Austin, Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater helped define the 1990s American indie scene with “Slacker,” a loose collection of conversations with real and invented personalities from the local Austin scene. That first film set a pattern for the filmmaker, who often employs large casts to create sprawling slice of life portraits. The lineup in “Dazed and Confused” could overwhelm a “best characters” list from many other filmmakers, and then there are the “Before” trilogy, “Boyhood,” and the new “Everybody Wants Some!!” to consider, among many others.
While often an author of his own scripts, Linklater has adapted material by Eric Bogosian (“SubUrbia”), Eric Schlosser (“Fast Food Nation”), Stephen Belber (“Tape”), Philip K. Dick (“A Scanner Darkly”), and Bill Lancaster (“Bad News Bears”). Even in those cases, the director’s methods and style make the characters his own.
Thanks to his interest in detail and speech, some of Linklater’s most memorable characters get only a scene or two to shine. We’ve taken the great and small into account as we ranked the 40 best characters in Linklater’s career. Check out our picks and argue for any of your own inclusions.
40. Conspiracy Theory Guy, “Slacker”
There’s a unique sort of discomfort in running into that guy you maybe kinda remember from high school, who is now working on his book about JFK conspiracy theories, and Slacker’s bespectacled assassination enthusiast, played by John Slate, captures that person perfectly.
39. Liquor Store Clerk, “Dazed and Confused” and “Boyhood”
So many high school kids have wanted this sort of distant “no fucks given” dude to enable a beer run. Even though there’s little more to the character than that, seeing David Blackwell return to the register in “Boyhood” was a minor but undeniable pleasure.
38. Dreamer, “Waking Life”
The unnamed main character of Linklater’s animated philosophical meander, played by Wiley Wiggins, doesn’t say much, but he’s our engaging connection to encounters with a sprawling connection of thinkers, eccentrics and colorful crackpots.
37. Raul, “Fast Food Nation”
Wilmer Valderrama‘s Raul is part of the effort to put a human face on many aspects of the fast-food industry in this didactic fiction. As an immigrant worker fed into the food-processing machine, Raul is an effective emotional connector, even though we can see the film’s manipulation at work.
36. Jess Newton, “The Newton Boys”
For most of the film Ethan Hawke‘s rakish bank robber is merely a loose collection of grins and lunges. He comes to life in the concluding trial; too little too late for the film, but his big scene sets him apart from the other criminals in the picture.
35. Pap Smear, “Slacker”
34. Linguist Kim Krizan, “Waking Life”
The characters in “Waking Life” are so abstract that choosing any one as emblematic of the film is an exercise in extreme subjectivity, but the linguist (who co-wrote “Before Sunrise“) provides a clear articulation of ideas at the center of Linklater’s film.
READ MORE: Watch: 40-Minute Searchlab Talk With Richard Linklater Plus New Featurette For ‘Boyhood’
33. Tim, “SubUrbia”
The polar opposite of so many Linklater characters, Nicky Katt‘s drunk veteran is a racist, manipulative loon who seems to be on the verge of real self-destructive violence… all of which makes his keen perception about other characters all the more irritating.
32. Brentwood Glasscock, “The Newton Boys”
Dwight Yoakam reins in his scenery-chewing tendencies for a small, focused performance. His explosives expert is invaluable to Willis Newton’s bank-robbing efforts, and as the guy most capable of commanding attention for the first two acts, he is key to Linklater’s film as well.
31. Charles Freck, “A Scanner Darkly”
After playing memorably dopey stoner Slater in “Dazed & Confused,” Rory Cochrane dove into deeper, weirder addiction as the guy who hallucinates bugs on his body before eventually orchestrating a highly symbolic suicide attempt. Just try not to itch yourself while he’s on screen.
30. Morris Buttermaker, “Bad News Bears”
