//

15 Famous Movie Mustaches

One selection here is so indelible that its wearer spawned the name for a whole style of ’stache.

The Lorax

Brightening theaters this weekend is Illumination Entertainment’s take on Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, which features Danny DeVito as the voice of the fuzzy and colorful eco-guardian. DeVito’s Lorax sports one bushy tuft of facial hair, its overgrowth stretching past the width of his waistline. The rest of cinema’s most memorable mustaches can’t boast that same disproportionate bulk, but they’re not to be undervalued. Two are among the most iconic physical traits in film history, four make up one big whiskery package deal, and one is so indelible that its wearer spawned the name for a whole style of ‘stache.


Sacha Baron Cohen

Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat (2006)

Long before he was covering Ryan Seacrest in Kim Jong Il’s “Bisquick ashes,” Sacha Baron Cohen was introducing the world to his ultimately inescapable Kazakh TV personality, whose lack of proper grooming was evident not just in the oversized caterpillar that rested above his lips, but in the private places laid bare thanks to one immortal neon swimsuit.


Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx in Duck Soup (1933)

As history tells it, Groucho’s famed greasepaint mustache and eyebrows stemmed from the star’s 1920s vaudeville work, specifically from a performance for which he didn’t have the time to apply pasted-on facial hair, and opted for an impromptu substitute. So, more than one subsequent work with his trademark look could have qualified here, but 1933’s Duck Soup saw his co-stars mimicking the greasepaint application, thus revealing backstage secrets. Soon after, Groucho grew the real thing.


Cheech Marin

Cheech Marin in Up in Smoke (1978)

A pothead’s hero whose mustache nearly matches the size of his formidable doobies, Cheech Marin’s Pedro de Pacas in Lou Adler’s Up in Smoke outdid co-toker Anthony Stoner (Tommy Chong) in the facial hair department, if only because his savage bushery stood out while Anthony’s was lost amid a full beard. But here’s to both joint-burning champions, who certainly couldn’t be bothered to shave.


Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman in Hook (1991)

The only mustache man in the list to have his greased facial adornment match his signature weapon, Dustin Hoffman’s Captain Hook had curly eyebrows, too, and his mustache even ticked along with the Croc’s clocks at a certain point. Say what you will about this love-to-hate Spielberg swashbuckler, but Hoffman made a great Pan nemesis, thanks in large part to all that twirled hair.

Advertisement


Errol Flynn

Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Surely the daintiest mustache offered here, Errol Flynn’s wispy facial hair as everyone’s favorite rich-robbing bandit spoke to the actor’s flamboyant offscreen persona, and almost mirrored the ever-present feather in his hat. Pair it with that cute patch of a goatee, and you’ve got one well-groomed man in tights.


Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994)

All that gunfire and bible-quoting just wouldn’t have been the same had it come from a clean-shaven criminal. Jules Winnfield wears his unruly ‘stache and beard just as well as that Jheri curl, playing a suited thug who proved a fine blend of street philosophy and class.


Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee in The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)

Yes, they should have gotten an actual Chinese actor to play the famed Chinese villain created by novelist Sax Rohmer, but it’s tough to argue with the greatness of Christopher Lee, who rocked a mustache that became forever known as “The Fu Manchu.” The real question for the hair and makeup department, though, is how they got those eyelids to droop so well.


Matt Dillon

Matt Dillon in There’s Something About Mary (1998)

Facial hair doesn’t get much creepier than it did on the stalker mug of Matt Dillon’s Pat Healy in There’s Something About Mary. A douchebag private detective who even changes his teeth to win the ebullient heart of Cameron Diaz’s leading lady, Dillon’s character has the vibes of both a rapist and a molester, much thanks to that thin little mustache his pasty skin accentuates.

Advertisement


Titus Welliver

Titus Welliver in Gone Baby Gone (2007)

As Lionel, a recovering alcoholic who helps orchestrate the kidnapping that drives Ben Affleck’s misguided directorial debut, TV vet Titus Welliver makes as much of an impact with his massive mustache as he does with his thick Beantown accent. When he breaks sobriety while confessing his sins, the shots he downs look all the more painful passing by that carpet of lip pubes.


Max von Sydow

Max von Sydow in Flash Gordon (1980)

Whether he’s flashing hand tattoos or working this look in Mike Hodges’s campy comic book adaptation, Max von Sydow has surely proven himself as dependable for comedy as he is for teary, potent drama. As Emperor Ming the Merciless, he gives Fu Manchu a run for his yen, adding in eyebrows that seem to just keep climbing.


Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Will Ferrell’s most enduring character is his hairy-mouthed mockery of a 1970s newscaster, whose views are as sexist as his wardrobe is tacky. Once again, the sleaze just wouldn’t be the same without the mustache in place, and Ferrell knows just how to work it on a face that’s all adamant ignorance.


Gordon Liu

Gordon Liu in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

My personal favorite among these razor-averse gents, Gordon Liu’s Pai Mei is a picture of samurai chic, his snow-white hair flowing pristinely out of every available follicle. In Kill Bill: Vol. 2, this patient master sends Uma Thurman’s Bride to hell and back, but you’re tempted to root for him, if only because he looks so damned cool doing it.

Advertisement


Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York (2002)

One of the finest villain’s of the past decade, Daniel Day-Lewis’s Bill the Butcher in Martin Scorsese’s imperfect Gangs of New York steals and then transcends Dustin Hoffman’s well-worn Dalí-esque mustache, making it a part of his fearsome, delectable look. Some would argue the actor’s Daniel Plainview facial hair is more definitive, but let’s stick with the more animated antagonist.


Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin in City Lights (1931)

Proving Hitler doesn’t own the petite philturm-covering mustache, Charlie Chaplin boasts facial hair as famous as that of Groucho, the male answer to Marilyn Monroe’s beauty mark. Any Chaplin classic would have worked here, but the unendingly loveable City Lights was preferred, if only because it allowed for the use of what might be film history’s most adorable still.


Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, and Bill Paxton

Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, and Bill Paxton in Tombstone (1993)

Clicking through this list, you might have asked, “Where’s Sam Elliott in The Big Lebowski? Or Val Kilmer in Tombstone?” Well, how about four whiskered superstars for the price of one? George P. Cosmatos’s excellent ensemble western is the mustach-iest of mustache movies, packed with memorable facial hair greatness from Kilmer, Elliot, Kurt Russell, and Bill Paxton. There seemed no better way to end our collection.

R. Kurt Osenlund

R. Kurt Osenlund is a creative director and account supervisor at Mark Allen & Co. He is the former editor of Out magazine.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.