25 best Jeff Goldblum performances

When news that Jeff Goldblum, international star of television and film, was cast in Marvel Studios' latest epic "Thor: Ragnarok," (opening this week) fans collectively let out a cheer for one of the weirdest, yet best actors of our generation finally being part of something every bit as cool and as weird as he is. Having just turned 65 on October 22, Goldblum still embodies every bit of the weird charm and zen-like charisma that makes him a joy to watch on screen. To celebrate, here is a list of his 25 best performances.

Let's be honest, "Death Wish" is all about Charles Bronson, but we'd be remiss not to kick off the list with Goldblum's very first film performance, which starred the then-young up-and-comer as a New York City thug. Goldblum has an especially crucial role as one of the young hoods who terrorize Bronson's family, wearing a cloth crown similar to that of the "Archie" character Jughead.

For better or worse, Goldblum is often typecast as some sort of scientist, and in 1995's "Powder," directed by Victor Salva (Jeepers Creepers), Goldblum plays it mostly straight, while also offering up the usual quick dialogue, zooming eyes and flailing arms in a "just enough" sort of way that lets you, the viewer, know just who you're watching on screen, even if in small doses.

Most people today don't remember comedian Ernie Kovacs, but during his height of popularity in the mid to late 1950's, he was the hottest thing going in the new medium that was TV. He, like many celebrities, also had problems, and two decades after his death, Goldblum was cast in a TV movie about Kovacs' search for his kidnapped daughters, the result of a marital dispute. According to critics at the time, Goldblum did a "masterly job of making [Kovacs] fascinating all over again."

One of Goldblum's earlier roles in the remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" features him as a struggling writer who owns a bathhouse with his wife who discovers the titular body-snatching pod people. As a precursor to some of his awesome line deliveries in films like "Jurassic Park", he gives us a doozy: "The rest of the world is trying to change people for fit the world. I'm trying to change the world to fit people." Oh, Jeff...

Goldblum shined as a beleaguered second banana to Rowan Atkinson's unpleasant comedian in "The Tall Guy." Goldblum isn't usually a sad sack on screen, but his performance here was sweetly affable and comfortably quirky as he navigated new love alongside the slings and arrows from Atkinson, who's channeling "Blackadder" levels of nastiness.

Unsurprisingly, this isn't the only time Goldblum appears on this list as something other than human (but then why wouldn't it?). "Earth Girls are Easy" stars Goldblum as a furry blue alien who crash lands in the Valley and into the heart of Geena Davis. Unlike their earlier collaboration, this film wants to be campy and while it has its moments, it absolutely has its Goldblum.

"Le Week-End" is a light romantic comedy about an English couple, played by Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan, visiting Paris for their 30th wedding anniversary. But mix in a little Goldblum, playing a superficial American colleague who invites the couple to a dinner party celebrating the release of his new book, and you have cinematic Gold...blum. 

Goldblum assumes the identity of a dead ex-con, largely because he feels sorry for him as he watched him die. A weird premise that turned out a fairly solid leading performance from Goldblum as a man caught between crafted realities and fictions, not knowing which one is the one he wants, once the dead con's pen pal (Anne Heche) shows up.

Goldblum's second collaboration with Wes Anderson in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is brief in nature, but still pure Goldblum. Here, although he's pretty much used as story foreshadowing, just seeing Goldblum, as an executor of a murdered dowager's will, in his element amongst a group of fellow weirdos makes his appearance all the more welcome, even if said appearance ends in murder.

For some reason, Goldblum managed to find himself smack in the middle of a number of '90s action blockbusters. While his role as MIT-educated braniac David Levinson in "Independence Day" isn't his most memorable, it did cement him in rarified air as an action hero a la geek. 

Spielberg brings Goldblum back for full-on action heroing, for better or worse, in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," and while maybe he was better left as a supporting player, by putting him in the lead this time around, it made for a good amount of cheese that ranks as one of the better weird Goldblum performances. Besides, we all just showed up for the dinos, right? Goldblum is a BONUS!

Goldblum does particularly solid work as Adam Stein, a patient in an insane asylum for Holocaust survivors in Israel, in 1961. A comedian by trade, Adam managed to survive a concentration camp by essentially posing as a pet dog for an S.S. guard (played pitch perfect by fellow weirdo Willem Dafoe). The film isn't great, but Goldblum sells it pretty well as he shifts between charming and haunted in the type of daring role many other actors would be hard pressed to pull off.

In "Igby Goes Down" we get a much different version of Goldblum than we're used to, but though he tones it down quite a bit, his portrayal of D.H., Igby's (Kieran Kulkin) godfather, his very presence — his...Goldblum, if you will — still captures viewers, even if the character happens to be less than likable.

