William H. Macy is considered one of the finest character actors working in Hollywood. After kicking around with various background parts and minor roles on television throughout the 1980s, Macy landed his breakout role in the 1987 thriller House of Games, written and directed by his longtime friend David Mamet.
Since then, Macy has appeared in some of the most iconic movies of the 1990s and 2000s, including Fargo, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, The Cooler, Seabiscuit, and many more. In 2011, Macy scored the role of a lifetime as the irresponsibly boozy Frank Gallagher in the Showtime hit series Shameless, in which he's appeared in more than 120 episodes. As for his film work, Here are William H. Macy's 10 Best Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes.
It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) 90%
Macy joined a star-studded cast in the 2002 TV movie It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas, which starred Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Joan Cusack.
The holiday film concerns Kermit The Frog (Steve Whitmore) losing faith about the future the financially ruinous Muppet Theater. To help Kermit snap out of his funk, angel Daniel (Arquette) asks his Boss (Goldberg) to send the muppets help. Macy plays Glenn, another angel who supports the cause.
Homicide (1991) 91%
In his second collaboration with writer/director David Mamet, Macy plays Irish homicide detective Tim Sullivan. When Tim and his partner Bobby Gold (Joe Mantegna) are tasked with finding a drug-pusher and cop-killer on the FBI's Most Wanted List, they become sidetracked by a mysterious hate crime.
As soon as Gold and Sullivan are assigned to catch the notorious Randolph (Ving Rhames), the former is sidetracked by a mysterious murder of an elderly Jewish lady in a black neighborhood. Gold soon uncovers an antisemitic hate group conducting a series of crimes under his nose, forcing him to confront his own forgotten heritage in the process.
Panic (2000) 91%
In one of his rare leading roles, Macy plays a longtime hitman named Alex in Panic, a comedic crime flick written and directed by Henry Bromell.
When Alex voices his desire to exit his family criminal endeavors, his overbearing father Michael (Donald Sutherland) disallows him from doing so. Alex then confides in therapist Dr. Parks (John Ritter) and meets a wild twentysomething female named Sarah (Neve Campbell) who opens his mind and snatches his heart.
The Sessions (2012) 91%
Based on the true story of polio patient Mark O'Brien, The Sessions is an intimate exam of an ill man desperate to lose his virginity before he dies.
Due to polio complications, 38-year-old California poet Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) is placed in an iron lung. With the counsel of his priest, Father Brendan (Macy), Mark decides to contact a sex surrogate to help him make love for the first time in his life. Mark meets Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Helen Hunt in an Oscar-nominated turn), a suburban mother and housewife who teaches Mark that intimacy is far more than merely physical.
Boogie Nights (1997) 93%
As Little Bill in Boogie Nights, Macy is so emasculated and belittled by his porn-star wife (Nina Hartley) that he ups and shoots himself in the head.
Paul Thomas Anderson's film recreates the vivacious world of the porn industry during the late 1970s and the transition to home video in the early 80s. The film tracks the professional rise and fall of Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), a budding X-rated superstar who falls victim to drugs, alcohol, swollen ego, and younger competitors.
Fargo (1996) 94%
Macy gives one of the most iconic turns of his career in the Coen Brothers' Fargo, a film that won Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Leading Actress (Frances McDormand).
Macy stars as Jerry Lundgegaard, a staid car salesman in Minnesota. Financially strapped, Jerry hatches a hair-brained scheme to kidnap his own wife and hold her for ransom until her wealthy father Wade (Harve Presnell) pays up. Jerry hires bumbling criminals Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaer (Peter Stormare) to do the kidnapping, leading to a series of darkly comic mishaps.
House Of Games (1987) 96%
Macy and Mamet have been friends since their days sharing acting classes together in the 1970s. When Mamet made his directorial debut, he hired his pal Macy to play the role of Police Sgt. Moran in the crime thriller House of Games.
The plot concerns enterprising journalist Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) who wants to learn as much about the underworld of high-stakes gambling, grifters, and conmen. As such, she's taken in by Mike (Joe Mantegna), a lifetime con-artist who shows Margaret the tricks of the trade.
Without A Trace (1983) 100%
Billed as W.H Macy, Without A Trace is the third feature film William appeared in as a young actor. While he only appears onscreen for a few frames as a "reporter" the movie is still rated highly enough to crack Macy's Top 3 films to date, per Rotten Tomatoes.
Based on Beth Gutcheon's novel Still Missing, the story revolves around the abduction of Susan Selky's (Kate Nelligan) young son. Susan goes nearly insane trying to get the police to find her child, leading to her becoming a suspect in the little boy's disappearance.
Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993) 100%
Steve Zaillian's Searching for Bobby Fischer has drawn unanimous praise from the critical reviews collected on Rotten Tomatoes. The dramatic coming-of-age story follows seven-year-old Josh Waitzkin (Max Pomeranc), a preternatural chess prodigy who'd rather follow his heart than chase success.
When Josh demonstrates supreme chess skills, his parents pressure him to compete at the highest level like world-renowned grandmaster Bobby Fischer. However, Josh simply wants to live like a normal boy without parental pressures to succeed.
CinemAbility (2018) 100%
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Macy's finest hour thus far has been participating in the documentary CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion, a movie that advocates for and celebrates the myriad professional performers who live with disabilities.
Macy joins the likes of Helen Hunt, Jamie Foxx, Bryan Cranston, Geena Davis, Ben Affleck, and more as they voice the greater need for the inclusion of disabled actors in Hollywood. Directed by Jenni Gold, the film encourages more diversity in Hollywood.