The wonderfully weird and renowned acting chameleon John Malkovich masterfully transforms for every role he takes on, entertaining fans for decades. The decorated performer has had an impressive cinema, television, and stage career, crafting a distinct and marvelous resume in Hollywood that has cemented his status as a highly-revered talent.
Malkovich’s feature film debut was in the Oscar-winning 1984 drama Places in the Heart, which would earn him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He would go on to continuously take on prominent and colorful roles in pictures like the period drama Dangerous Liaisons, political thriller In the Line of Fire alongside the legendary Clint Eastwood, and perhaps most memorably as a satirical version of himself in the 1999 fantasy comedy Being John Malkovich.
During his impressive tenure in Tinsel Town, Malkovich has worked with some of the industry’s most profound and respected filmmakers, joining forces with directing greats like Steven Spielberg, Spike Jonze, and the Coen Brothers in countless critically acclaimed films. The actor has starred in more than 70 motion pictures and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He currently portrays Dr. Adrian Mallory on the Netflix workplace comedy Space Force, the recent second season of which landed a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, was in the metaphysical thriller Chariot with Thomas Mann, and will be appearing alongside Robert De Niro in the upcoming thriller Wash Me in the River. These are the best John Malkovich movies.
9 Places in the Heart
Robert Benton’s 1984 drama Places in the Heart centers on Edna Spalding, a young widow with two small children during the Great Depression who attempts to save her small 40-acre farm with the assistance of a motley group of colorful characters. The emotionally-driven picture features an impressive A-list cast of talented performers like Sally Field (now of Aunt May fame), Danny Glover, Ed Harris, and John Malkovich, with the latter appearing as a blind boarder named Mr. Will in his exceptional feature film debut.
Places in the Heart premiered to critical acclaim, garnering a whopping seven Academy Award nominations including Best Supporting Actor for then-newcomer Malkovich; it would go on to win Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress for Field, who iconically uttered the memorable line “I can’t deny the fact that you like me—right now, you like me!” during her acceptance speech, a declaration commonly misquoted as "you like me, you really like me!" Filmmaker Robert Benton nabbed the highly-coveted Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival.
8 Empire of the Sun
One of Steven Spielberg's many great '80s movies, the 1987 epic coming-of-age drama Empire of the Sun was based on J.G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel. The harrowing story follows a young boy who goes from being a privileged child from an affluent British family in Shanghai to a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. In the gripping picture, Christian Bale stars as Jamie “Jim” Graham, the boy separated from his family who fights to survive Japanese occupation of China, with John Malkovich appearing as an American soldier named Basie who looks after him after the pair are captured.
Spielberg expressed that Empire of the Sun was one of his most enjoyable films he made, and he considers it to be his most profound work on “the loss of innocence.” Both Bale and Malkovich were praised for their standout performances in the superb adaptation, which went on to receive 6 Academy Award nominations.
7 Ripley’s Game
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s psychological thriller novel of the same name, 2002’s Ripley’s Game follows the murderous adventures of antihero Tom Ripley, who is asked by a former associate from Berlin’s underworld to help execute the murder of a rival; Ripley instead sets out to manipulate a sick family man who once slighted him to carry out the crime. John Malkovich takes on the twisted role, which had previously been played by actors such as Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, and Matt Damon, and had coincidentally been in talks to direct the former installment, 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.
When discussing the character’s enduring appeal, the star told BBC, “One of the things they like is his ability to act clearly in his perceived self-interest with not a jot of conscience. It makes life very simple, in a way.” Ripley’s Game was positively received, with famed critic Roger Ebert raving about Malkovich’s chilling portrayal of the sociopath, calling it “one of his most brilliant and insidious performances; a study in evil that teases the delicate line between heartlessness and the faintest glimmers of feeling.” Ebert placed it in his hallowed list of 'Great Movies.'
6 Burn After Reading
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Renowned directors and creative dream team the Coen brothers directed, wrote, and produced and the 2008 black comedy spy flick Burn After Reading, which centers on the recently jobless CIA analyst Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). The analyst's personal memoirs are discovered by a pair of daft gym employees that mistakenly believe them to be classified government documents; they set out to turn a profit on the seemingly “valuable” documents.
Featuring a spectacular ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, and George Clooney, the clever and playful picture was created by the dynamite directors out of a desire to create a fun spy story, describing it as “our version of a Tony Scott/Jason Bourne kind of movie, without explosions.” The brothers also wrote the script and characters with many of the film’s actors in mind, and lead John Malkovich called the duo “very delightful: smart, funny, very specific about what they want but not overly controlling, as some people can be.” Burn After Reading earned widespread appreciation at its Venice Film Festival premiere and was a box office success.
