn't mean they're planning a crime. Except they are. 

It's a grim ending but they made films like that all the time in the '70s. They'd have even kept him in the car during the job. They wouldn't have thought twice about a two minute medium close-up of him in the driver's seat with muffled shouting in the background. Hell, if that was a mid-'70s release with John Cazale, Yaphet Kotto or Bruce Dern in the lead I'd go rent it right now instead of finishing this. 

William Fichtner as Roger Van Zant 

Character Shorthand: A hockey fan, he likes all kinds of crime. Rock, jazz, classical. 

Defining Quote: "How the hell would I know?" [bang bang bang] 

IMDb Keyword: Money Laundering 

Notes: He wouldn't get his own movie but his backstory (running "investment portfolios for offshore drug money") is straight out of Miami Vice. He could've had his own episode. Maybe he did. I haven't seen much of that show. I'm imagining Tubbs having a staredown contest with Henry Rollins, Crockett confronting Van Zant at a party then complaining to his date that "Everyone knows what he is but no one will say it" and then at the end Van Zant gets caught and is ready to turn state's evidence against his clients but before he can testify someone working for one of the druglords walks up the hill (right, Miami. Walks up the beach?) to his house, throws a chair through the window and shoots him three times in the chest. Pan out to Tangerine Dream. 

Natalie Portman as Lauren Gustafson 

Character Shorthand: Stop being so self-absorbed, Justine. It's not about the barrettes. 

Defining Quote: "Daddy's gonna be here! I'm not gonna be ready! I can't be late. No! I will be late!" [tears] 

IMDb Keyword: Suicide Attempt 

Notes: Suicide attempt thwarted. Congratulations. (Not you, Justine.) What should concern you now is you have this 13, 14-year-old girl with an absurdly unhealthy relationship with her father. She decides to kill herself. She chooses Vincent, the only available male parental figure, to find the body. So, yes, she's alive, but figure out what's going on with her and men, O.K.?

Tom Noonan as Kelso 

Character Shorthand: Hackers, with Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Matthew Lillard and Tom Noonan as "Wheels." 

Defining Quote: "This stuff just flies through the air. They send this information out .. I mean, it's just beamed out all over the fuckin' place .. all you have to do is know how to grab it. See, I know how to grab it." 

IMDb Keyword: Criminal Mastermind 

Notes: Sorry. Does the above entry make me look desperate to increase our page views? Let me go more obscure. Kelso would never get his own movie, but based on What Happened Was… I'd watch ninety minutes of Kelso and another character with the two of them spending the entire running time within throwing distance of his collection of satellite dishes. (And, yes, there would be a scene where they "cathartically dispel" all of Kelso's "heinous shit" by throwing rocks at his satellite dishes.) If someone clicked on our site based on a Google search for "natalie portman golden showers" (not that I'd want that. That or one for "natalie portman gangbangs scat bestiality") they'd still have a better idea of what to expect than a person who rented WHW… based on the trailer. You'd have to have seen it to know exactly how extreme the misrepresentation is but I promise, it's one of the worst I've seen. 

Kevin Gage as Waingro 

Character Shorthand: Neil may be a thief. He may have innocent people murdered on his command. But is he a serial killer? Does he have a swastika tattoo on his stomach? (What's German for "Born to Lose?") 

Defining Quote:  "Look, I had to get it on, man. He was makin' a move. I had to get it on."  /  "I am a cowboy. Lookin' for anything heavy." / "Hey, gimme another refill." 

IMDb Keyword: Prostitute Killer 

Notes: You notice how he says "another" refill? What number do you think he's on? And the way he taps the counter with his cup to get their attention? What a jerk. Waingro's a disaster. I bet he was Nate's recommendation. There isn't anything they could show Waingro doing by the end of the film that would surprise the viewer, but it starts with the suggestion that he's abusing that place's refill policy. I could surprise you with some Kevin Gage trivia, though. If I told you he served two years in federal prison for cultivating marijuana ("despite owning a California-issued license," but let's not get sidetracked discussing drug policy) you'd say "Sounds about right." But what if I told you he was married to Kelly Preston from 1985-1987? I win. You're surprised. 

Hank Azaria as Alan Marciano 

Character Shorthand: Chris may be a thief. He may be a gambling junkie. But is Val Kilmer trying to do a New Jersey accent? 

