Born in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1950, Ed Harris has had a long and lucrative career in Hollywood. Getting his start in 1976 - Harris has been nominated for four Academy Awards and three Emmys. He’s had a varying career that has spanned multiple genres and formats. He’s ultimately found success in all of them. He’s even directed a couple of successful films, with Appaloosa and Pollock.
Updated, January 2023: To keep the article fresh and relevant by adding more information and entries, this article has been updated by Rafa Boladeras.
Ed Harris once had this to say about acting, “Acting is a lifelong situation…’til you drop dead.” In a lot of ways, Ed Harris is an actor’s actor. He may not be the biggest name in the game, but he always puts together great and memorable performances. This list highlights the best of his long and successful career. With Top Gun: Maverick killing it in theaters, it’s safe to say that Ed Harris isn’t leaving the silver screen any time soon.
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9 The Rock (1996)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
A group of renegade soldiers led by General Francis X. Hummel (Harris) take control of Alcatraz and threaten to launch chemical weapons into San Francisco if the government doesn’t pay 100 million to the families of the soldiers who were killed under his command in a cover mission. FBI Special Agent Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) and the only man who escaped Alcatraz, disgraced British Spy Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), can stop him.
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Although Harris is an actor’s actor, he’s done some popcorn flicks here and there, and The Rock might be one of his best. His character could be a one-note villain, but Harris imbues him with empathy, loyalty, and duty to his men, making his petition one the audience can understand, even if his methods to get the money are absolutely out of proportion. Most characters in Michael Bay movies are black and white, but not this one, as Harris imbues him with enough pathos and gravitas to make him someone with clear motivations and a real human being.
8 Snowpiercer (2013)
CJ Entertainment
Ed Harris doesn’t have a lot of lines in Snowpiercer, but he still remains one of the biggest parts. His character is integral to the plot, and has a lot of mystery and intrigue around him. He’s an almost mythic figure, and his performance had to be memorable or audiences would be let down by the reveal. In an interview with Collider, Harris had this to say about the role: “It was really having seen director Bong’s films that made me want to work with him. I would have played any role, if he’d asked me, just because I really appreciated his work. But, the fact that he wanted me to play this guy who’s talked about through the whole film, and who’s The Wizard of Oz behind a curtain, had some attraction to me.”
The dynamic between director and actor is an important part of putting together a successful movie. Bong Joon-ho is an incredible director - but Wilford is not an easy role to play. Despite all the complexities, Ed Harris made it look easy. He may not be the most lauded performance in the movie - but he should be.
7 A History of Violence (2005)
New Line Cinema
Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is an ordinary diner owner who becomes a local hero when he prevents a robbery. After the news goes viral, some people from his past come for him and reveal Tom’s horrible past as a mob enforcer. Harris’s role in A History of Violence is not a big one, but it changes the tone and mood of the film. He plays Carl Fogerty, a mobster with a scarred face, who is coming for revenge. Harris plays the character as someone collected, but you can see the angry devil inside, someone menacing, scary, and someone who could order killing everyone in the room at any moment, in a chilling performance that should’ve earned Harris, at least, an Oscar Nomination.
6 Westworld (2016-2022)
Warner Bros. Television
Westworld has had a lot of ups and downs since the start of its first season. What its legacy will be after its final season is yet to be decided - but something that no one can argue with, is how incredible Ed Harris has been as the villainous and intriguing Man in Black. The hyper-violent western sci-fi has a lot of despicable characters, but maybe none more so than Ed Harris’ character. The format of television is perfect for fleshing out a character that may have just been relegated to a bad guy wearing a black hat in other westerns, but Westworld gives audiences time to think about a character and see all the paths that helped create who he is. Harris isn’t a stranger to playing villains. He’s done it expertly his entire career. This may be his best to date. Westworld was recently canceled, after a disappointing season four.
5 Apollo 13 (1995)
Universal Pictures
Apollo 13 set the world on fire when it came out. It had so many iconic lines and moments, and is still considered by some to be one of the best movies of its generation. Ed Harris might not have been the star of this one - but he stole the show.
It’s an all-star cast, but Ed Harris holds his own as Flight Director Gene Kranz. The filmfollows the real life story of the launch of the Apollo 13, and the subsequent disaster that occurs. Gene is the head of mission control, and Harris plays him with a strong hand. Apollo 13 was nominated for nine Academy Awards. Ed Harris would ultimately go on to lose the award, but like many of these other entries, the argument can be made that he was the most deserving in a very crowded year of performances.
4 Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Adapting David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, this is the story of a group of desperate sales people trying to get enough sales to avoid getting fired. Glengarry Glen Ross has a dream team cast: Harris, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Jonathan Pryce, and Kevin Spacey, and all of them feel energized by the incredibly rich dialogue. Harris’ performance as Dave Moss proves he can play with the best, as he steals every scene he’s in. His character is a bitter, hot-headed man, furious with the world. Someone who doesn’t understand why he isn’t more successful. When Moss sees the writing on the wall and might get fired, he decides it might be time to steal the Glengarry leads and sell them to a rival firm. His scene with Alan Arkin, where he tells him the plan, without telling him (while also involving him in the theft) is a master class in acting.
3 The Hours (2002)
Miramax
The Hours is one of the most lauded movies that Ed Harris has been in. It made more than $100 million on a small budget, and would go on to be nominated for nine Academy Awards. One of those, as it turns out, would be for Ed Harris. His performance is charismatic and engaging, but totally rooted in a sense of reality and compassion.
Set over the course of three different timelines, Harris plays a poet named Richard Brown. Richard has had a long and rewarding career, but he’s recently been diagnosed with AIDS. Harris plays this character to perfection, showing the ins and outs of that struggle. His on-screen chemistry with Meryl Streep worked very well, and it’s a surprise that she wasn’t nominated as well. Harris has had a lot of opportunities to win an Academy Award, and this should have been one of them.
2 The Truman Show (1998)
Paramount Pictures
Often considered one of Jim Carrey’s best performances, The Truman Show shouldn’t just be known as a Carrey project. Ed Harris, playing Christof, is a revelation, and it earned him one of his four Oscar nominations. He probably should have won for it, too. It’s one of his more complex roles, as Cristof is a charismatic figure with a God complex. His monologue to end the movie is one of the most iconic monologues of its era, and one of the best endings as well. The music and direction does a lot of the heavy lifting, but Harris absolutely nails the speech. Without it - the impact of the ending may not have resonated as well as it did.
1 Pollock (2000)
Sony Pictures Classics
Pollock tells the story of the famed abstract expressionist painter, his inner life, and his struggles with alcoholism and depression. This film was a labor of love for Harris, who, after reading a biography of the painter, fell in love with his story and decided to both direct and star in the movie. Harris is usually a supporting player, but the times he gets the spotlight, it’s easy to see how magnetic and charismatic his performances can be, and this time it was no different. His Pollock is a genius, but also an alcoholic; he can see things no one else can; but he’s not the best of husbands; he’s tormented, but is totally in love with his art; and Harris transmits all those qualities with every gesture, every look, every word, and every brush, inhabiting the painter beautifully. Harris earned a Best Actor Nomination for his portrayal of the painter, but he lost to Russell Crowe and his performance in Gladiator.
Ed Harris has taken on a lot of complex and interesting characters throughout his career. While this list only highlights a small number, any of them could have made the list as well. It’s hard to find an actor without many misses, but Ed Harris can count himself among that small crew.
