While he may not have ever attained the same level of fame as contemporaries likeKevin CostnerorDenzel Washington,Wallace Shawnis an amazing character actor who has appeared in more great movies than almost any other living performer.Shawn’s filmography consists of underrated independent films,all-time great comedies, and some of the most popular Pixar movies ever made. Although he’s been active since the late 1970s, Shawn continues to add exciting new projects to his resume.
Shawn deserves more credit for just how much he can add to a film, even if itwas already almost perfect. Even though he often appears in a film for a limited capacity, Shawn is the type of actor who elevates every single film that he appears in, and can transform into a multitude of different characters. Here are the best Wallace Shawn movies.
10‘The Bedroom Window’ (1987)
Directed by Curtis Hanson
The Bedroom Windowis an underrated homageto the work of Alfred Hitchcock that features one of Shawn’s greatest scene stealing performances. Curtis Hanson’s underrated 1987 neo-noir mystery follows the young heartthrob Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg), who reports witnessing an assault when he is spending an evening with his secret lover (Isabelle Hupert). Shawn appears as a particularly incentivized prosecuting attorney who grills Lambert in court for the discrepancies in his testimony.
Shawn perfectly captures the frustration of a legal professional who is tired of witnesses making false statements.He steals the film in just a few brief moments, putting more pressure on Terry to clear his name as he searches for the truth behind what he thinks may have happened. While it’s largely a serious film, Shawn adds just the right notes of comedy to ensure that the film honors Hitchcock’s notorious sense of humor.
The Bedroom Window
Watch on Amazon
9‘Maggie’s Plan’ (2015)
Directed by Rebecca Miller
Maggie’s Planis aseverely underrated romantic comedythat featured a particularly memorable cameo from Shawn. Rebecca Miller’s 2015 film centers on the young woman Maggie (Greta Gerwig), who tries to reunite the divorced couple John (Ethan Hawke) and Georgette (Julianne Moore) after she fears that she disrupted their relationship. Shawn has a brief appearance as the literary agent Kliegler, a particularly pretentious member of the “intellectual” society in New York that Georgette and John belong to.
Considering that Shawn started his career appearing in many New York comedies and theater productions, it makes sense for him to pop up in a modern film that takes place in his old stomping grounds.Although Miller manages to modernize the themes regarding gender dynamics and literary integrity, there’s an old-fashioned quality toMaggie’s Planthat makes it feel in line with many of Shawn’s earlier projects.
Rent on Amazon
8‘Southland Tales’ (2007)
Directed by Richard Kelly
Southland Talesis an ambitious, unwieldy, and often maddeningly brilliant satire of post-9/11 Americathat succeeds by casting many great actors against type.Richard Kelly’s controversial science fiction epic centers onthe Hollywood star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson), who becomes involved in a radical rebellious movement against the totalitarian Republican Party through his connection with the adult film star Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Shawn has a memorable appearance as a wealthy investor who is within the Republicans’ inner circle.
While it grapples with serious themes about fascism and the surveillance state,Southland Talesincorporates many elements of broad comedy.Shawn is such an inherently talented comic foil that he instantly helps make the deranged, yet surprisingly plausible world ofSouthland Talesfeel even more impactful. It takes a particularly talented actor to make Kelly’s bizarre dialogue sound profound.
7‘Clueless’ (1995)
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Cluelessis amasterful reinvention of Jane Austen’s classic novelEmmathat was instantly heralded as one of the funniest and most original high school romantic comedies ever made. Alicia Silverstonegives the performance of her career as Cher, a wealthy teenage girl who enjoys working as a “matchmaker” for her peers. Early on in the film, Cher decides to help Shawn’s character, a homeroom teacher, find love in an unexpected way.
Considering that it’s a film that largely focuses on the trials and tribulations of high school students and their romantic follies,Shawn proved that the adults inCluelesswere just as romantically motivated as the younger characters. He gives a very charming performance that indicates that Cher has good intentions, as she does genuinely want to see everyone around her find happiness in someone they actually care about.
6‘Toy Story’ (1995)
Directed by John Lassetter
Toy Storyis arguably the most important film of Pixar’s entire canon, as it launched a new generation of 3D animated cinema, and created one of the most consistently excellent franchises in history.Toy Storyis ultimately the story of how Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) surprisingly become close friends, but the film is packed with the other great actors who voice the toys. Shawn delivers a hilarious performance as Rex, the cowardly dinosaur toy that attempts to solve the feud between Woody and Buzz.
