Judge Reinhold

Reinhold's screen career got moving in the early 1980s, and it moved fast. His role in Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) put him in one of the decade's most-quoted teen comedies — a film that also launched or accelerated careers for Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Phoebe Cates. He wasn't the lead, but he didn't need to be. His work there was enough to signal that he had real comedic instincts, the kind that don't read as effort. Then came Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Playing Detective Billy Rosewood opposite Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley is the role most people reach for first when his name comes up, and for good reason — it's a genuinely funny, warm performance in a film that still holds up, and Reinhold brought enough specificity to what could've been a thankless straight-man part that the character actually meant something. He reprised Rosewood in Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). Ruthless People (1986), directed by the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team, gave him another showcase, this time in an ensemble that included Danny DeVito and Bette Midler. Three major comedies in four years. Not a bad run. The Santa Clause (1994) and its sequels represent a distinct chapter — family-friendly fare that kept him visible through the 1990s and 2000s in a way that sustained his career across generations of viewers. It's a different register than Beverly Hills Cop, obviously, but that range is part of what's kept him working. He's been a consistent presence in film and television for more than forty years (TMDB), which, frankly, is the kind of longevity most actors in his peer group would take.