In the underrated "Silverado," Goldblum is at his moustache-twirling best as a roguish gambler who plays the game by his own rules and at the cost of others he claims to love. As a villain, he might be pretty stock in his motivations, but Jeff Goldblum in a western is pretty damned inspired from a casting standpoint, and he chews the scenery exactly like you'd expect him to.

A friend of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, Goldblum made a number of cameos on Adult Swim's sketch comedy opus "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!". Naturally, when the comic duo decided to make "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie." Goldblum was right along for the ride, as Chef Goldblum, because why not? Here, Goldblum fits right in with the weirdos and his scenes are instant YouTube classics.

You might've liked "Pittsburgh" back when it was called "Waiting for Guffman," but the latter certainly didn't have the acting prowess of a Mr. Jeff Goldblum, did it? Here, Goldblum lampoons a fictional version of himself falling into a career lull, playing Harold Hill in a regional theater production of "The Music Man." To make things extra meta, the reason for this is to to help his fiancée, actress Catherine Wreford (also playing a fictional version of herself) get a green card. Hijinks naturally ensue, and the end result is one of Goldblum's finer, more manic performances in an extremely low-budget film maybe 10 people saw.

If Satan is gonna be anybody, why not Jeff Goldblum? In "Mister Frost", Goldblum uses his usual quirks for sinister ends in a film that, like most of his work, isn't nearly as compelling as his performance, which in this film is pretty much the only reason to press play. Everything from his halting speech to his eyebrows, which often seem to be competing with him for acting supremacy, is on full display.

Weird and Bizarre, meet Jeff Goldblum. Cult classic "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" features quite a cast of characters, including Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in a story of rock star scientists who battle space aliens. Here Goldblum plays a rookie member of the Hong Kong Cavaliers, and compared to the rest of the weirdness, Goldblum seems tame by comparison, but definitely welcome.

A personal favorite, if not for just a courtroom scene where Goldblum shouts "Audi 5000, G" at a judge with wonderfully smirking disdain, Goldblum cuts quite a figure as a stylish lawyer/burgeoning drug-dealing villain in this underrated neo-noir starring Laurence Fishburne as a undercover cop who goes deeper than he wants to, but then don't they always?

In 1985, Goldblum was still trying to be a leading man, so instead of being weird in regular films, in John Landis' "Into the Night," he tries his hand at being a regular, only kind of quirky guy in a weird movie. Possibly remembered more for the litany of cameo appearances, "Into the Night" might not be his best film, but it gives us a "what could've been" performance of Goldblum just a year shy of the role that changed everything.

Because Wes Anderson is known for his affinity towards odd characters, it was only a matter of time before Goldblum would peddle his wares for the quirky director. Even though his screentime in 2004's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" is minimal, each scene he has just comes off so... fun. Set as Alistair Hennessey, Zissou’s (Bill Murray) professional nemesis, he pulls it off in a way that makes it hard to look at him as a bad guy. 

As rock-star chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm in Stephen Spielburg's "Jurassic Park," Goldblum played up the weird in an undeniably hypnotic way that made his performance stick out in a film full of really realistic dinosaurs. In a way, Goldblum represented the audience in quieter moments, using his trademark weird charm, delivering now-classic lines such as, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

If ever there was a role built for Goldblum, it's that of the Grandmaster in "Thor: Ragnarok." In director Taika Waititi's take on Marvel's God of Thunder, Goldblum is absolutely unleashed to be the weirdest version of himself, and it works amazingly. One part showman, one part despot, while the Grandmaster is certainly not the villain of the film, he is its morally questionable backbone, and it's awesome.

"The Big Chill" is often most remembered for its soundtrack, but Lawrence Kasdan's intimate exploration of a group of baby boomers who reunite at the funeral of one of their mutual friends manages to bring out a rather thoughtful performance by Goldblum at a time when audiences weren't quite sure what to make of the unique actor. While the performance is pure Goldblum, it's delivered with a subtlety that reminds us that yes, he's not just Goldblum, but also a fine actor.

Make no mistake, this was always going to be the #1 film on the list. David Cronenberg’s 1986 sci-fi phantasmagoria "The Fly" is hands down the definitive Goldblum performance and worth every uncomfortable minute on screen. Goldblum's Seth Brundle is both mesmerizing and disturbing in a film that takes him from dusky, eccentric heartthrob to disgusting creature who throws up on his food in order to eat it. This is a performance that you just don't enjoy, you savor it... because it's Peak Goldblum.