Great Christian Slater performances
In the late-1980s and early1990s, Christian Slater was one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. Initially known for portraying rebellious teens, Slater segued into more actionoriented and adult roles, before seemingly disappearing into direct-to-DVD purgatory during the noughties. However, after a series of voice-acting roles and a Golden Globe for playing the eponymous Mr Robot he returned to the spotlight.
As he delivers another headturning performance as Randall Kirby in Dr Death, Stuff to Watch has trawled through Slater’s screen past to come up with what we believe are eight of his greatest turns.
Heathers (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video) Slater is at his teen Jack Nicholson best in this
magnificently subversive and pitch-black 1988 crime-comedy. He plays the enigmatic J D, who teams up with Winona Ryder’s Veronica to take down the pecking order at Westerberg High.
Interview with the Vampire
(Netflix)
A late replacement as the interviewer after the death of
first choice River Phoenix, Slater plays the role with aplomb, letting Brad Pitt’s Louis de Pointe du Lac detail his more than 200 years of bloodsucking.
Murder in the First
(Aro Video)
This 1995 tale saw Slater play James Stamphill, a lawyer attempting to get his client
Henri Young (Kevin Bacon) off a murder charge by suggesting the conditions at Alcatraz were a contributing factor.
Pump Up the Volume
(Alice’s, Aro Video)
A cult favourite when it was released in 1990, this sees Slater’s Mark Hunter cause chaos when he starts up a pirate radio station and begins speaking his truths.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
(iTunes)
The 1991 film most famous for Bryan Adams’ hit song, Slater plays Will Scarlett, a man with a grudge against Kevin Costner’s returning crusader.
True Romance
(Alice’s, Aro Video)
Tony Scott helmed this 1993 adaptation of a Quentin Tarantino screenplay about Clarence Worley (Slater), whose quiet life is turned upside down when he meets Patricia Arquette’s call girl, Alabama Whitman.
Very Bad Things
(YouTube, iTunes, GooglePlay)
Slater is joined by Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau, and Daniel Stern for this delicious 1998 black comedy about the fallout from a Los Vegas bachelor’s party that ended in the accidental death of the evening’s entertainment.
The Wife (YouTube, iTunes, GooglePlay, Academy OnDemand)
Based on Meg Wolitzer’s 2003 novel of the same name, this 2017 tale is a slow-burning richly rewarding drama. Slater is the dogged reporter trying to uncover the truth about Glenn Close’s character’s seemingly stifled literary career.