Biography
Robert Elmer Balaban, Born: August 16, 1945, Chicago, Illinois, U.S (Height: 5' 5" [1.65 m]). is an American actor, author, comedian, director, and producer. He is best known for his appearances in the Christopher Guest mockumentary comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006), as well as his roles in the films Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), Deconstructing...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Fantasy Life
2025
After losing his job as a paralegal, Sam Stein suffers a panic attack and stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters. The...

Brooklyn, Minnesota
2024
Producer
Follows Maisie and her father Kurt who have to leave their Brooklyn bubble to go back to Kurt's childhood home in Minnesota, where Maisie upsets long-...
Bad Actors
2024
A spirited group of activists inadvertently glue themselves together while preparing for a protest.

Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
2023
as Self
This is not a documentary about the making of Midnight Cowboy. It is about a humane and groundbreaking masterpiece and the flawed but gifted people wh...

Asteroid City
2023
as Larkings Executive
In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

80 for Brady
2023
as Mark
Four lifelong friends set out on an unforgettable journey to see their hero Tom Brady play in Super Bowl LI and witness one of the greatest comebacks ...

How Dare You Want More: The Short Film
2022
A short film sequel to the six-episode web miniseries “Thank You and Sorry.”

The French Dispatch
2021
as Uncle Nick
The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student ri...

How Moving
2021
as Uncle Aaron
With some apprehension, Jared (Richard Ellis) flew across the country to move in with his boyfriend, Owen (writer-director Owen Thiele). On top of the...

Carl Laemmle
2019
as Himself
A documentary about the life of Carl Laemmle, early cinema pioneer and founder of Universal Studios, documenting his life in Hollywood and his efforts...

Can You Ever Forgive Me?
2018
Executive Producer
When a bestselling celebrity biographer is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art f...

An L.A. Minute
2018
as Shelley
Best-selling author Ted Gold faces a moral dilemma when Velocity, an avant-garde performance artist and the living embodiment of integrity, rocks his ...

Isle of Dogs
2018
as King (voice)
In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island used as a garbage dump. The outcasts must ...

Spielberg
2017
as Self
A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

Mascots
2016
as Sol Lumpkin
Eager contestants don big heads and furry suits to vie for the title of World's Best Mascot.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
2016
as Mr. Waxcap
A young nurse takes care of an elderly author who lives in a haunted house.

Eva Hesse
2016
as Wilhelm Hesse (voice)
German American artist Eva Hesse (1936 – 1970) created her innovative art in latex and fiberglass in the whirling aesthetic vortex of 1960s New York. ...

Starring Austin Pendleton
2016
as Self
A quirky and inspirational documentary film on the philosophical approach to the life and work of character actor, Austin Pendleton.

Mike Nichols: An American Master
2016
as Self
With charm and wit, Nichols discusses his life and 50-year career as a performer and director.

Everything Is Copy
2015
as Self
A candid portrait of writer/director Nora Ephron, directed by her son, journalist Jacob Bernstein.

Exploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom'
2015
as Self / The Narrator
Martin Scali, who was Wes Anderson's assistant on "Fantastic Mr. Fox", shot this short documentary in Newport, Rhode Island, during the filming of "Mo...

Hitchcock/Truffaut
2015
as Narrator (voice)
Filmmakers discuss the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock and the book “Hitchcock/Truffaut” (“Le cinéma selon Hitchcock”), written by François Truffaut and pu...

We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can't Afford to Miss
2014
Director
Everyone’s talking about it, but who can explain it? Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Morgan Spurlock’s Cinelan have partnered to produce WE TH...

The Grand Budapest Hotel
2014
as M. Martin
The Grand Budapest Hotel tells of a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars and his friendship with a young employee who becom...

The Monuments Men
2014
as Pvt. Preston Savitz
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on seven over-the-hill, out-of-shape m...

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
2013
as Lawyer (uncredited)
Muhammad Ali’s historic Supreme Court battle from behind closed doors. When Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War at the height of his boxing career, h...

Fading Gigolo
2013
as Sol
Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his "man...

