William H. Macy’s 10 Best Movies and TV Shows

The best William H. Macy Films and TV Shows features some of the best independent films of the 1990s and has worked on both big-budget and mainstream TV shows throughout his career. Macy studied with playwright David Mamet at Goddard College, which gave him not only his first break but also a great start as a filmmaker and creator. After graduating, he began to collaborate with Mamet.

This connection led to some minor film and TV roles before he finally got his first big break in 1996 when he signed on for the Coen brothers film Fargo as one of the main characters. He then caught the attention of PT Anderson who cast him in two of his early masterpieces Dance nights and Magnolia. Since then, Macy has become a legitimate star in film and TV, where she found a second life as the patriarch on the long-running Showtime series. Shameless.

10

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

William H. Macy plays Frank Levin

In 2011, William H. Macy took on a supporting role in Michael Connelly’s adaptation Lincoln’s lawyer. In this film Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Haller a lawyer who operates his business primarily from the backseat of a Lincoln Continental and takes on criminal defense cases that often put him in conflict with local authorities. This film adapts the first Connelly Lincoln Lawyer romance.

As for Macy, he plays Frank Levin, one of Mickey’s friends who helps him investigate cases. However, he does not make it out of the film alive, providing one of the most tragic moments in history for Mickey, as he defends a young man guilty of the murder he is accused of. Critics praised the film, with an 84% approval rating and praise for McConaughey, and Although Macy only had a supporting role, it was important to the story.

9

Pleasant Village (1998)

William H. Macy plays George Parker

Pleasantville was an interesting movie when it came out in 1998. It was a Gary Ross movie about twin brothers trapped in a 1950s TV show where everyone in the small Midwestern town seemed perfect. Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon star as teenage twins who are sucked into a strange world thanks to a remote control given to them by a quirky TV repairman played by Don Knotts.

William H. Macy plays George Parker, the father of the 1950s TV sitcom worldwhile Joan Allen plays their mother. The film was about repression and political repression giving way to positive change. Although it was a box office failure, Pleasantville was a critical success, with 86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and receiving praise for its originality. He also received three Oscar nominations for art direction, costumes and soundtrack.

8

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

William H. Macy plays Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre

Jason Reitman directed the satire film Thank you for smoking in 2005. The film is based on the novel by Christopher Buckley and follows the efforts of Big Tobacco chief spokesman Nick Naylor. Naylor lobbies in favor of cigarettes, claiming there is no proof they cause lung cancer. Aaron Eckhart plays Naylor as he tries to get more cigarette commercials on TV while also trying to remain a positive role model for his son.

The supporting cast is fantastic, with a highlight being Sam Elliott as Lorne Lutch, a fictional version of the original Marlboro Man from the commercials who is dying of cancer. William H. Macy plays Senator Ortolan Finisterre, the politician leading the effort to get more warnings on cigarettes. Critics praised the story’s dark humor, giving the film an 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also earned two Golden Globe nominations.

7

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

William H. Macy plays Trevathan

William H. Macy doesn’t appear in many Hollywood blockbusters, but he made an exception for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth installment in the rebooted franchise and the first new film after Caesar’s death. This issue sees most humans reduced to pets and enslaved people, until a young girl shows an intelligence unheard of for humans after the spread of the simian flu.

Macy takes on the role of Trevathan, a human who works as a historian for Proximus Caesar about human history while also helping them learn more about human weapons. As a human being also immune to the simian flu, he also retains his intelligence and learning ability. He served as a minor antagonist, willing to sell out humans to secure their place in the world while helping Proximus gain more knowledge. This installment received mostly positive reviews and was a solid box office success.

6

State and Main (2000)

William H. Macy plays Walt Price

William H. Macy studied with David Mamet in college and starred in one of the playwright’s films. David Mamet wrote and directed State and Maintelling the story of a film crew who came to a small New England town to make a movie, disrupting life and turning everyone’s lives upside down. The cast was fantastic, with some of the best actors of the time delivering some of Mamet’s brilliant dialogue.

