John Heard (actor)

John Heard possessed a face made for ambiguity and a talent for finding the frayed edges in seemingly ordinary men. He never became a conventional leading man, and that was his strength. After a potent start in 70s indie cinema, he etched himself into the cultural memory as Peter McCallister, the distracted father in 'Home Alone,' whose frantic realization he forgot his son provided the film's emotional anchor. Heard, however, was most alive in darker, more complicated territory. He delivered a career-defining performance as the maimed, paranoid Vietnam vet in 'Cutter's Way,' a film that found its cult status largely through his raw, unhinged commitment. Television offered another showcase: his portrayal of the deeply compromised Detective Vin Makazian on 'The Sopranos' was a tragic masterpiece of a man drowning in his own debts and deceptions, earning Heard an Emmy nomination. His career was a long, varied run of character work that always felt authentically, sometimes painfully, human.