Girl Most Likely
2012
as Maxwell
A failed New York playwright stages a suicide in an attempt to win back her ex, only to wind up in the custody of her gambling-addict mother.

Do You Like to Read?
2012
as The Narrator
The librarian of the town of New Penzance introduces six animated segments illustrating Suzy's favorite books.

Moonrise Kingdom
2012
as The Narrator
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a...

Thin Ice
2012
as Leonard Dahl
A dishonest insurance salesman's life quickly disintegrates during a Wisconsin winter when he teams up with a psychopath to steal a rare violin at the...

The Five Stages of Grief
2011
as Voice of Daniel's father
Daniel's father died yesterday. He seems to be totally fine. Luckily his friends can teach him to be miserable.

Howl
2010
as Judge Clayton Horn
It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the...

F--k
2010
as Bob
Some people will do anything to find the location.

Rage
2009
as Mr. White
A schoolboy uses his cellphone camera to shoot intimate interviews with people working at a New York fashion house and secretly posts them on the inte...

Georgia O'Keeffe
2009
Director
Biopic of American artist Georgia O'Keeffe and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz.

The Windmill Movie
2009
as Self
Filmmaker Richard P. Rogers tried for twenty years to make a documentary about his own life. He died in 2001, leaving the project unfinished, until hi...

Recount
2008
as Ben Ginsberg
In 2000, the election of the U.S. Presidential boiled down to a few precious votes in the state of Florida — and a recount that would add "hanging cha...

Dedication
2007
as Arthur Planck
A modern love story in which a misanthropic, emotionally complex author of a hit children's book is forced to team with a beautiful illustrator after ...

License to Wed
2007
as Jewelry Store Clerk (uncredited)
Newly engaged, Ben and Sadie can't wait to start their life together and live happily ever after. However Sadie's family church's Reverend Frank won't...

No Reservations
2007
as Therapist
Master chef Kate Armstrong runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity. However, a recipe for disaster may be in the works when she beco...

Prince of the City: The Real Story
2007
as Self / Santimassino
The true story behind the Prince of the City.

For Your Consideration
2006
as Philip Koontz
The possibility of Oscar gold holds the cast and crew of an independent film in its grip after the performance of its virtually unknown, veteran star ...

Bernard and Doris
2006
Director, Executive Producer
Tobacco heiress Doris Duke develops an unlikely friendship with her butler, Bernard Lafferty.

Lady in the Water
2006
as Harry Farber
Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is act...

The Exonerated
2006
Director, Executive Producer
Six people tell their stories on a single subject - how they got wrongfully convicted to death penalty, but later got exonerated.

Controversy and Acclaim: The Timelessness of a Groundbreaking Film
2006
as Self
Documentary featuring the contentious news surrounding the movie "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), including its Oscar win for feature film.

Capote
2005
as William Shawn
A biopic of writer Truman Capote and his assignment for The New Yorker to write the non-fiction book "In Cold Blood".

Trust the Man
2005
as Tobey's Therapist
Overachieving actress Rebecca must come to grips with her failing marriage to stay-at-home dad Tom. While Rebecca's slacker brother Tobey can't seem t...

Scene Stealers
2004
as Jonathan Crouch Esq.
Billy Bottomsly, a struggling artist, is plagiarised by a Hollywood mogul. He involves his "typecast" friends in a star-jacking retribution plan. Bill...

Marie and Bruce
2004
as Roger
A day in the life of a couple trapped in a sadomasochistic relationship. When Marie decides to break up with Bruce, their conversation devolves into a...

A Mighty Wind
2003
as Jonathan Steinbloom
Three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the death of their manager to put on an reunion co...

The Tuxedo
2002
as Winton Chalmers (uncredited)
Cabbie-turned-chauffeur Jimmy Tong learns there is really only one rule when you work for playboy millionaire Clark Devlin : Never touch Devlin's priz...

The Making of 'Gosford Park'
2002
as Self
A documentary giving film fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making this Robert Altman film about a murder at an English country estate. Includes in...

Gosford Park
2001
as Morris Weissman
In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, ea...

Gosford Park
2001
Producer, Idea
In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, ea...

The Majestic
2001
as Elvin Glyde
Set in 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a lon...

