His younger self would\u2019ve found it inconceivable: There\u2019s a film festival coming to New York City devoted entirely to the movies of Wallace Shawn.<\/p>\n
Shawn, now 82, is best known to audiences for his pugnacious but warmly funny roles in movies like \u201cClueless\u201d and \u201cThe Princess Bride.\u201d Now, a new film festival looks to display the actor’s full range, from leading man in \u201cVanya on 42nd Street\u201d to writer for screen and stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWallace Shawn: The Master Builder,\u201d opens at the Metrograph next month.<\/p>\n
As for Shawn, he\u2019s basking in the recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel discovered,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cI feel delighted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Festival curator Lucas Kane said, \u201c\u200aHe excels in all these different worlds that are very sort of siloed, in a cultural sense, and it was just exciting to bring them all together in one place.”<\/p>\n
Kane is the assistant director of Shawn\u2019s most recent play, \u201cWhat We Did Before Our Moth Days,\u201d which stars actor and comedian John Early. Kane and Early started batting around the idea of a Shawn-focused film festival during rehearsals.<\/p>\n
Early, who\u2019s widely known for his roles in TV shows like \u201cSearch Party\u201d and \u201cI Think You Should Leave,\u201d said he went back and watched nearly all of Shawn\u2019s movies while doing research for the play. \u201c\u200aI just was kind of stunned by seeing the power of Wally’s work on film,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Shawn began his career as a playwright. His first acting role came in 1977 when he was in his mid-30s. Shawn had just translated Machiavelli\u2019s \u201cThe Mandrake\u201d from the original Italian. Director Wilford Leach decided to cast him in a supporting role for his production at the Public Theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe offered to pay me $125 a week,\u201d Shawn recalled. \u201cNobody else was paying me anything.\u201d<\/p>\n