Here is my list of movie henchmen that are cool on some level but not very iconic in comparison to some: Mercer (Dead Man's Chest & At World's End) - In the commercially wildly successful but critically panned PotC sequels we have a lot said about Davy Jones, the supernatural octopus-like captain of the Flying Dutchman, yet little is said about the much more grounded but still very dangerous Mercer (played by David Schofield). An aide and trained assassin to Lord Beckett of the EITC, Mercer was something of a Georgian era badass with knives and marksman pistols, while he was also a highpoint in the sprawling overwritten mess that was At World's End (by staying uttmost professional in the most dangerous or/and bizarre situations, while also being given a surprisingly grisly death like RotLA's Toht for a 'family' movie). Gettler (Casino Royale) - While we have much said about that freelance African terrorist who can leap up walls like Spiderman, we had another henchman who didn't have superhuman agility and looked strangely like Dr. Cochrane from ST: First Contact. Yet he was more like a traditional Bond henchman or enemy spy with his slightly gawky features, ill fitting but smart clothing, and an unusual eye injury (obscured by a black lense), making you wonder about his past and how he gained employment in the mysterious syndicate fronted by Mr. White (that is now revealed to be big enough to rival SPECTRE). While not an especially exceptional combatant Gettler seemed devious, professional, and unpleasant enough to be an effective street-level 'fix it' man for any occassion (like hostage taking, blackmail, assassination, spying or extortion).
Oddly enough, when I think of movie henchmen, I think of Pik from Hard Target. I'm not ordinarily a Van Damme fan, but John Woo's direction made this movie unusually good, along with its villains. Lance Henriksen was his usual watchable self, but Arnold Vosloo really stole the show as a highly professional and totally amoral Afrikaner mercenary. I've never forgotten the sadistic grin on his face after he blows a guy's head off with a shotgun. Brr.
Wasn't the guy who got splatted by Vosloo the fat, greasy crook with the mostache who liked distributing porn?
The same. "Randal, Randal, Randal. You were going to leave without saying goodbye?" "M...momma got sick in Biluxia." "Ah." "I was gonna call you, Mr. Van Cleef." "Of course you were, Randal. Of course you were. I know you didn't mean to...hurt my feelings." I just rewatched that scene. I'd forgotten just how hilarious Van Damme's mullet was.
i like the German guy in TND who tells Bond he's a forensic examiner (or summat) and "...could shoot you from Stuttgart and make it look like suicide, Ja?"
^ Vincent Schiavelli is a really cool actor I think. I love the way he did the German accent . A henchman I'd like to mention is Helm from Total Recall. I'm not saying he outshines Ironside as Richter or anything, but I always get a kick out of watching him in the part. For one, he's wearing these ridiculous glasses which are really, really 80's and just look incredibly goofy. Then there's Helm's general attitude which is quite sarcastic. Examples include: Helm: "I wouldn't want a guy like Quaid porking my old lady." Richter: "You're saying she likes it?" Helm: "No...I'm sure she hated every minute of it." The look on Helm's face is just priceless I think . And there's also the scene where Richter tunes out the connection with Cohaagen, claiming it's due to sunspots, and Helm just plain laughs. I just find that really funny somehow. Finally, Helm's death is just hilarious IMHO. If you'll remember, Richter starts a shoot-out in "Last Resort". The small prostitute/rebel grabs this knife that's almost as big as her and rams it in Helm's stomache. There's something incredibly comic-like about the look on Helm's face (especially in combination with those glasses) and his scream that just makes me laugh every time (and it's not like didn't deserve it ). So, Helm is one of those guys for me .
The person in the mascot costume in SUDDEN DEATH who nearly kicked Van Damme's ass. I think it may have been a woman.
I've seen Double Impact a few evenings ago and Vosloo was kick ass as that evil Afrikaan henchman. Another Van Damme related henchman that I like was Zangief from Street Fighter: The Movie, a Russian henchman who thought he was on the good guy's team ("Bison... is a bad guy...?").
When Gary Busey isn't the main bad guy (i.e. Under Siege, Surviving the Game), he really brings a lot to the table and makes it more of a role than what's written.