Ghost World
2001
as Enid's Dad
Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric...

The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
2001
as Self
A documentary film on the making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

The Mexican
2001
as Bernie Nayman
Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique ...

Plan B
2001
as James Foster
A bookkeeper who thinks she killed three mobsters is subsequently promoted by her boss to be a hitman.

Best in Show
2000
as Dr. Theodore W. Millbank, III
The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across Amer...

Tex, the Passive/Aggressive Gunslinger
2000
as Tex
The legend of Tex, who never lost a gunfight.

Cradle Will Rock
1999
as Harry Hopkins
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.

George Romero's Golden Tales 2
1999
Compilation of five horror stories from Tales from the Darkside (1983) that takes the viewer into the dark world of vampires, cursed objects and sinis...

George Romero's Golden Tales 2
1999
Writer
Compilation of five horror stories from Tales from the Darkside (1983) that takes the viewer into the dark world of vampires, cursed objects and sinis...

Three to Tango
1999
as Decker
Oscar and Peter land a career-making opportunity when a Chicago tycoon chooses them to compete for the design of a cultural center. The tycoon mistake...

Jakob the Liar
1999
as Kowalsky
In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German ...
The Wedding Toast
1999
Director, Producer
A best man gives an increasingly uncomfortable toast at his friends' wedding reception.

Swing Vote
1999
as Justice Eli MacCorckle
A newly-appointed Supreme Court Justice must settle a controversial moral and legal dilemma with his tie-breaking decision which may also have serious...

The Monster Hunter
1999
as Dr. William Powell
Residents of an East Texas town react strangely when a serial killer invades their small town world.

Giving Up the Ghost
1998
as Bob
After a woman's husband dies while jogging in the park, the young widow's deep grief helps to awaken his ghost. The ghost urges her to commit suicide ...

Deconstructing Harry
1997
as Richard
Writer Harry Block draws inspiration from people he knows, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated fr...

Subway Stories
1997
Director
An anthology of 10 stories depicting real-life incidents of subway riders in New York City, which range from compassion and love to violence and loss.

The Definite Maybe
1997
as Wolfe Rollins
When 25-year-old New Yorker Eric Traber gets fired from his job and kicked out of his apartment, he fears the worst. But his best friend, Ziggy, shows...

Clockwatchers
1997
as Milton Lasky
The relationship between four female temps all working for the same credit company is threatened with the arrival of a new hire, who lands a permanent...

Conversation with the Beast
1997
as Mr. Webster
An American historian (Mr Webster) comes to Berlin to visit an old man who claims to be the real Adolf Hitler and to be 103 years old. The Hitler who ...

Waiting for Guffman
1996
as Lloyd Miller
Aspiring director Corky St. Clair and the marginally talented amateur cast of his hokey small-town musical production go overboard when they learn tha...

The Late Shift
1996
as Warren Littlefield
David Letterman vies with Jay Leno and his manager to succeed Johnny Carson, retiring from "The Tonight Show."

Pie in the Sky
1996
as Paul Entamen
A young man obsessed with traffic patterns attempts to reunite with his first love.

The Last Good Time
1994
Director, Screenplay, Producer
A reclusive aging widower struggling with tax problems has a complete change in his views of life as he has a chance encounter with a young woman who ...

City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
1994
as Dr. Jeffrey Sanborn (uncredited)
Mitch Robbins' 40th birthday begins quite well until he returns home and finds his brother Glen, the black sheep of the family, in his sofa. Neverthel...

Greedy
1994
as Ed
Meet the McTeagues. They've come to stake a claim in their wealthy uncle's will… only he's not dead yet!

For Love or Money
1993
as Ed Drinkwater
New York concierge Doug Ireland wants to go into business for himself and refurbish a hotel on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., but he needs an investor. With ...

My Boyfriend's Back
1993
Director
Missy McCloud is the most beautiful girl in school and Johnny Dingle has been in love with her for years. One night, Johnny is killed trying to win he...

Amos & Andrew
1993
as Dr. R. A. (Roy) Fink
When Andrew Sterling, a successful black urbanite writer, buys a vacation home on a resort in New England the police mistake him for a burglar. After ...

