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Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens

30 movies on Netflix

Biography

Paul Reubens was an American actor and comedian who created and played Pee-wee Herman. Born in Peekskill, New York, and raised in Oneonta, New York, and Sarasota, Florida, he joined the Los Angeles improvisational troupe the Groundlings in the 1970s and developed the Pee-wee character there. After a failed Saturday Night Live audition, he debuted The Pee-wee Herman Show in 1981, and Pee-wee became a cult figure. Reubens produced and wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) with Tim Burton directing, and it succeeded with critics and at the box office. The follow-up, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), fared worse with reviewers and at the box office. He starred on Pee-wee's Playhouse from 1986 to 1990, and later appeared in Mystery Men (1999) and Blow (2001), while voicing Lock in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He revived Pee-wee on stage and wrote and co-starred in Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016). He died in July 2023.

70years old at death

  • Born Peekskill
  • Died Los Angeles
  • Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22
  • Paul Rubenfeld (birth name)

Movie Career

Films
30
Career span
55 years1968 to 2023

Genres

First and latest

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  1. Big break

    In a 1978 Groundlings improvisation, Reubens created Pee-wee Herman, a character based on a would-be comic whose joke-telling was so poor that the audience could tell he would never succeed.

  2. Big break

    After losing the Saturday Night Live role to Gilbert Gottfried in 1980, Reubens borrowed money and started his own Los Angeles show with the Pee-wee Herman character he had been developing.

  3. A role that slipped away

    Inspired by Sylvester Stallone, who would not give studios creative control, Reubens rejected Warner Bros.'s pick for director. The studio then gave him a week to find someone "approvable, available, and affordable."

  4. A role that slipped away

    In 2008, Reubens was slated to play Alfredo Aldarisio, a homeopathic antidepressant salesman, in Pushing Daisies' third episode, but Raúl Esparza was recast in the role. Reubens instead appeared as Oscar Vibenius in the 7th and 9th episodes.

  5. Getting ready for a role

    Pee-wee's voice came from a 1970 production of Life with Father, in which Reubens played one of the play's most obnoxious characters and adopted a cartoon-like way of speaking.

  6. About the name

    Reubens was billed as Paul Mall when he voiced the ship's computer in the 1986 film Flight of the Navigator.

Paul Reubens 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. The Nightmare Before Christmas1993 Animation, Family, Fantasyas Lockvoice

    IMDb rating 7.9416K votes

  2. Pee-wee's Big Adventure1985 Adventure, Comedy, Familyas Pee-wee Herman

    IMDb rating 7.164K votes

  3. Big Top Pee-wee1988as Pee-wee Herman

    IMDb rating 5.211K votes

  4. Matilda1996as FBI Agent

    IMDb rating 7.0199K votes

  5. Flight of the Navigator1986as Maxvoice

    IMDb rating 6.956K votes

  6. Blow2001as Derek Foreal

    IMDb rating 7.5289K votes

  7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer1992as Amilyn

    IMDb rating 5.753K votes

  8. Mystery Men1999as Spleen

    IMDb rating 6.174K votes

Most often with

Randal Kleiser directed two of these films, Seth Green two. Lynne Marie Stewart 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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Lynne Marie Stewart, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Lynne Marie StewartGrey Griffin, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Grey GriffinTara Strong, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Tara StrongAlfred Molina, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Alfred MolinaJohn DiMaggio, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with John DiMaggioThomas Jane, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Thomas JaneRandal KleiserDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Randal KleiserSeth GreenDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Seth Green

Films together

Box office

What Paul Reubens's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$373 million

15 of the 30 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 30 films: 15 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 9 never in cinemas; 4 figure not found.

  • 15Worldwide figure
  • 2US gross only
  • 9Never in cinemas
  • 4Figure not found

Top grosser

Blow2001as Derek Foreal$83.3 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 90% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Blow2001as Derek Foreal
    $83M22.3% of the total
  2. 2
    The Nightmare Before Christmas1993as Lock (voice)
    $76M20.3% of the total
  3. 3
    Pee-wee's Big Adventure1985as Pee-wee Herman
    $41M11.0% of the total
  4. 4
    Nice Dreams1981as Howie Hamburger Dude
    $37M9.9% of the total
  5. 5
    Matilda1996as FBI Agent
    $34M9.0% of the total
  6. 6
    Mystery Men1999as Spleen
    $30M8.0% of the total
  7. 7
    Flight of the Navigator1986as Max (voice)
    $19M5.0% of the total
  8. 8
    Buffy the Vampire Slayer1992as Amilyn
    $17M4.5% of the total
Big Top Pee-wee (1988), $15.1 millionBuddy (1997), $10.1 millionTeacher's Pet (2004), $6.5 millionMeatballs: Part II (1984), $5.4 millionLife During Wartime (2009), $744,816Accidental Love (2015), $24,487The Tripper (2006), $20,840

$37.9 millionfrom the other 7 films with a worldwide figure, 10% of the total

Awards

One award and honor, one of them major.

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Paul Reubens's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Emmy Awards
Daytime Emmy AwardWon

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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