Rex has some of the funniest lines in all ofToy Story, and factors into the ending when Woody attempts to save Buzz as they race to reach Andy. Rex played an even larger role inToy Story 2, where he joined Buzz’s team of toys as they searched for a missing Woody.
5‘Manhattan’ (1979)
Directed by Woody Allen
Although he isone of the most controversial living filmmakers,Woody Allen made many masterful comedy films, including the 1979 classicManhattan.Although best known for the breakout, Academy Award nominated performance byMariel Hemingway,Manhattanalso gave Shawn his first screen credit as the New York socialite Jeremiah. Jeremiah engages in thoughtful conversations about art and existence with his friends Mary Wilkie (Diane Keaton) and Jill Davis (Meryl Streep).
Shawn’s idiosyncrasies as an actor were perfectly suited for Allen’s cheeky, clever dialogue, so it’s no surprise that the two began a consistent working relationship. Although Shawn’s role inManhattanwas a relatively small one, he ended up playing the lead part in Allen’s 2021 existentialist comedyRifkin’s Festival, which was seen as a return to form after a period of serious critical decline in the eyes of his many admirers.
4‘All That Jazz’ (1979)
Directed by Bob Fosse
All That Jazzisn’t just one of the best movie musicals ever made, but one of the greatest examinations about the price of artistic perfection. Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical film follows the ambitious composer Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), whose desire to create a perfect musical begins to takea serious toll on his dysfunctional family lifewhen he becomes far too obsessed for his own good. Shawn appears as a particularly obnoxious insurance agent whose conflict with Gideon causes him to sink deeper into feelings of despair.
AlthoughAll That Jazzhas many surrealist qualities, Shawn does a great job at grounding the film in a recognizable version of realitywhere Gideon is forced to deal with the same annoyances that an average audience member could relate to. His scenes emphasize that Gideon’s ambitions are often too untenable for one man to accomplish within just one lifetime.
All That Jazz
Watch on Tubi
3‘Radio Days’ (1987)
Radio Daysis a beautiful tribute to the golden age of radio in the 1930s and 1940sthat allowed Shawn to give one of the more surprising performances of his career. The film centers on the young radio fan Joe (Seth Green), who grows up loving the serial adventure stories about the enigmatic hero known only as “The Masked Avenger.” Although Joe expects the manwho plays his favorite superheroto be tough and imposing, it ends up being Shawn’s character, a diminutive and shy working actor.
Shawn’s performance shows the importance of not conflating an actor with their charactersand demonstrates how transformative radio can be as a form of media that empowers its audience. The role was particularly well-suited for Shawn, as he would go on to voice many memorable characters in animated films later in his career.
2‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)
Directed by Rob Riener
The Princess Brideis one of the most delightful fantasy films ever madebecause each of the side characters that pop up in the romance between Wesley (Carly Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright) are as memorable as the two leads. Shawn gives a scene-stealing performance as the villainous Vizzini, who employs the two hired swords Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and Fezzik (Andre the Giant) to kidnap Buttercup. In an ironic twist of fate, Vizzini ends up poisoning himself in an attempt to outsmart Wesley.
Vizzini is easily one of the funniest characters inThe Princess Bridebecause he is so ridiculously overconfident, and does not think much of the enemies he feels are less intelligent than him. Although he perishes early on in the story, Shawn’s chemistry with both Patinkin and Elwes gives the film some of its biggest laughs.
The Princess Bride
1‘My Dinner With Andre’ (1981)
Directed by Louis Malle
My Dinner with Andrewas a personal project for Shawn,as he wrote and starred in the film alongside his friendAndre Gregory. The two legendary actors appear as fictionalized versions of themselves that simply engage in a long conversation about life, love, art, and everything in between over the course of an evening dinner. Whileit’s a film that basically has no plot,My Dinner With Andreis utterly compelling thanks to how realistic the dialogue feels.
Although he has played many eccentric and unusual roles over the course of his impressive career,Shawn was able to play an authentic version of himself inMy Dinner With Andre, showing an ability to explore his own anxieties. There’s almost nothing likeMy Dinner With Andre, but the film wouldn’t have been considered the classic that it is if it wasn’t for the unique sensibilities that Shawn brought out with his performance.
