The son of an editor for the New Yorker, the diminutive comedic actor Wallace Shawn speaks with a recognizable lisp that is appropriate for his frequent portrayals of little irate men. A graduate of both Harvard and Oxford University, he has taught several courses in English and struggled as a playwright in the early '70s; in 1977 he translated Machiavelli's The Mandrake. Shawn broke into films soon after, building a successful career as a supporting actor to help fund his playwriting. He debuted in two of the best films of 1979: Woody Allen's Manhattan and Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. In 1981, he co-wrote the semi-autobiographical My Dinner With André, a talky comedy starring himself and theater director André Gregory in a dinner conversation, directed by Louis Malle. The movie was acclaimed by critics, but many audiences grew tired during its two-hour running time. After this personal project, Shawn would build a career out of playing brief but surprisingly memorable roles in a long list of movies. One of his most warmly remembered appearances was in 1987 as Vizzini, the inept leader of a misfit criminal gang, in The Princess Bride. The same year, he supplied the heroic voice for the Masked Avenger in Woody Allen's Radio Days. Taking the next step to straight voice acting, he lent his distinctive speech to the animated features The Goofy Movie, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and both installments of Toy Story. He also continued to work with Woody Allen throughout the next decade in the films Shadows and Fog and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion. Taking his quirky persona to the small screen, Shawn had several guest-star appearances on TV shows like Taxi, Murphy Brown, and The Cosby Show, but he didn't have his own reoccurring character until he reprised his feature-film role of Mr. Hall for the ABC sitcom version of Clueless. He quickly followed that with the role of Zek on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Throughout his acting career, Shawn has managed to continue writing successful plays, and eventually adapted one of them, The Designated Mourner, for a feature film in 1997. After a few brief appearances in some forgettable films in the late '90s, he gained some larger roles in TV movies and miniseries. In 2002, he played the publishing boss Mr. Gelb for the "Greta" story in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity: Three Portraits. He then joined a large cast of other comedians for Danny DeVito's crime comedy Duplex in 2003.
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Vamps
Actor |
2012 | NOT YET RELEASED | ||
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Hawaiian Vacation
Voice |
2011 | |||
| 2010 | ||||
|
The Speed of Thought
Actor |
2010 | |||
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Toy Story 3
Voice |
2010 | |||
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Jack and the Beanstalk
Actor |
2009 | |||
| 2008 | ||||
| 2008 | ||||
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The Windmill Movie
Participant |
2008 | |||
| 2007 | ||||
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New York City Serenade
Actor |
2007 | |||
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Air Buddies
Voice |
2006 | |||
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Happily N'Ever After
Voice |
2006 | |||
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Southland Tales
Actor |
2006 | |||
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Chicken Little
Voice |
2005 | |||
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Karroll's Christmas
Actor |
2004 | |||
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Marie and Bruce
Play Author, Screenwriter |
2004 | |||
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Melinda and Melinda
Actor |
2004 | |||
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The Fever
Play Author, Screenwriter |
2004 | |||
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The Incredibles
Voice |
2004 | |||
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Duplex
Actor |
2003 | |||
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Monte Walsh
Actor |
2003 | |||
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Teacher's Pet
Voice |
2003 | |||
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The Haunted Mansion
Actor |
2003 | |||
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Mr. St. Nick
Actor |
2002 | |||
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Ally McBeal: Falling Up
Actor |
2001 | |||
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Blonde
Actor |
2001 | |||
| 2001 | ||||
| 2001 | ||||
| 2001 | ||||
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The Prime Gig
Actor |
2000 | |||
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A Tekerolantos Naploja
Actor |
1999 | |||
| 1999 | ||||
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My Favorite Martian
Actor |
1999 | |||
| 1999 | ||||
| 1999 | ||||
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Toy Story 2
Voice |
1999 | |||
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Just Write
Actor |
1998 | |||
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Noah
Actor |
1998 | |||
| 1998 | ||||
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Critical Care
Actor |
1997 | |||
| 1997 | ||||
| 1997 | ||||
| 1997 | ||||
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The Designated Mourner
Play Author, Screenwriter |
1997 | |||
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Vegas Vacation
Actor |
1997 | |||
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All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
Voice |
1996 | |||
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House Arrest
Actor |
1996 | |||
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Just Like Dad
Actor |
1996 | |||
| 1996 | ||||
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A Goofy Movie
Voice |
1995 | |||
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Clueless
Actor |
1995 | |||
| 1995 | ||||
| 1995 | ||||
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The Wife
Actor |
1995 | |||
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Toy Story
Voice |
1995 | |||
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Canadian Bacon
Actor |
1994 | |||
| 1994 | ||||
| 1994 | ||||
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Vanya on 42nd Street
Actor |
1994 | |||
| 1993 | ||||
| 1993 | ||||
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The Cemetery Club
Actor |
1993 | |||
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The Meteor Man
Actor |
1993 | |||
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Un-Becoming Age
Actor |
1993 | |||
| 1992 | ||||
| 1992 | ||||
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Nickel and Dime
Actor |
1992 | |||
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The Double O Kid
Actor |
1992 | |||
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The Magic Bubble
Actor |
1992 | |||
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Shadows and Fog
Actor |
1991 | |||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1990 | ||||
| 1989 | ||||
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She's Out of Control
Actor |
1989 | |||
| 1989 | ||||
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We're No Angels
Actor |
1989 | |||
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The Moderns
Actor |
1988 | |||
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Nice Girls Don't Explode
Actor |
1987 | |||
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Prick Up Your Ears
Actor |
1987 | |||
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Radio Days
Actor |
1987 | |||
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The Bedroom Window
Actor |
1987 | |||
| 1987 | ||||
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The Princess Bride
Actor |
1987 | |||
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Head Office
Actor |
1986 | |||
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Heaven Help Us
Actor |
1985 | |||
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Crackers
Actor |
1984 | |||
| 1984 | ||||
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Micki + Maude
Actor |
1984 | |||
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The Bostonians
Actor |
1984 | |||
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The Hotel New Hampshire
Actor |
1984 | |||
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Deal of the Century
Actor |
1983 | |||
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Lovesick
Actor |
1983 | |||
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Saigon: Year of The Cat
Actor |
1983 | |||
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Strange Invaders
Actor |
1983 | |||
| 1983 | ||||
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The First Time
Actor |
1983 | |||
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A Little Sex
Actor |
1982 | |||
|
Taxi: The Shloogel Show
Actor |
1982 | |||
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My Dinner With Andre
Actor, Screenwriter |
1981 | |||
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Atlantic City
Actor |
1980 | |||
|
Cheaper to Keep Her
Actor |
1980 | |||
|
Simon
Actor |
1980 | |||
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All That Jazz
Actor |
1979 | |||
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Manhattan
Actor |
1979 | |||
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Starting Over
Actor |
1979 | |||
|
Strong Medicine
Actor |
1979 |






