Bob Roberts
1992
as Cutting Edge Producer
Millionaire conservative Bob Roberts launches an insurgent campaign against incumbent senator Brickley Paiste, firing up crowds at his rallies by sing...

Unnatural Pursuits
1992
as Lou Finkleberg
An English playwright sacrifices his health waiting for his play's make-or-break opening on Broadway.

Little Man Tate
1991
as Quizmaster
Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the ...

Alice
1990
as Sid Moscowitz
Alice Tate, mother of two, with a marriage of 16 years, finds herself falling for a handsome sax player, Joe. Stricken with a backache, she consults h...

Tales from the Darkside
1990
Director
A compilation of episodes from the classic '80s horror anthology TV series "Tales From The Darkside" for the VHS market.

The Face of Fear
1990
as Ira Preduski
Graham Harris was once one of the world's foremost mountain climbers, until a fall five years earlier left him with a lame leg, a fear of heights...an...

Dead Bang
1989
as Elliott Webley
Los Angeles homicide detective Jerry Beck searches for the murderer who killed a police officer on Christmas Eve. The investigation takes Beck inside ...

Parents
1989
Director
Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his p...

Funny
1988
as Self
People are asked to tell their favorite jokes.

End of the Line
1987
as Warren Gerber
When the closure of a railway is announced, employees commandeer a locomotive to get to corporate headquarters and confront the president.

Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread
1987
Director
Penn Jillette and Teller are called upon to display their unique brand of humor to save civilization from strange extraterrestrial beings who have inv...

Stephen King's Golden Tales
1985
Writer
A collection of horror stories taking the viewer into the dark world of Stephen King, featuring vampires, strange objects and sinister humor. The five...

2010
1984
as Dr. R. Chandra
While planet Earth poises on the brink of nuclear self-destruction, a team of Russian and American scientists aboard the Leonov hurtles to a rendezvou...

Nothing Lasts Forever
1984
as Guy with Sunglasses in Espresso Bar
An artist fails a test and is required to direct traffic in New York City's Holland Tunnel. He winds up falling in love with a beautiful woman, who ta...

2010 : The Odyssey Continues
1984
as Himself
This promotional short for 2010 (1984) shows moviegoers how some of the film's visual effects were created. This includes makeup for Keir Dullea's cha...

The Brass Ring
1983
Director
A mother afflicted with depression comes into conflict with own mother and children when she refuses to seek professional health care.

Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1981
as Carter Hill
Ken Harrison is an artist that lives to make sculptures. One day he is involved in a car accident, and is paralyzed from his neck down. All he can do ...

Absence of Malice
1981
as Elliott Rosen
Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was ...

Prince of the City
1981
as Santimassino
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as lo...

Altered States
1980
as Arthur Rosenberg
A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from native America...

Girlfriends
1978
as Martin
A photographer and her best friend are roommates. She is stuck with small-change shooting jobs and dreams of success. When her roommate decides to get...

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977
as David Laughlin
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is abou...

Report to the Commissioner
1975
as Joey Egan
Police officer Patty Butler, alias "Chicklet," is the live-in girlfriend of Thomas 'Stick' Henderson to gather evidence. Detective Bo Lockley is instr...

The Bank Shot
1974
as Victor Karp
A bank temporarily housed in a mobile home while a new building is built, looks like an easy target to break into. On the other hand, why not steal th...

Marriage: Year One
1971
as Bernie
A medical student marries a millionaire's daughter but insists they live on the money he earns.

Making It
1971
as Wilkie
A cocky high school student thinks nothing of using the people around him to satisfy his self-centered needs, until someone in his life gets pregnant.

The Strawberry Statement
1970
as Elliot
A college student joins a group of revolutionaries to meet girls but ends up committed to their goals.

Catch-22
1970
as Capt. Orr
A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a craz...

Me, Natalie
1969
as Morris
Since she was a child, Natalie Miller has always thought she was an ugly ducking. Despite her mother's encouragement that she will grow up to be prett...

Midnight Cowboy
1969
as The Young Student
Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an aili...

George Romero's Golden Tales 3
N/A
Director