William H. Macy stars as Walt Price, the film’s director, who demands changes in the town when he discovers that the old mill where the film was supposed to be based has caught fire. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alec Baldwin and Julia Stiles joining the cast, the film was a delight for any film fan who loves snappy dialogue delivered by the best of the best. The National Film Board granted State and Main his award for best ensemble performance. It has also been included in several critical organizations’ Best Of lists.

5

Room (2015)

William H. Macy plays Robert Newsome

Although his role wasn’t huge, William H. Macy played an essential role in the 2015 drama Room. In this film, Brie Larson stars as Joy, a young woman kidnapped and held prisoner for seven years. She was sexually abused and ended up having a son two years after her kidnapping and had to raise this boy while in captivity. When they finally found a way to escape, their son was five years old and the two struggled to fit into the real world, their son for the first time.

Macy plays Robert Newsome, Joy’s father and Jack’s grandfather. However, he has divorced her mother (Joan Allen) since the kidnapping and refused to accept Jack as a grandson, as he was born from rape. It is Robert’s rejection that drives Joy further into depression, which leads to an ending that is part tragic and part hopeful. Brie Larson won an Oscar for her performance.

4

Boogie Nights (1997)

William H. Macy plays little Bill Thompson

William H. Macy began his working relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson on the 1997 film Dance nights. The film tells the story of a high school dropout named Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), who finds a place in the porn industry thanks to his greater attributes. He takes the name Dirk Diggler and signs to star in pornographic films filmed by filmmaker Jack Horner (Bruce Reynolds). He then learns more about the seedier aspects of the industry.

William H. Macy stars as Little Bill, assistant director on Dirk’s films. He is the first person to warn Eddie about the dangers of living a fast life in the porn industry. It is Little Bill who pushes the limits and shows the true dark side of this life, and his death leads Eddie to begin walking a dark path himself. Critics loved the film, giving it a recent rating of 94%, and it received three Oscar nominations.

3

Magnolia (1999)

William H. Macy auditions boy Donnie Smith

William H. Macy worked with PT Anderson for the second time in the 1999 joint film Magnolia. This film shows a series of seemingly disconnected people living tragic lives, each finding their roads unexpectedly crossing. To William H. Macy, he stars as Quiz Kid Donnie Smith. As a child, he was the champion of a television game show, which ended up being the pinnacle of his life, something he had never achieved in subsequent years.

It connects with the other stories in interesting ways, as the show’s longtime host (Philip Baker Hall) becomes estranged from his daughter (Melora Walters) after sexually abusing her as a child. Another story finds the show’s producer (Jason Robards) dying of cancer and shows how it affects his wife (Julianne Moore), his estranged son (Tom Cruise) and the nurse assigned to care for him (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Magnolia received three Oscar nominations.

2

Shameless (2011-2021)

William H. Macy plays Frank Gallagher

An entire generation knows William H. Macy best thanks to his television role as Frank Gallagher on the Showtime series Shameless. Based on the British television series of the same name Frank is the father of six children and is tasked with raising them alone after his wife leaves him. and her family when she realizes she no longer wants a family. However, Frank is an alcoholic who can’t even take care of himself and leaves it to his eldest daughter to take care of her siblings.

Shameless It lasted 11 seasons and 134 episodes. The story ended with Frank’s death, which Macy demanded happen in the worst way possible to punish the character for his years of neglect. The series remained critically praised and highly rated. Macy won three Screen Actor’s Guild Awards for her performance, and the series also earned several Emmy nominations along the way.

1

Fargo (1996)

William H. Macy plays Jerry Lundegaard

The film that made William H. Macy a star was the Coen brothers’ 1996 dark comedy Fargo. This film follows a local Minnesota sheriff named Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), who ends up investigating the kidnapping of the wife of a local dealership owner. However, what Marge doesn’t realize is that it was the woman’s husband who hired the men to kidnap her so he could get ransom money from her rich father to save his car.

William H. Macy stars as unscrupulous car dealership owner Jerry Lundegaard. He hires two basic crooks (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife (Kristin Rudrud) only to find everything goes wrong when they kill his wife before he can get the ransom money. The film was a monstrous success and Macy received an Oscar nomination for her performancewhile McDormand won for her lead performance.