Christian Slater is one of the most accomplished film and television actors to make it in Hollywood over the past four decades. After beginning his career as a child actor appearing in TV shows such as All My Children and Tales From the Darkside, Slater made his big-screen debut in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean.
In the 35 years since his movie debut, Slater has accumulated more than 120 big and small screen credits. While he spent most of the 90s and 2000s making movies, his stint on West Wing in 2002 led to a new path for Slater on television where he's since appeared in Mr. Robot, Dirty John, The Lion Guard, and many more. As for the big-screen, here are Christian Slater's 10 best movies, as per Rotten Tomatoes.
He Was A Quiet Man (2007) 80%
In He Was a Quiet Man, Slater plays a deeply troubled and violently unstable loner named Bob. When Bob decides to shoot his coworkers to death in his office building, he's surprisingly beaten to the punch by another disgruntled and psychotic employee.
Before his coworker can massacre the office full of workers, Bob steps in and saves the day. Afterward, Bob is considered a hero for thwarting the mass shooting but struggles to enjoy his newfound praise and popularity.
Where The Day Takes You (1992) 80%
In Marc Rocco's coming-of-age crime story Where the Day Takes You, Slater plays an uncredited social worker attempting to help a gang of teenage misfits and runaways struggling to survive on the streets of Los Angeles.
Will Smith, Sean Astin, Dermot Mulroney, Lara Flynn Boyle, and others star as wayward L.A. teens indulging in the street life of drugs, alcohol, violence, and prostitution. Despite their homeless hardships, the teens would rather scuffle on the streets than return home to live with their alienating parents.
Pump Up The Volume (1990) 81%
In Allan Moyle's Pump of the Volume, Slater plays Mark Hunter (aka Hard Harry), a teenager who DJs an illegal underground radio station from the basement of his suburban abode.
In between playing cool music tracks on his pirate radio show, Mark becomes the voice of his generation when he begins speaking on vital issues facing modern teenage life. He begins counseling schoolmates suffering from depression, suicidality, bullying, and harassment from the hated school principal.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) 82%
As one of the Excelsior Communications Officers, Slater joins the star-studded ensemble of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In addition to the franchise mainstays, the film also stars Christopher Plummer, Kim Cattrall, Iman, and more.
Plot-wise, the film presents the Klingons with a 50-year timeline to make peace with The Federation before a moon explosion completely depletes their ozone layer. When Captain Kirk (William Shatner) brokers a peace offering, he and McCoy (DeForest Kelly) are arrested for assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor Gorkin (David Warner).
Tucker: The Man And His Dream (1988) 83%
In Francis Ford Coppola's Tucker: The Man And His Dream, Jeff Bridges stars as the ambitious and iconoclastic automaker, Preston Tucker.
Based on a true story, Tucker came of age as a car designer following WWII. With the goal to shake up the auto industry by promising to design the best cars on the market with his close friend Abe Karatz (Martin Landau), Preston learned the difficulty of making good on his promise. Slater plays Preston Tucker Jr. in the film.
The Wife (2018) 86%
The first of two 2018 Christian Slater films to crack his top 10, according to Rotten Tomatoes, belongs to The Wife. In the title role, Glenn Close earned an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
Based on the Meg Wolitzer novel, the story centers on Joan Castleman (Close), an elderly wife who begins to ruminate upon her commitment to her husband while he's awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature in Stockholm. Joan confronts her husband about sacrificing her own life and dreams to advance his own and the years of regret she's kept quiet for far too long.
Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay (2018) 88%
The second 2018 film of Slater's to rank among his ten best is the animated feature Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. Slater takes top-billing in the voice-role of Deadshot in the film.
The plot concerns a daring heist by Task Force X, who look to obtain a powerful card than can turn hell to heaven at a moment's notice. Deadshot is joined by Harley Quinn (Tara Strong), Amanda Waller (Vanessa Williams), and a whole new roster of superheroes who join the cause.
Crossing The Line (2007) 90%
Slater narrates the 2007 documentary Crossing the Line, Daniel Gordon's account of a career U.S. Army veteran's defection to North Korea during the 1960s.
On August 15, 1962, U.S. Army soldier James Dresnok betrayed his home country to fight on behalf of North Korea, instead. The film chronicles Dresnok's life as a child, his time in the army, and his life-altering decision to defect to North Korea. In his time allied with the North Koreans, Dresnok was accused by fellow American defector Charles Robert Jenkins of conducting torture methods on him and others.
Heathers (1989) 93%
Michael Lehmann's Heathers continues to rank among the best-received teenage comedies ever made. Much of that has to do with Slater's portrayal of bad-boy J.D., a mysterious troublemaker who causes quite a stir when newly enrolling in Westerburg High.
The film follows a vicious clique of popular upperclasswomen, mostly named Heather, who make life a living hell for their uncool classmates. When Veronica (Winona Ryder) meets J.D., her allegiance to the Heathers is out to the ultimate test.
True Romance (1993) 93%
In Tony Scott's unanimously praised crime movie True Romance, Slater stars as Clarence Worley, a lonely comic-book store employee who goes on an adventure of a lifetime upon meeting call-girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) on his birthday.
When Clarence goes to retrieve Alabama's belongings from her former pimp Drexl (Gary Oldman), he inadvertently obtains a suitcase full of cocaine, instead. Desperate to unload the drugs before the mafia comes looking for it, Clarence and Alabama drive from Detroit to L.A., where they bring about more trouble than they bargained for.