10 Actors Who Are Masters At Swearing

There’s an art to cursing. When done well, it can provide dialogue with added emphasis, intensity, aggression, or rebelliousness. Pop culture seems to have transitioned relatively quickly from foul language being seen as taboo and worthy of censorship to its use being seen as an effective tool and worthy of praise for its level of creativity. There are certain writers and directors that seem to throw caution regarding censorship to the wind and become known for their expletive-heavy films. But the performers who we get to see and hear using this colorful language possess the voices that we typically associate with our favorite movie curse words, and scenes that employ said curse words. Those who exercise this theatrical muscle the best are unsurprisingly some of the most widely appreciated performers in the business. It is hopefully an obvious point to make that these actors are more than just profanity factories; everyone one of them is a talented performer who also happens to be an especially skillful swearer. Indeed, it’s likely a result of their exceptional way with words that they’re able to use strong language beautifully, reaping it for all its power and effectiveness for the sake of whatever they’re meant to accomplish in a given scene or story. So here are 10 actors who are especially adept at adopting obscene vocabulary for their dramatic exploitation—in other words, suppliers of the best movie swearing. And consider this a redundant word of warning regarding the use of profane language in this list. That is, after all, kind of the point of the thing. 1) Samuel L. Jackson Let’s get the obvious #1 choice for a grouping like this out of the way. Samuel L. Jackson has to be, without question, the near-unanimous pick for the greatest cursor in movie history, and possibly in human history. Nobody brings out the best of Samuel L. Jackson’s particular set of skills like Quentin Tarantino. Django Unchained, Jackie Brown, and most notably, Pulp Fiction cemented Jackson as an electric performer with impressive range, including but not limited to the range of ways he can say “motherfucker.” He became so famous for his use of the word that it surprised no one when he stated last year that it was his favorite word to use. What was a surprise was that he said so at a gala for the American Institute for Stuttering—evidently, the word stops him from a stutter he has had since growing up. Maybe he learned the trick from King George. His portrayal of Jules in Pulp Fiction is iconic, a perfect marriage of Tarantino’s dialogue and Jackson’s delivery. It’s also why his famous catchphrase from Snakes on a Plane sums up his audience appeal to perfection. 2) Matthew McConaughey Alright. Anyone who watched this past season of True Detective is surely aware of Matthew McConaughey’s intimidating yet soothing use of the word “motherfucker.” Coming from his lips, it seems as much a term of endearment as it is a sign of aggressive antagonism. He has just the right voice—which is only improving with age—to make any bit of dialogue sound like some kind of sexy stoner cowboy poetry, and he does it all with the most earnest look on his face to indicate he believes what he’s saying 100%. While Senator Clay Davis from The Wire may have a monopoly on the word “shiiiiit,” McConaughey might hold second place. Regardless, it’s his preferred pronunciation of “motherfucker” that earns him a spot on this completely arbitrary list. He doesn’t always use it, but when it does, it stands out. I think it’s the hardness of the R’s. It stands in contrast with the Sam Jackson-style “mothafucka” and really stresses the errr-ness of the near-rhyme. Just one of those things, I guess, that makes McConaughey an enigmatically magnetic screen presence. 3) Melissa McCarthy Possibly the funniest comedic movie star at the moment, Melissa McCarthy has demonstrated that she’s at her best when she is completely unrestrained, whether it’s by the generic codes of TV sitcom styles, censorship for the sake of a PG-13 rating, or narrative tightness. That is to say, watching her riff for minutes on end in the comedy equivalent of a show-stopping number is pure bliss, and the crasser she is, the better. Her improvisational work in movies like The Heat is so rapid and relentless that her use of crass language isn’t always so much the crux of the conversation as much as it is a placeholder, a way of continuing her speech with fluidity as she waits for the next absurd thing to say. It makes for a sort of punk attitude that McCarthy exudes, and explains why she seems at her best when playing characters who are rough, or at least rough around the edges, like in Bridesmaids or This is 40. And it’s in the latter where she’s at her best; although she barely appears in the movie, she was so unbelievably funny that they had to stick her long parents’ meeting rant in during the credits because it was too good to go unseen. 4) Susie Essman Her movie and television roles are limited (apparently she is “known” for voicing “Mittens” in the movie Bolt), but Susie Essman deserves to be mentioned alongside these prime pottymouths for her work on Curb Your Enthusiasm. In fact, it wouldn’t be that bold to consider her the MVFP of that show, because it’s often her hostile candor and angry chastisements that provide the most humorous contrast to Larry David’s lackadaisical yet neurotic, dare I say solipsistic anti-hero, along with Jeff Garlin’s loud but generally good-natured friend. The series has relied on the necessity of someone offering up a scathing critique of Larry’s behavior, and no one does that better than Essman. As a result, on equal footing with “prettay, prettay…prettay good” as a signature catchphrase is either “fat fuck” or “four-eyed fuck,” depending on which of the two nincompoop compadres she is addressing. She ties Curb together in that every time she gets to speak she blows everything up. 5) Joe Pesci Goodfellas and Casino are two of the most profanity-laden movies of all time, and while they share a handful of actors, the most crucial person to appear in both films—in terms of both the quantity and quality of the curse words—is Joe Pesci. Casino uses the word “fuck” frequently and effectively. The movie is all about these crooked mobsters who are duping people into thinking they’re straight businessmen, and the moment Pesci’s character breaks out the word is like he’s coming out as a gangster to the weak schmucks he’s lost patience with. Most of all, and this is on display throughout Goodfellas, he uses curse words as a way of coloring his speech with a certain texture and rhythm, as a character who can talk and talk and talk but is always just on the edge between idle talk and horrifically violent outbursts. Basically any time he dons the hairpiece, beware Joe Pesci. 