Nathan Lane is a Broadway legend (winning three Tony Awards!) who has occasionally popped up in historical costume movie and TV shows (winning three Emmy Awards!) — just enough that I get to feature him today! He’s funny, smart, and memorable, whether he’s guesting as Bobby Fine on Sex and the City or voicing The Lion King‘s wacky warthog Timon. Lane’s frock flick roles range from comedy to more serious and some feature his musical chops. Let’s enjoy!
Harold Allen in Ironweed (1987)
Ernie Smuntz in Mousehunt (1997)
Irving Mansfield in Isn’t She Great (2000)
Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost (2000)
Max Prince in Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001)
Vincent Crummles in Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Max Bialystock in The Producers (2005)
Uncle Albert in The Nutcracker: The Untold Story (2010)
Brighton in Mirror Mirror (2012)
Chauncey Miles in “The Nance,” Live From Lincoln Center (2014)
Lewis Michener in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020)
Ward McAllister in The Gilded Age (2022-25)
What’s your favorite historical costume movie or TV role by Nathan Lane?
You’d be right about the ‘Albert Einstein’ vibes from his Uncle Albert character because he’s supposed to be Albert Einstein (weirdly replacing the Drosselmeyer character from the original ballet). That being said The Nutcracker in 3D is a weird, steampunk-ish (at least in the Rat Kingdom) fever dream of a film that was supposedly intended for children but has Rhys Ifans in some of the most terrifying prosthetics (rat-man hybrid) committed to screen outside of a horror film.
As is only right and proper for a PROPER Kid’s Movie Villain – can’t fob the little ones off with just any old “Ooooooh, contact lenses make you SPOOKY” cheapness the way half the demons in live action horror try these days.
They need some REAL Old-timey terror to keep them thrilled and chilled!
I belatedly realized that it was John Turturro, not Rhys Ifans, but whatever this is goes beyond old timey terror and into sleep paralysis demon in my opinion :D
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041804/mediaviewer/rm1475373824/?ref_=ttmi_mi_11_1
SITH PURR –
“Good good.”
Always a joy when he pops up in anything I’m watching!
Also, MOUSEHUNT and BATMAN: The Animated Series may well have been my gateway drugs for era-ambiguous cartoon settings (and yes, MOUSEHUNT is absolutely a Live Action cartoon).
I love Nathan Lane; I feel a 3 Degrees of Separation relationship with him! lol Got such a kick out of Ward McAlister’s snobbery and Foghorn Leghorn accent. Even though they’re fantasy costumes, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – his Pseudolis will always be a favorite. He was hilarious. I’m one of those who love just about anything he’s in. A friend worked on Mouse Hunt as a PA and told me it took 3 hours to set up one take each of the boys trapped in the kitchen by all the mouse traps. To me, that film felt like a live action cartoon, it was just so much fun. Yeah – he’s a cuddly keeper.
Note on accuracy Timon is the meerkat and Pumbaa is the warthog. I am glad you MCM’d Nathan Lane. He does mid-century so perfectly, like he just stepped out of an Edward Hopper painting.