Defining Quote: " .. why'd I get mixed up with that bitch?" / " .. stupid broad. How'd I get into this?" / "Fuck her." 

IMDb Keyword: Unfaithfulness 

Notes: In the Last Boy Scout review I mentioned Alan as an alternative to Mike from that movie as the Most Humiliating Option possible if your character is going to be cuckolded. It wasn't about looks, for Mike or for Alan. Marciano is crass (see above). He insults Charlene (see above). He has that accent. He isn't even "legit," despite what Mrs. Shiherlis thinks. He's wanted for cigarette smuggling. Forget how Waingro got a spot on the bearer bonds job. How did Charlene get into a relationship with Alan? (What was "Marciano's Way" like?) Does he act any different when he's trying to be winning? It's a disappointment. She was the movie's best chance at a sensible, reasonably well-adjusted female character, but that doesn't square with being Alan Marciano's motel girl. 

Danny Trejo as Trejo 

Character Shorthand: De Niro: "I think I should refer to the driver by name here but it's not in the script. What's the character's name?" 

Michael Mann: "I don't know. Who's playing him?" 

De Niro: "Said his name was Trejo. Danny Trejo." 

Mann: "Call him Trejo, then. I don't care." 

Defining Quote: "Hey, I'm sorry, man. Last thing I wanna do is let you down." 

IMDb Keyword: Actor Plays Character With Same Name 

Notes: Trejo from Heat gets a worse ending than Breedan. Things went better for Danny Trejo, the actor. He got a lot of work after this, Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn. He has a distinctive appearance. Above is Danny Trejo in 1995. This is Danny Trejo in 1987: 

What happened to him betw .. O.K. I admit it. I just wanted to post that clip.

Henry Rollins as Hugh Benny 

Character Shorthand: Muscle for Van Zant; also in charge of making sure he has the spreadsheets he needs 

Defining Quote: "You're gonna deal with these guys?" 

IMDb Keyword: Brutality 

Notes: Henry Rollins may seem like an intense person, but Heat proves that he doesn't take himself too seriously. "Let's run through this one more time. I have about thirty pounds of muscle on Pacino, but he's going to shoulder block me, yank me up by the hair and throw me through a glass door? Sounds good. Let's go."

Jerry Trimble as Danny Schwartz 

Character Shorthand: How much you pay for that haircut, rookie? 

Defining Quote: "Banged up, but I'll live." 

IMDb Keyword: Shot in the Shoulder 

Notes: I figure Danny for the new guy in Robbery-Homicide. That gunshot wound makes him another of the film's winners. Before he would've had to endure a new round of hazing every day at work (being forced to memorize random facts about Raul for Bosko, having to carry Drucker's pager for him, Casals convincing him that his Cherokee name is "My Shit Has Blond Hair" and never knowing when Hanna would sneak up behind him and shout "GIMME ALL YA GOT! GIMME ALL YA GOT!"). That's all going to change now that he's taken one in the line of duty. 

That's if no one from the department heard the high-pitched yelp he made when he was shot. If they did it's only going to get worse.

Ricky Harris as Albert Torena 

Character Shorthand: He's like one of them flamingo matador guys.

Defining Quote: "Where is your empathy, brother? It's a substance abuse problem." 

IMDb Keyword: Betrayal. (Best I can do. Does anyone who's registered get to add a Plot Keyword on IMDb? Because I think there needs to be one for "Character gets his MOTHERFUCKIN' TIME wasted.") 

Notes: Hanna's only weakness as a detective is his bizarre behavior around informants. Do you think Al Pacino's sources in Homicide told him to act that way so that criminals watching Heat would be pleasantly surprised when their police department contact in real life wasn't that eccentric .. or was it a practical joke? 

"Really? You guys just start singing or shouting randomly?" 

"Oh yeah. You've got to be unpredictable. Keep the perp on his toes." 

Tone Loc as Richard Torena 

Character Shorthand: Before we even get into that he needs to know if you're going to do what the fuck he needs to get done. 

Defining Quote: "Now, if he'd have said nothin', I'd have thought nothin'. But he goes on and on runnin' down to me how he ain't been doin' nothin' and nothin's been goin' on and this all other bullshit. So right then and there I know, this cat's got somethin' going down."

