Jessica Walter’s 10 Best Movie & TV Roles, Ranked According To IMDb

Fans all around were sad over veteran actor Jessica Walter’s passing Following the news, fans and colleagues alike paid tribute to Walter whose career on screen spanned several decades in which she proved her incredible versatility in both movies and television.

To fans today, she is likely best known for her role as the hilariously meanspirited matriarch, Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, but that is just scratching the surface of her talents. Walter was a gifted comedic actor but could also play heartbreaking and even frightening dramatic roles that helped her build an amazing career that will never be forgotten.

10 The Group (1966) – 6.4

In one of her first movies, Walter joined an incredible ensemble of female actors in a movie directed by the great Sidney Lumet. The Group tells the story of female friends who graduate from university and go off on their own separate paths only to reunite under sad circumstances.

Walter stands out in the large cast as the critical Libby, a character who feels like a younger Lucille Bluth in many ways. The movie is a captivating drama from Lumet and seeing the different struggles each of these women faces makes for a stirring saga.

9 Amy Prentiss (1974-1975) – 6.5

Walter won an Emmy for playing the title role in this limited series. Following the sudden death of the police captain, Amy Prentiss, the officer with the most seniority in the department, is promoted to the role. While she is determined, the decision does not sit well with the men in the department.

The crime drama gave Walter the rare opportunity to be in the spotlight in a career filled with ensemble work and supporting roles. With the acclaim that she received from the role, it is clear that Walter was a lead actor as well as a terrific character actor.

8 PCU (1994) – 6.6

Though it is a largely forgotten ’90s comedy, there are many who have a soft spot for the college comedy PCU. The movie follows a strait-laced high school senior who visits a university for the weekend. There, the head of the wildest dorm on campus helps him let loose and party.

The movie is not doing anything new with the genre and feels like countless other campus comedies that came before and after. However, there are some funny moments, some recognizable young stars, and Walter gets a supporting role as the university’s president.

7 Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) – 6.6

The quirky comedy Slums of Beverly Hills is another hidden gem of the 1990s fans should try to seek out. Set in the 1970s, it follows a dysfunctional family living in a less-than-glamourous part of Beverly Hills and struggling to fit in with the lavish world around them.

Water has a nice supporting role as a wealthy neighbor who strikes up a romance with the widowed father (Alan Arkin). It is a hilarious movie that gives an interesting new glimpse of Beverly Hills rarely seen in movies or television. The cast helps to make it a really fun comedy.

6 The Dummy (2002) – 6.7

Following his Oscar-winning role in The Pianist, Adrien Brody switched directions with this very unusual comedy. The Dummy finds Brody playing an out-of-work ventriloquist who begins a relationship with his unemployment counselor while gaining confidence through his dummy.

Jessica Walter has another great comedic role as Brody’s caring yet somewhat oblivious mother. The indie comedy makes great use of its talented cast and delivers a very unique story with a surprising amount of heart.

5 Lilith (1964) – 6.9

In her first movie role, Walter was surrounded by some up-and-coming actors who would go on to be among the biggest Hollywood stars. Lilith stars Warren Beatty as a war veteran who takes a job at a mental institution where he begins a relationship with a beautiful but eccentric girl named Lilith.

Along with being one of Beatty’s first roles, the movie also served as an early project for Peter Fonda and Gene Hackman. Indeed, the talented cast does a lot to elevate this romantic drama and it is interesting seeing these iconic actors in their early years.

4 Play Misty For Me (1971) – 7.0

Walter had what would become her most famous movie role opposite Clint Eastwood in Play Misty for Me. Eastwood stars as a disc jockey who begins a romantic affair with a fan (Walter). However, the affair soon turns terrifying as Eastwood finds the fan’s obsessing with him becoming dangerous.

At the height of Eastwood’s fame, this was a thrilling and suspenseful hit very unlike his typical Western roles. Walter is really the standout of the movie, delivering a chilling performance that still feels grounded and believable.

3 Grand Prix (1966) – 7.2

Walter got her big break and began getting noticed in Hollywood with her supporting role in the sports drama Grand Prix. Directed by John Frankenheimer, Grand Prix stars James Garner as an American driver in the high-speed world of Formula One racing with Walter as his wife.

Much like modern racing movies like Ford v Ferrari, Grand Prix‘s excitement comes from how it throws the audience into the wild and dangerous sport. The racing sequences are truly the highlight of the movie and do stand up well after all these years as excellent action scenes.

2 Archer (2009 –) – 8.6

Along with her many live-action appearances, Walter has built a long and successful career doing voice-over work for animated shows with Archer being her most prominent role. The series is a spy-comedy adventure that follows an arrogant, dim-witted, and reckless American spy named Archer on his various missions. Walter plays his mother Malory who is also his boss.

The show plays with the spy genre in some fun ways while also fully embracing its weird and irreverent sense of humor. It is a laugh-out-loud series that is so enjoyable to watch again and again.

1 Arrested Development (2003-2019) – 8.7

Despite so many great roles over her long career, Walter will inevitably be best remembered for her performance as Lucille Bluth, and for good reason. Arrested Development followed the Bluth family, a once notable clan who finds themselves on hard times as the various self-centered characters try to save themselves.

Lucille is the insulting and suffocating mother of the family whose hard-drinking and eccentric ways made for some of the funniest quotes in the entire series.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2028 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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