What do a plastic toy dinosaur, a scheming scholar and a schoolteacher have in common? They are all roles that have been played by writer and actor Wallace Shawn.
Shawn spoke in a panel with fans at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX on March 17 and discussed a range of topics from his career history to his favorite moments in his acting days. He visited the conference in part as a member of the cast from "The Princess Bride," in which he played Vizzini, most known for his famous catchphrase, "Inconceivable!"
According to his guest biography at saltlakecomiccon.com, Shawn entered the workforce as an English teacher in India on a Fulbright scholarship. However, his love of writing led him to leave that position and pursue a career as a playwright and actor. One fan asked how he transitioned from writing to acting.
Shawn shared that at the time, he hadn’t quite figured out how to make a living and was considering becoming a taxi driver when he had a friend ask him to translate a script. Later on, that friend asked him to be in the play as well.
“That play ran for a long time, and somebody from Woody Allen’s casting office saw it and invited me to meet him. They offered me a role in their upcoming movie,” Shawn said. That movie was 1979's “Manhattan.”
Since then, Shawn’s bio said he has been in a variety of unique films. When fans asked about his favorite roles, he talked about quite a few.
Shawn said that he enjoyed playing Mr. Hall in “Clueless” because of his teaching background.
“That is one of my favorite movies that a lot of people have seen," he said. "It was one of the few films where a teacher is portrayed in a good light, which I love. I was created by teachers, and I believe in the power of schoolteachers."
Another favorite role he mentioned was as the voice of Rex in Pixar’s “Toy Story.” He said that he rode on the back of that role for many years, explaining that most movies are about young people, and as you get older, the range of available roles dwindles.
“The interest in playing a main character’s great-grandfather is limited, but the toy dinosaur doesn’t really age,” Shawn said.
He shared that he loved how the role was uniquely his own, and how he couldn’t be replaced because of his unique voice.
Another fan asked Shawn what his favorite comedic scene was from his entire career.
“The funniest thing I ever did was a pilot for a show with Gene Wilder, which no one ever saw,” he said.
He shared that the basic idea of the show was that Wilder’s son was having some problems, so a child psychiatrist was supposed to come to the house to help. Shawn played a roof repairman, who Wilder thought was the psychiatrist when Shawn arrived at the door.
“Somehow in the scene we both broke out in laughter and couldn’t finish. We had to do the scene several times,” Shawn said.
The final favorite role that Shawn discussed with the audience was his favorite costume, which he listed as the makeup and outfit of the Grand Negus from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
“That was a quite fun and a glorious episode in my life,” Shawn said.
For that role, Shawn had to be in makeup for three hours before shooting began. He told the audience that it was a great way to learn how to relax on set.
“If you’re a certain kind of person, sitting still for that long would drive you absolutely insane," he said. "But to me, it is a beautiful discipline just to be able to be calm and not have to be doing anything."
Shawn won't be leaving the acting world anytime soon. His biography said that he is set to play a few roles this year, including Principal Miller in "Cop and a Half 2" and a role in "Animal Crackers" with Sylvester Stallone and Ian McKellen.
Email: mhulse@deseretnews.com