Just when you’re getting comfortable with John Lithgow, he goes and kills somebody again. Likable and goofy in family-friendly vehicles like Harry and the Hendersons (1987) and hit TV show 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lithgow has the benign countenance of everyone’s favorite neighbor. Maybe that’s what made him so creepy as a sociopath in Blow Out (1981) and a psychopath in Raising Cane (1992), and why, years later, he caught us off guard again as a serial killer in Dexter. Of course, it could be his incredible chops. For a reminder, revisit The World According to Garp (1982). Lithgow’s Roberta Muldoon—wise, gentle, heartbreakingly tall—is still the finest film portrait of a transgendered woman. That’s killer talent. See for yourself the many faces of John Lithgow in our photo gallery.
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"Robert Lasalle" - Obsession (1976)
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"Sam Sebastian" - The Big Fix (1978)
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"Paul Philips" - Rich Kids (1979)
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"Lucas Sergeant" - All That Jazz (1979)
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"Burke" - Blow Out (1981)
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"Roberta Muldoon" - The World According to Garp (1982)
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"John Valentine" - Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
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"Joe Huxley" - The Day After (TV Movie, 1983)
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"Sam Burns" - Terms of Endearment (1983)
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"Rev. Shaw Moore" - Footloose (1984)