6) Philip Seymour Hoffman One of the most shocking moments from The Master comes when Lancaster Dodd is provoked by a skeptic and, seemingly involuntarily, blurts out “Pig fuck!” It’s a rare instance of this purported Master exhibiting a lack of control over his mind and mouth, and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s delivery of it is characteristically perfect. The man knew his way around an F-word. There are a plenty of incredible scenes where he demonstrates a range of emotions and uses for the word, including his window-smashing rant in Charlie Wilson’s War after John Slattery calls him “coarse,” or his heartbreaking meltdown in Boogie Nights where he repeats over and over to himself “I’m a fucking idiot.” My personal favorite comes from Punch-Drunk Love, yet another collaboration between Hoffman and Paul Thomas Anderson. Playing off of the irrepressible rage of Adam Sandler, he lets loose in a way that’s both frightening and comedically impotent. After all, these are two men trying to intimidate each other by shouting over the phone—the epitome of impotent rage. It will never not suck that Philip Seymour Hoffman is gone. He was the master. 7) Seth Rogen No one lets out an angry and exasperated “fuck” quite like Seth Rogen (except for, possibly, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Punch-Drunk Love). But that’s only part of his comedic charm. It always sounds stupid to try to rationalize humor, but I’ll try anyway: one of the things I find that really works about Rogen’s comedy is the casualness and self-consciousness with which he delivers the jokes. This can range from various throwaway lines in Knocked Up that we barely even notice or remember to memorable improvised riffs alongside Paul Rudd or Steve Carell. I say this because it’s kind of analogous to the way he’ll throw in swear words to his dialogue. It’s so casual that you barely even notice, as though he doesn’t even think of the possibility that anyone might be sensitive to strong language in this day and age. Or to use the parlance of modern day youngsters, he doesn’t give a single fuck. And it’s this cavalier attitude that is the source of the majority of his likeability and humor. That’s what I think, anyway, when I try to seriously consider why he makes me laugh i.e. when I feel like wasting time and brain energy. 8) John Goodman For me, John Goodman in any Coen brothers movie equals awesome, and John Goodman in any non-Coen brothers movie equals meh. That’s not to say I don’t care all that much for his supporting work in Flight or The Artist; it’s just that he doesn’t ever seem to get to really play around and show what he’s capable of unless it’s in one of the Coens’ oddball scenes. For some reason, they seem to just get each other, not unlike Samuel L. Jackson and Quentin Tarantino. The peak of their collaboration, with respect to the wonderful Inside Llewyn Davis, is surely The Big Lebowski, which benefits from the manic rage of Goodman as Walter Sobchak, a superb counterweight to the laid back Dude that is Jeff Bridges. The relationship and contrast between the two might be best characterized, in fact, by the manner in which they use the word “fuck.” While Bridges is tremendous, Goodman’s performance is so deeply committed that lines like “Shut the fuck up, Donny,” “Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?” and “This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass” become instant classics. I’m a late adopter of obsession over this movie. 9) Jason Mewes Kevin Smith may not be as renowned as a filmmaker as he once was (or maybe I’ve just gotten older), but if nothing else, the character of Jay is still an example of the ability of Smith as a wordsmith and Jason Mewes’ ability to turn a wicked phrase. It’s yet another example of a partnership between two artists, one with an aptitude for coming up with the perfect string of words, and the other with a skillfulness in delivering them in such a way that unleashes their full potential. The closest thing I’ve seen to a reproduction of Mewes’ terrifically childish but ever so slightly winking Jay character is Steve Howey in Shameless, although Kevin comes off as a mature statesman by comparison. Any time a disconnect arises between a characters tough talk and the feeble action, I’m on board, and the contrast between Jay and Silent Bob in this area works nicely. Mostly, Mewes provides just one of those characters that is fairly repulsive but one you could listen to forever. 10) Sir Ben Kingsley Profane language is not a signifier of class—as Ben Kingsley proves, an actor who is also a British knight can swear up a storm for a movie role alongside his blasphemous brethren. He made a name for himself in Gandhi and Schindler’s List, but Kingsley’s mad commitment to his performance in Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast is one for the obscenity ages. There are few more divergent performances in movie history than Kingsley as Gandhi and Kingsley as Logan, a range that would prove useful when Iron Man 3 came calling for Sir Ben. There’s some kind of weird pleasure to be had from seeing these respected thespians become foulmouthed douchebags in movies. A character’s style of speech can exude a specific kind of bravado. It may be foolish to assign a value judgment to this particular style of acting, but there’s little denying the immense pleasure that can be drawn from a line like “I’ve had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane.” Just as confidence can be effective on its own, it can be equally effective when it’s undercut by absurdity. I’m sure an actual linguist would have far more interesting things to say on the subject, but from my perspective, any motherfucker who can deliver dialogue rife with profanity can play any part that’s thrown at them. Shiiiit.