5 Dangerous Liaisons
Stephen Frears’ 1988 period romantic drama Dangerous Liaisons is adapted from the Christopher Hampton play and Pierre Choderlos de Laclos novel, and tells the tale of the scheming widow the Marquise de Merteuil and her manipulative ex-lover Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont, who place a bet pertaining to the corruption of a recently married woman. The Oscar-winning film stars Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer, and went on to earn seven Academy Award nominations, winning three (though snubbing Glenn Close of her Oscar); the cast’s performances, costumes, and screenplay earned widespread praise.
Malkovich portrayed the spiteful and vain lothario Valmont, in a role he feels the most proud of and that helped turn him into a household name; many associated the actor with his on-screen persona, with him telling The Age, “People confuse me with my character in Dangerous Liaisons. Though funny and charming, he was very weak. A moral coward. He couldn’t admit to his own feelings because they flew in the face of his self-image. I’m not him.”
4 In the Line of Fire
For the 1993 political action thriller In the Line of Fire, John Malkovich delivered a terrifying performance as an obsessive former CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States, squaring off against Clint Eastwood as the Secret Service agent relentlessly hunting him down. Producer Jeff Apple was inspired to develop the film after watching televised replays of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as an adolescent, ultimately incorporating that aspect by making Eastwood’s character the last remaining agent from the detail that guarded the fallen president in 1963.
Malkovich is chillingly superb as the unrelentingly resolute hitman Mitch Leary/Booth, who taunts Eastwood’s Frank Horrigan every step of the way, donning various disguises and aliases to further torment the Secret Service agent. Malkovich once again earned an Academy Award nomination for his gripping portrayal, with the BBC calling it, “one of the most deliciously creepy performances of his outstanding career.”
3 The Killing Fields
Based on the experiences of journalists Dith Pran and Sydney Schanberg, the 1984 British biographical drama The Killing Fields details the Khmer regime in Cambodia and follows New York Times reporter Schaneberg as he becomes trapped in the country during tyrant Pol Pot’s bloody “Year Zero” cleansing campaign that horrifically claimed the lives of two million civilians. Sam Waterston and Haing S. Ngor led the powerful picture as Schaneberg and local interpreter Pran, with John Malkovich appearing as Schaneberg’s close confidante and American photojournalist Al Rockoff.
Ngor himself was a survivor of the Khmer Regime and the labor camps, having tragically lost his wife before managing to flee to Thailand; the emotionally-driven drama was the gifted newcomer’s first role, earning him an Oscar. He told People magazine, “I wanted to show the world how deep starvation is in Cambodia, how many people die under Communist regime. My heart is satisfied. I have done something perfect.”
2 Being John Malkovich
Memorably portraying a satirical version of himself, John Malkovich appeared alongside John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener in the 1999 fantasy comedy Being John Malkovich. In the quirky Spike Jonze cult classic, written by the brilliant Charlie Kaufman, Cusack plays a puppeteer who discovers a portal that literally leads into the mind of the revered actor John Malkovich, eventually realizing that whoever enters the portal has the ability to control the movie star’s mind and ultimately his entire being.
Jonze praised Malkovich’s commitment and involvement in the wild and smart satire, especially since the dynamic performer had initial reservations about starring; the director revealed to Rolling Stone, “He said: either the movie’s a bomb, and it’s got…my name in the title…or it does well, and I’m just forever associated with this character.” Malkovich overcoming his reluctance proved to be a fruitful and rewarding decision, as Being John Malkovich went on garner numerous accolades and rave reviews from critics, with the Associated Press proclaiming, “Fabulously funny and delightfully disturbed, Being John Malkovich is the ultimate voyeur movie, a dark and at times malevolent take on what it’s like to be in someone else’s skull, looking out.”
1 Of Mice and Men
Adapted from the beloved John Steinbeck novella of the same name, 1992’s period drama Of Mice and Men tells the stirring tale of nomadic farmworker George Milton and his dim-witted, gentle-giant friend Lennie Small as they travel together and dream of owning their own land during the Great Depression. Gary Sinise directed and stars as George in the poignant picture, with John Malkovich serving up an eloquent and compelling performance as Lennie; Sinise credits the play with “introducing me to literature,” having witnessed the paramount show at Guthrie Theater and upon its finish “was trying to scream some sort of acknowledgement of my feelings…but I was so choked up nothing came out except tears.”
The incredible adaptation premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a standing ovation, and Sinise was nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the renowned event. Malkovich’s touching performance as Lennie was singled out by many critics, with the Hartford Courant writing, “John Malkovich breathes new life into John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men…fills us with hope that somehow Lennie Small will escape his fate — as Romeo and Juliet did in Victorian Shakespeare.”