Stephen Root has had an incredibly prolific career. He may not be a headliner, but you always remember him as something that has influenced pop culture (usually NewsRadio or the movie Office Space). Now he will be adding to his long acting resumé by appearing on the Fox series 24 as a parole officer.

The wonderful thing about Root is how he can play a multitude of characters. To use the previous examples, his character on Office Space, Milton Waddams, is nothing like his character on NewsRadio, Jimmy James. Neither of them are like his character from True Blood, Eddie. Well, you get the idea.

I'm also impressed with his ability to go from comedy to drama and back while mastering both types of performance. Yes, I'm a Stephen Root fan.

This is an incredible gain for 24. I may tune in just to see what sort of character he'll be playing in this one.

Clips and full episodes for 24 can be seen here.