With a litany of directorial trademarks thatWes Andersonis known for — shots of perfect symmetry, striking color palettes, and obscure, nuanced dialogue — perhaps none are as important as his standout casts. While all of his films may not be the most popular, the actors therein undoubtedly hold recognition and pedigree. Anderson has one of the most decorated stable of actors in the history of film, with actors like Owen Wilson, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, and most notably Bill Murray going down as his mostfrequent collaborators. Those names will appear in most of the following entries.
Update July 09, 2025: This article has been updated following the release of Anderson’s two latest releases,Asteroid CityandThe Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
The qualifications for this list expand beyond pure value in the names of the cast members. Their individual performances will also play a factor on top of their abilities to cooperate with one another in front of the camera to create chemistries that have reverberated with audiences for the past three decades. All that said, here are the twelve casts of Wes Anderson’s movies ranked.
12Bottle Rocket
Before evercollaborating with Bill Murray, Wes directed the three Wilson brothers in their on-screen debuts. And yes, there are, in fact, three Wilson brothers. Owen, Luke, and their far-lesser-known brother Andrew. At the University of Texas at Austin, Wes Anderson met Owen Wilson in 1989. They made a short film of the same name in 1994 before releasing their respective debuts:Bottle Rocket(1996).
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Two of the Wilson brothers — Owen and Luke — are among the more recognizable actors of their generation, while Andrew remains largely under the radar.
11Rushmore
Aside from the obvious efforts of Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, other names worth mentioning fromRushmore(1998) include Olivia Williams and, as per usual, all three Wilson brothers. However, while Andrew and Luke provided minor roles, Owen’s went uncredited.
It also featured Seymour Cassel, an acting pioneer ofindependent cinema. And while few Anderson movies feature performances that garner recognition from the major award associations, Bill Murray was recognized by the Golden Globes for his portrayal of Herman Blume. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but in the end, came up short to Ed Harris inThe Truman Show(1998). No shame there.
10The Darjeeling Limited
Starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman,The Darjeeling Limited(2007) follows the three Anderson regulars as brothers Francis, Peter, and Jack. They worked wonderfully together, like they were brothers in real life, as if this was Owen collaborating on-screen with Luke and Andrew Wilson again, like inBottle RocketorRushmore.
But they weren’t the only names worth mentioning: other names inThe Darjeeling Limitedinclude Angelica Huston and Natalie Portman. Two tremendous additions to astandout cast. It also features the wonderful Amara Karan and Waris Ahluwalia. While it was a rather brief appearance, it was nice to see Bill Murray show up as a businessman attempting to catch a train. It’s hardly a Wes Anderson flick without Bill Murray.
9Moonrise Kingdom
This may seem like a low placement forMoonrise Kingdom(2012), with a cast consisting of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton,Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, and Jason Schwartzman. And perfectly rounding out the stars of this cast was three-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. This was her first of three collaborations with Wes Anderson and arguably the most impressive thereof. She stood out among all the legends listed above, like Willis, Norton, and Swinton.
Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward made their debuts inMoonrise Kingdom,and while they aren’t the most popular names, their chemistry as the leading duo provided the film with a particular poignancy that resonates well to this day. The fact that this star-studded cast only came in at number seven speaks to the caliber of the rest of the list.
8The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Having only entered post-production in February, the Netflix-backed Wes Anderson-directed production,The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar(2023), has had a remarkable turnaround time. The 39-minute-long picture spearheads a quartet ofRoald Dahl-adaptedshorts, withThe Rat Catcher,The Swan, andPoisonbolstering the director’s reinvention of the late, great author’s works.
Employing a mixture of the same cast across all four pictures, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade, and Dev Patel in a fusion of leading and supporting roles, the adaptations had a distinctly quintessentially British feel to them. The aforementioned five English fellows embody the quirky, brilliantly whimsical eccentricities that Dahl had intended when penning his books. While this certainly isn’t his most prolific bill when it comes to blockbuster names, these understated shorts, awash with unassuming features of a bygone era, are perfectly balanced by the characters that inhabit the screen. Patel and Ayoade are sublime additions and slot in seamlessly alongside past collaborators of Fiennes, Friend, and Cumberbatch.
7The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Despite middling reception from critics andunderwhelming numbers at the box office,The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou(2004) has plenty going for it as a quality film. It’s well-written, unique from the beginning, and perhaps most notably, the cast is just wonderful. Some of the names to follow are legends of the industry, and they put on great performances despite portraying strange and offputting characters.
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After almost a decade, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson finally acted in a Wes Anderson movie as the two most prominent characters. Their chemistry was great, but they only begin to highlight the quality of this cast. For good measure, throw in Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Angelica Huston, and Jeff Goldblum. Those are some legendary names, and they landThe Life Aquaticat number six.
6Fantastic Mr. Fox
With George Clooney in the titular role and Meryl Streep as his wife, two of the most lauded and talented thespians of their generation starred in this stop-motion Anderson flick to tremendous effect.Their voices resonatedthrough each scene in which they spoke, but there’s so much more to write home about with regard to the cast ofFantastic Mr. Fox(2009).
When considering supporting roles from Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray (kind of—his character hardly speaks), Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe, it’s hard to imagine that any of Anderson’s other films could triumph over such an iconic list of Hollywood actors. However, the next pick utilizes its voices in a slightly more meaningful manner.
5Isle of Dogs
WithIsle of Dogs(2017), Wes Anderson wrote and directed the second stop-motion film of his career. The lead pack of dogs are voiced by a ton of familiar, talented names: Bryan Cranston as Chief, Edward Norton as Rex, Bob Balaban as King, Jeff Goldblum as Duke, and Bill Murray as Boss.
Scarlett Johansson, Liev Schreiber, Tilda Swinton, and Frances McDormand are among the movie’s star-studded supporting members, and they seemed to be born for these roles. Several of them have had backgrounds invoice acting— Jeff Goldblum inThe Prince of Egypt(1998), Edward Norton inSausage Party(2016), and both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson inThe Jungle Book(2016). Their experience shines through here withIsle of Dogs.
4Asteroid City
The latest feature-length installment from the radiant enigma that is Wes Anderson is the romantic science fiction filmAsteroid City(2023). Another picture executed in theIsle of Dogs’director’s unmistakably idiosyncratic style, the film follows a group of junior stargazers and space cadets who arrive at the very epicenter of a major astrological event.
Unsurprisingly, as is so often the case with Anderson’s movies, a raft of acting talent was shipped in, with a number of big names making their swansongs under his directorship. Included among those making their debut Anderson collaborations were Academy Award winner Tom Hanks,JoJo Rabbit’sexceptional Scarlett Johansson, the hilarious Steve Carell, andThe Death of Stalin’sRupert Friend. Returnees such as Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, and Willem Dafoe rounded off a stellar, all-star lineup, and whileAsteroid Cityis by no means one of Anderson’s best projects to date, the blend of class, supreme acting flair, and the refreshing introduction of an abundance of new faces help to give this picture an additional dimension.
3The Grand Budapest Hotel
While one of the two starring roles (Tony Revolori as Zero) may not ring any bells, film fans will undoubtedly recognize Ralph Fiennes as Monsieur Gustave H., the concierge of the renowned, titular establishment ofThe Grand Budapest Hotel(2014).
But it’s not as if Fiennes carried the cast on his back all the way to the penultimate spot — Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, and Willem Dafoe all file in withsupporting roles, and appearances from Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Harvey Keitel and Jason Schwartzman round out this cast to a brilliant degree.
