ComingSoon.net is counting down our ten favorite movies and TV shows starring Anjelica Huston, who has managed to secure countless notable roles throughout her career. Check out our choices in the gallery below!
Initially a fashion model, Anjelica Huston’s height and overall demeanor made her the perfect candidate for the feature film industry. Eventually getting involved in plenty of gothic comedies and dramas, Huston found the perfect niche for her talents. Now, all these decades later, Huston remains a prominent figure in the worlds of Tim Burton, Wes Anderson, and countless others.
Anjelica Huston might take home the trophy for embodying the most characters who would go on to become popular Halloween costumes. Witches, fairies, eccentric matriarchs—she’s practically undefeated. The best thing is that, after acting since 1967, she shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. As she continues to power forward, let’s pay our respects to her greatest credits yet.
Anjelica Huston movies
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Lonesome Dove (1989)
Technically a miniseries from 1989, Lonesome Dove is a six-and-a-half-hour Western of gargantuan proportions. It follows two former Texas Rangers as they join a cattle drive toward Montana, but this project is really all about its characters. Actors like Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, and Chris Cooper all do a great job, but perhaps none as great as Huston herself as Clara Allen.
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The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
One of Wes Anderson’s most accessible (and iconic) films, 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums features an all-star cast playing some all-star characters. With Owen and Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Gwenyth Paltrow, Gene Hackman, and—of course—Anjelica Huston, there’s really no going wrong. It’s heartfelt and hilarious and a true magnum opus, for both Anderson and Huston alike.
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Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
A box office flop with no shortage of critical acclaim, Crimes and Misdemeanors racked up three Oscar nominations in the year of its release back in 1989. Huston joins Mia Farrow, Alan Alda, and Sam Waterston in a story that seamlessly crosses comedy and suspense. Huston is pretty key here, and it’s almost worth watching just for her performance as Dolores.
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Buffalo '66 (1998)
A controversial film from a controversial filmmaker, Buffalo ’66 is a movie written, directed by, and starring Vincent Gallo. It’s a wild story about pleasing your family by any means necessary—even kidnapping a woman and making her pretend to be your wife. Huston is Gallo’s character’s mom, the one he’s trying so hard to impress. Funnily enough, she’s plenty impressive in her own right.
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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Her 2004 collaboration with Wes Anderson, arriving just a few years after her great performance in The Royal Tenenbaums, Huston plays the wife of Bill Murray’s titular Steve Zissou in this marine comedy The Life Aquatic. Murray is a man dead-set on finding the sea creature that killed his friend, dragging his submarine crew and newfound son (played by Owen Wilson) along with him. Huston has never been more wryly comedic, and it’s really so great.
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The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Yet another collaboration with Wes, 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited is again about a search—this time, instead of a search for a killer sea creature, it’s a search for a long-lost mother camped somewhere in the mountains of India. Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody star as the three brothers, while Huston plays their mom. It’s an underrated Anderson feature, but a great one nonetheless.
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50/50 (2011)
A dramedy directed by Jonathan Levine, 50/50 tackles cancer in a way not many other films from the 21st century have managed to do. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen make light of the disease while never detracting from how devastating it actually is, with Huston remaining relatively grounded throughout the feature as Levitt’s character’s mother. It’s a sweet and heavy movie not afraid to have a laugh, and Huston is naturally incredible.
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The Addams Family (1991)
Easily her most iconic performance as an actress, Huston is perfectly cast in this adaptation of a cult classic television show. The movie has since become a cult classic of its own, with Huston playing Morticia Addams alongside Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Carell Struycken, and Christina Ricci. The movie contains a great Huston performance, even if the film’s legacy surpasses the actual content of it.
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The Grifters (1990)
An under-seen hit from 1990, The Grifters is a neo-noir produced by Martin Scorsese and starring John Cusack, Annette Bening, and Anjelica Huston. A well-made heist film can make an incredible lasting impression, and The Grifters easily manages to do just that. It’s one of her more straightforward roles, but it’s worth seeing regardless.
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The Witches (1990)
Based on the Roald Dahl novel of the same name, The Witches is another iconic performance of Huston’s. Playing one of the titular witches, Huston is accompanied by Rowan Atkinson in this story of a young boy who stumbles upon a witch convention and his subsequent attempts to put a stop to it. Huston’s performance was definitely praised more than the movie itself, which is yet another example of how she manages to elevate any sort of project she’s attached to.
