Actors That Love Working With Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson, by far one of the most unique filmmakers alive. Either you love his work, or you hate it. He’s well known for his symetrical framing and his reoccuring, extreemly star studded cast that an Indie film director could only dream for. So, who does Wes Anderson work with most?

Bill Murray – 9 Films:
The actor with the most Wes Anderson credits in his filmography is Bill Murray. He’s Wes’ Sam Jackson to Quentin Tarantino, his Johnny Depp to Tim Burton, his Robert De Niro to Martin Scorsese ( until Leonardo DiCaprio took over ) Having first appeared in Anderson’s second film, playing Herman J. Blume. Since Rushmore, from “The Royal Tennenbaums” to “The French Dispatch”, Murray has appeared in literally EVERY single one of Wes Anderson’s feature films. Though he wasn’t in his first film, “Bottle Rocket”, Bill Murray is undoubtedly one of, if not the most important actor to Wes Anderson’s career.
Appeared in: Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch

Owen Wilson- 7 Films
Owen Wilson, the actor most known for constantly saying “wow” in his movies, was with Wes Anderson from the very beginning. He was in both the original shortfilm and the feature, Bottlerocket, where he played Dignan, along with his brother Luke, O. Wilson has been regular in Wes Anderson films ever since. Appeared in: Bottlerocket, The Royal Tennenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch

Jason Schwartzman – 6 Films:
Jason Schwartzman, one of the actors whose career heavily relied off of working with Wes Anderson ( seriously, if you google “Jason Schwartzman movies”, the first five are all Wes Anderson flicks ). Schwatzman has consistently worked alongside Wes Anderson since almost the beginning.
Appeared in: Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch

Adrien Brody – 4 Films:
Having first played Peter L. Whitman in the 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited, brother of Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson’s characters. Brody has since appeared in three of the five Wes Anderson films since.
Appeared in: The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch

Angelica Huston – 4 Films:
Known for her roles in movies like The Addams Family and John Wick 3, Huston first appeared as ‘Etheline Tennenbaum’ in The Royal Tennenbaums. She then dissapeared from Anderson’s filmography until the recently completed ‘The French Dispatch’. She was also credited for playing ‘Mute Poodle’ in 2018’s Isle of Dogs, but since it wasn’t actually voiced, was presumably meant as more of a gag than anything else.

Appeared in: The Royal Tennenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, ( Isle of Dogs ), The French Dispatch

Edward Norton – 4 Films:
Edward Norton, the actor known for movies like: American History X, Birdman, Fight Club and Primal Fear, first appeared in 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, where he played Scout Master Ward, Norton has appeared in every single one of Wes Anderson’s movies since.
Appeared in: Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch

Willem Dafoe – 4 Films:
Well, if it isn’t Nosferatu, The Green Goblin, the director guy in Mr. Bean’s Holiday. This four-time Oscar nominated actor really needs no introduction. He first appeared in 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, where he played “Klaus Daimler”.
Appeared in: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatc

Harvey Keitel – 3 Films:
Over the years Harvey Keitel became associated with a few top-notch directors. At first it was Martin Scorsese with Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and The Last Temptation of Christ. Then it was Quentin Tarantino with Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and, though only written and starring Tarantino, From Dusk Till Dawn. Keitel then started becoming a regular in Wes Anderson’s work, having first appeared in 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom, playing the small role of Commander Pierce.
Appeared in: Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dog

Jeff Goldblum – 3 Films:
One of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood, known for his quirky intelligent type characters. Like Willem Dafoe Jeff Goldblum first appeared in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, where he played Alistair Hennessey.
Appeared in: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs

Luke Wilson – 3 Films
Like his brother Owen, he was their from Wes’ beginning. Only difference, he suddenly dissapeared from his filmography after The Royal Tennenbaums. Why? Well, I couldn’t actually find anything about it online. Maybe one of you know? Either way, given how his brother is still an Anderson regular, it is strange how he hasn’t appeared in any in nearly 20 years, especially given the amount of publicity he would revieve. Will Luke Wilson ever return? Who knows. Appeared in: Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaum

Tilda Swinton – 3 Films:
Known for playing strange and bizarre characters, Tilda Swinton first appeared in Moonrise Kingdom, where she played the amazingly named “Social Services Worker”. Yeah I know, if i were a big name actor, I wouldn’t be overly excited about being called that either.
Appeared in: Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch

Feel free to comment your favorite Wes Anderson movie below. For me it’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

–The Screenwriter

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons. Photo belongs to the user named Popperipop. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wes_Anderson.JPG