Christian Slater's Best Onscreen Performances

In the '90s, Christian Slater was on track to become one of the leading men to beat. His first taste of the big screen came when he played the young brother of the titular hero in 1985's "The Legend of Billie Jean." After the 1989 cult black comedy "Heathers," the actor who all the critics were comparing to a young Jack Nicholson started getting parts in higher-profile films, like the 1990 western sequel "Young Guns II" and the 1991 big-budget adventure film "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." 

In part because of difficult times in Slater's life when, as recounted by the Guardian, he was acting a little too much like his more self-destructive characters than anyone would like, Slater's star began to fall in the late '90s, but he never left the spotlight entirely. Among other things, Slater began doing more work on television, which eventually led to some of his most celebrated roles. 

From homicidal high schoolers to anarchist hackers, here are Christian Slater's best onscreen performances.

With a killer cold front on the way and Cincinnati's emergency shelters filled to capacity, Jackson (Michael Kenneth Williams) leads a group of homeless people who refuse to leave the downtown library when it closes. The situation quickly deteriorates and soon the only people standing between the riot police and the homeless just trying to keep warm are the librarian Stuart Goodson (Emilio Estevez), a crisis negotiator (Alec Baldwin), and politically ambitious district attorney Josh Davis (Christian Slater). 

Written by, directed by, and starring Emilio Estevez, the 2018 social advocacy drama "The Public" isn't without its flaws. Many critics agreed with RogerEbert.com's Nell Minow that while the film's goals are admirable, it comes off as far too preachy and deals with the complex issues presented in far too simplistic a manner. However, "The Public" still manages to be an engaging film, in large part because of a stellar ensemble cast. Along with Slater and the other actors already mentioned, Estevez also brings Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, and Gabrielle Union along for the ride.

A year after his feature film debut in "The Legend of Billie Jean," Christian Slater got the chance to work with some of the best actors Hollywood had to offer in just about the last role you would expect him to pick. Slater plays a young Franciscan monk — the sidekick to William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) — in the 1986 historical drama/murder mystery, "The Name of the Rose."

Based on the 1980 novel by Umberto Eco, "The Name of the Rose" is set in the 14th century at an abbey in Italy where William and his protégé, Adso of Melk (Slater), are tasked with unraveling the mystery of a dead monk. While it doesn't take long for William to figure out the dead monk took his own life, soon a second victim is found. Fears of demonic involvement are stoked, and eventually the very last thing William wants happens — Inquisitor Bernardo Gui (F. Murray Abraham), one of the Catholic Church's infamous Inquisitors, is dispatched to make things more complicated than they already are.

While it wouldn't be fair to say Slater's role in "The Name of the Rose" is minor, admittedly this isn't his moment to shine. He still delivers a great early performance, but the best reason to watch the film is the wonderful, fiery tension between Connery and Abraham.

In 2007, Christian Slater performed one of his most commanding and engaging leading film roles in years. "He Was a Quiet Man" begins feeling something like 1993's "Falling Down," with Bob Maconel (Slater) planning to kill as many of his corporate co-workers as he can manage, and eventually himself. But when the unbelievable happens, Maconel ends up saving his co-workers' lives rather than taking them. Things only get weirder after Maconel, now seen as a hero in his office, gets physical with the same secretary (Elisha Cuthbert) he's been fixated on for years and gets promoted by his boss (William H. Macy). 

Most critics seem to agree while "He Was a Quiet Man" has its problems — like Kaleem Aftab, who writes that the director's penchant for constant surprises "leaves this flawed but interesting film punch drunk and wobbly" — that Slater delivers one his strongest performances ever in the surreal black comedy. 

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In an age when anyone with a mobile phone has the potential to connect with millions on a whim, it may seem impossible that there was a time when getting your voice heard by anyone out of immediate earshot took quite a lot of doing. In the case of Christian Slater's character Mark Hunter in 1990's "Pump Up the Volume," it literally means breaking the law. 

Calling himself Hard Harry, Mark broadcasts a pirate radio show from his parent's basement in a Phoenix suburb. At first, the administration of Hubert Humphrey High knows little about him, the lewd jokes he makes, or the music he broadcasts — much of which is so off the beaten path that MTV wouldn't have played it even back when they played music videos. But things change when Hard Harry starts making real trouble, like calling a guidance counselor on the air and exposing him for getting a student expelled because she was pregnant. 

"Pump Up the Volume" was one of the signature cult films of Generation X, and one of Slater's first films to feel like something with true thematic weight.

In "The Wife" Christian Slater once again — as he did in "Interview with the Vampire" — plays a journalist looking to uncover a truth few know about. But rather than looking for eternal life, this time his character seeks out the more mundane truth about two people — a Nobel–winning author and the woman who did all the writing.

Joan (Glenn Close) falls head over heels for her professor, Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce), and soon the professor is fired for his affair with his student. When Castleman tries to write a novel, Joan rewrites it for him and it becomes a bestseller. They eventually marry and Joseph — true to his nature — is serially unfaithful to Joan, though she continues to ghost-write all of his novels for him. 

Things come to a head between Joan and Joseph when they travel to Stockholm for Joseph to accept his prize. Biographer Nathaniel Bone (Slater) comes into the picture, claiming to know exactly who wrote all of Joseph's novels. Along with other great moments, Slater and Close have a wonderful scene together when Bone invites Joan out for drinks in hopes of drawing the truth out of her.

In 1993's "True Romance," Christian Slater stars as comic book shop employee Clarence, opposite Patricia Arquette as a call girl named Alabama. After a night of kung-fu flicks and lovemaking, the pair elopes. Clarence stumbles upon a suitcase full of uncut cocaine after killing Alabama's old pimp (Gary Oldman). They head out west to sell the coke, not knowing the mob is on their tail and that there's even more danger waiting for them in California. 

Decades later, "True Romance" remains too good of a secret. Written by Quentin Tarantino, all of the filmmaker's trademark dialogue is there, along with more pop culture references than could fill a Funko collection. The film boasts a deceptively star-studded cast, including utterly unforgettable performances by Oldman, Christopher Walken, and Dennis Hopper. Brad Pitt appears in one of his least-involved roles as Floyd, a stoner who does little more than hang out on his couch and field the growing line of mobsters arriving to look for Clarence. Tarantino mainstay Samuel L. Jackson appears ever so briefly. After watching James Gandolfini's brutal confrontation with Alabama, it's easy to see why the actor was later cast as Tony Soprano. 

Even Val Kilmer appears, though he's easy to miss because you never get a clear shot of his face. Listed in the credits simply as "Mentor," Kilmer plays the ghost of Elvis, who gives Clarence advice whenever he's in the bathroom, like how to kiss up to movie producers and the wisdom of murdering pimps.

One of Christian Slater's most consistently praised projects also happens to be one of the most timely (like his earlier work on "Heathers" and "Pump Up the Volume"). Rami Malek leads as the mentally unwell hacker Elliot in the USA thriller "Mr. Robot," and Slater plays the titular anarchist who recruits Elliot into the group known as "fsociety." Often cited as being one of the most accurate portrayals of hacker culture ever shown on-screen, "Mr. Robot" enjoyed high critical acclaim throughout its four-season run. 

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 when the series began, Slater said one of the things that drew him to the role was how mysterious Mr. Robot was. He also expressed shock with how scarily current it proved to be. Slater brought up an episode in which fsociety deals with China's Dark Army hackers, "and then two weeks later," Slater added, "China hacks 4 million federal employees. I was like, 'Oh my God.'"