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Bill Irwin

Bill Irwin

23 movies on Netflix

Biography

Bill Irwin is an American actor, clown, choreographer, and comedian who came up through vaudeville-style stage work and helped revive American circus in the 1970s. Born in Santa Monica, California, he studied theater at the California Institute of the Arts and Oberlin College and trained at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's clown college before helping found the Pickle Family Circus in 1975. He created and performed in stage shows such as Largely New York and Fool Moon, and his turn as George in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? earned him a Tony Award. His films include Popeye (1980), Stepping Out (1991), Hot Shots! (1991), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Rachel Getting Married (2008), and Interstellar (2014), in which he voiced the robot TARS. On television he is known as Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street's Elmo's World, and he played Dr. Peter Lindstrom on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Cary Loudermilk on Legion.

76years old

Turns 77 on April 11in 152 days

  • Born Santa Monica
  • Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
  • Also credited as William Mills Irwin and William Thomas Irwin

Movie Career

Films
23
Career span
44 years1980 to 2024

Genres

First and latest

Photos

  • Bill Irwin, photo 1 of 3
  • Bill Irwin, photo 2 of 3
  • Bill Irwin, photo 3 of 3

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  1. A first

    Irwin was the first performance artist to receive a five-year MacArthur Fellowship, awarded in 1984, and was also named a Guggenheim Fellow that same year.

  2. First role

    Irwin's first featured film role came in 1980, when he appeared as Harold Hamgravy in Robert Altman's Popeye, which starred Robin Williams.

  3. Early training

    Irwin trained at the theater school of California Institute of the Arts from 1970 to 1972, then transferred to Oberlin College to continue studying with instructor Herbert Blau.

  4. Early training

    Irwin attended Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1975, the year after earning his theater arts degree from Oberlin College.

  5. A change of course

    Irwin was one of the founders of the Pickle Family Circus, which began in San Francisco, California, in 1975. He stayed with the company until 1979, when he departed to focus on stage work.

  6. Getting ready for a role

    Irwin played Lucky in a 1988 Lincoln Center Off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot, a role whose only lines are a 500-word monologue, ironic for a performer known for silent clown work.

Bill Irwin movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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  1. Interstellar2014 Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fias TARSvoice

    IMDb rating 8.72.6M votes

  2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas2000 Comedy, Family, Fantasyas Lou Lou Who

    IMDb rating 6.4336K votes

  3. Rachel Getting Married2008as Paul

    IMDb rating 6.655K votes

  4. Lady in the Water2006as Mr. Leeds

    IMDb rating 5.5109K votes

  5. Hot Shots!1991as Buzz Harley

    IMDb rating 6.7126K votes

  6. My Blue Heaven1990as Kirby

    IMDb rating 6.324K votes

  7. Irresistible2020as Elton Chambers

    IMDb rating 6.325K votes

  8. Scenes from a Mall1991as Mime

    IMDb rating 5.45.5K votes

Most often with

Jonathan Demme directed two of these films. Jeffrey Wright appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Jeffrey Wright, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Jeffrey WrightSusan Sarandon, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Susan SarandonDavid Strathairn, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with David StrathairnJared Harris, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Jared HarrisAnne Hathaway, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Anne HathawayCharlie Sheen, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Charlie SheenJonathan DemmeDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Jonathan Demme

Films together

Box office

What Bill Irwin's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$1.5 billion

14 of the 23 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 23 films: 14 worldwide figure; 4 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 3 figure not found.

  • 14Worldwide figure
  • 4US gross only
  • 2Never in cinemas
  • 3Figure not found

Top grosser

Interstellar2014as TARS (voice)$747 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 99% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Interstellar2014as TARS (voice)
    $747M48.3% of the total
  2. 2
    How the Grinch Stole Christmas2000as Lou Lou Who
    $346M22.4% of the total
  3. 3
    Hot Shots!1991as Buzz Harley
    $181M11.7% of the total
  4. 4
    The Manchurian Candidate2004as Scoutmaster
    $96M6.2% of the total
  5. 5
    Lady in the Water2006as Mr. Leeds
    $73M4.7% of the total
  6. 6
    Popeye1980as Ham Gravy - the Old Boyfriend
    $50M3.2% of the total
  7. 7
    Rachel Getting Married2008as Paul
    $17M1.1% of the total
  8. 8
    A Midsummer Night's Dream1999as Tom Snout
    $16M1.0% of the total
Scenes from a Mall (1991), $9.6 millionEight Men Out (1988), $5.7 millionIgby Goes Down (2002), $4.8 millionHigher Ground (2011), $841,733Illuminata (1998), $840,702Irresistible (2020), $177,418

$21.9 millionfrom the other 6 films with a worldwide figure, 1% of the total

Awards

Four awards and honors from 1984 to 2005, one of them major.

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Bill Irwin's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Tony Awards
2005Best Actor in a PlayWon
Other honors
1984Guggenheim FellowshipWon
1984MacArthur Fellows ProgramWon
Bessie AwardsWon

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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