IMDb Keyword: Reference to Donald Duck

Notes: My favorite Albert moment is his reaction to Richard's Defining Quote. Quick cut to him smiling slightly and nodding in approval at his brother. Before Vincent can say so Albert's already thinking "Pretty fuckin' great." Richard earns his Junior G-Man badge with the tip on Michael. Console TV Man 

gets one too, only no one calls him a "rat motherfucker." Hanna also calls Hugh Benny that. 

"So, you're trying to get information from these guys, these CIs, but you just come right out and call them 'rats' to their face? Insult them like that?" 

"Oh yeah. You can't show them any respect."  

"I'd have thought, you know, more flies with honey than vinegar." 

"That isn't how it works on the street, Al. Oh, and I forgot, the more profanity the better."  

"This is great stuff." 

Jeremy Piven as Dr. Bob 

Character Shorthand: "Dr. Bob?" Is that on the card he gave Nate? 

Defining Quote: "My .. my daughter gave it me .. [mumbling] Fathers' Day .. " 

IMDb Keyword: Blood 

Notes: In the extended scene he tells Neil he has to ask for $30,000 instead of 15 because Neil's "fugitive #1 with a bullet." Double the risk, double the price. No, Neil says. He's "double the worst trouble" Dr. Bob's ever had. etc. Those lines (thankfully) got cut out of the theatrical version (though one stayed in the trailer). What didn't get cut out is Piven's odd half-smile as he takes his shirt off. 

Xander Berkeley as Ralph 

Character Shorthand: Does not to get watch Vincent's. fucking. television set. 

Defining Quote: "Look, this has nothing to do with me. I didn't know. I'm terribly sorry." 

IMDb Keyword: Confrontation 

Notes: Ralph doesn't seem like a bad guy. He didn't know Justine's married. He has the courtesy to look Vincent in the eye and try to apologize when he finds out. He's willing to allow the Hannas some privacy in their dead tech post-modernistic bullshit house to have whatever conversation they need to have. What's with calling sex with Ralph "demeaning," Justine? Ask Charlene about how demeaning extramarital affairs can get. Ralph looks like a keeper. I'd make him breakfast, too. 

Where was her daughter when Ralph was balling Justine (because she wanted him to)? Here's a theory: this isn't the first time Justine's staged something like this hoping to get caught by Vincent. Every three days Lauren has to maneuver around some strange man sleeping in her house to find one of her barrettes in the couch. A barrette that is most likely stained with semen. The suicide attempt was a complete surprise to her mother ..

Kai Soremekun as Prostitute 

Character Shorthand: Some say she doesn't have a truth-telling style. 

Defining Quote: "I ain't lyin. You a hot dog, a regular rodeo rider and this was the monster fuck of my young life."

IMDb Keyword: Teenage Girl 

Notes:  Not a bad smile. Good with improv. You can see how she'd be quick to establish rapport with others. A natural hustler. Upselling side items must've been no sweat. "$20 rim job? I shouldn't .. but you make it sound so appealing." She would've had a future in sales. "But Waingro sees right through her." Waingro's a sociopath. Please don't interrupt me. 

The cut from her head being pulled back to a bottle being opened is a little disrespectful to the character, but at least her name is "Prostitute," not "Soremekun." 

Bud Cort as Solenko, Restaurant Manager 

Character Shorthand: Honest men can't get a break. May as well take scores. 

Defining Quote: (on being told by his new hire that he's a "great grill man") "Good. Good for you." 

IMDb Keyword: Coffee Shop Boss 

Notes: Knows useful phrases in Spanish like "What's burning?" but still can't be bothered to learn the names of his Latino employees (unless they're ex-cons and he's taking 25% of their income). This assumes I had the correct read on the situation and Breedan doesn't really work with a couple of guys named "Cisco" and "Pancho." 

Bonus 

The TV movie version of Heat showed up first, in 1989. It was called L.A. Takedown and was also written and directed by Michael Mann. Michael Rooker as Bosko, R.D. Call, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as "Hugh Denny" and Xander Berkeley as Waingro. "Maybe I should check that ou .. " Wait. In the roles of Vincent Hanna and .. "Patrick McLaren," I present Scott Plank and Alex McArthur (the famous coffee shop scene): 

Yeah, the actors had a lot to do with Heat's success. Bon voyage, motherfuckers. You were good.