Christian Slater has graced our screen since the early 80s, and by the 90s he was on his way to superstardom. Early on in his career he was branded a “Hollywood bad boy." The bad boy persona however seeped into his personal life in the late 90s when he began to have run-ins with the law, which inevitably hurt his career. Throughout most of the 00’s he had lost his A-list appeal.
Despite the pitfalls, Slater is still a fan-favorite and immensely talented actor, and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for the talented actor. Here are the 10 best Christian Slater movies.
10 Broken Arrow
20th Century Fox
John Woo directs this stylish action flick starring Slater and John Travolta. “Broken Arrow” is the term used to describe the scenario of losing a nuclear warhead. Which is exactly what Travolta’s Vik Deakins aims to do (or rather steal them). Slater departs from his typical bad-boy role, playing the hero Riley Hale. As time ticks away Hale enlists the help of a local park ranger (Samantha Mathis) to stop Deakins in his tracks.
9 Ferngully: The Last Rainforest
Kroyer Films, Inc.
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest is an animated cautionary tale of the dangers of mistreating mother earth. While clearcutting the rainforest a worker named Zak (Jonathan Ward) unknowingly marks an enchanted tree for destruction. Little does Zak know that a malevolent force is lurking inside. Hexxus (Tim Curry) the evil spirit of destruction, having been trapped inside for thousands of years in order to save Ferngully. Once the tree is cut down, Hexxus is released and his sole goal is the destruction of the earth and all those who inhabit it.
8 He Was a Quiet Man
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Christian Slater gives a solid performance in He Was a Quiet Man as loner Bob Maconel. Bob is friendless (save for his gold fish) and is bullied at work. He plans to go on a shooting spree in his office and then take his own life. Things do not go as planned and instead Maconel becomes an inadvertant hero. Slater gives a stellar performance as a man at his breaking point. The film is in the same class as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Joel Schumaker’s Falling Down.
7 The Contender
Cinerenta
The Contender is a political drama that centers around the first woman vice-president elect appointed to office after the acting vice president dies. There is however opposition from both parties and they attempt to discredit her by bringing up controversial secrets from her past. Slater plays Junior democratic congressman Reginald Webster, who starts off as a loyal attack dog for the opposition, but eventually realizes he is being manipulated.
6 Tucker The Man and His Dream
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Francis Ford Coppola directs this biopic based on the true story of Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges) who had a dream to build the best cars ever made. Tucker the Man and His Dream follows him as he campaigns for funding to build a new factory and all the obstacles he faces along the way. Slater takes on the role of Tucker’s son Preston Jr. While a relatively minor role in the film, it certainly gained the actor more credibility in the industry and helped propel his career even further.
5 Interview With The Vampire
The Geffen Film Company
Based on the late Anne Rice’s novel of the same name, Interview With The Vampire tells the story of Louis (Brad Pitt) a 200 year old vampire through an interview with a journalist (Slater). The role was previously cast to the late River Phoenix, a close friend of Slater’s. After his untimely death four weeks before shooting began Slater accepted the role. According to Yahoo News, Slater said, “It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. It was hard.” He added that he donated his proceeds from “Interview” to charities Phoenix favored, which made him feel like taking the role “was more in honor of” Phoenix.
4 Pump Up The Volume
New Line Cinema
Few movies can encapsulate the spirit of a generation in the same way Pump Up The Volume does. Slater play’s highschool student Mark Hunter a.k.a “Hard Harry”. In the film, Hunter tries to address hard hitting teen issues on his pirate radio show run out of his parent’s basement. At first he does not attract much attention, until he starts pulling stunts like calling up a teacher and putting her on blast for getting a student expelled.
3 The Wife
Silver Reel
The Wife is the story of a wife who unbeknownst to anyone else ghost writes her husband’s acclaimed novel’s. Glenn Close gives an outstanding performance as Joan Archer the wife who begins to resent her husband and his acclaim, and wishes for some credit of her own. Slater once again plays a journalist searching for the truth, as he has his suspicions about who is the true novelist.
2 True Romance
Morgan Creek Productions
Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott (of Top Gun fame) True Romance packs a whollop. The movie follows the whirlwind romance of Clarence Worley (Slater) and a call-girl named Alabama. (Patricia Arquette) After the two elope Clarence goes to retrieve Alabama’s belongings but mistakenly steals a large amount of cocaine from Alabama’s former pimp Drexyl (Gary Oldman). Clarence plans to go to Hollywood to sell the drugs so he and Alabama can have a fresh start. Unbeknownst to the pair they are being followed by the mob eager to retrieve the stolen drugs.
1 Heathers
Cinemarque Entertainment
tIn the 1989 cult-classic Heathers, Slater evokes a young Jack Nicholson as rebellious teen J.D. Slater’s portrayal of J.D. is captivating. At times its easy to forget he is the villian because he is so likeable. Early on in the film we can see J.D. has a distaste for the popular crowd. He finds friendship in Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) a member of the incrowd, who is bored with popularity herself. It doesnt take long to find out that J.D. doesnt just dislike the popular kids, he wants them dead. Heather’s spawned a musical and a t.v. series.
