What is Wallace Shawn's Net Worth?
Wallace Shawn is an American actor, playwright and essayist who has a net worth of $6 million. Wallace Shawn is perhaps best known for his distinctive role as Vizzini in "The Princess Bride" (1987), where his character's "Inconceivable!" catchphrase and battle of wits scene became iconic. He's also widely recognized as the voice of Rex the dinosaur in the "Toy Story" franchise.
Shawn's career is far more extensive and nuanced than these popular roles suggest. He's an accomplished playwright, having written intellectually challenging works like "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and "The Designated Mourner." His play "My Dinner with Andre" (1981), which he co-wrote and starred in with Andre Gregory, is considered a masterpiece of philosophical cinema.
In television, he's been a recurring presence in shows like "Gossip Girl," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and "Young Sheldon." Beyond acting, he's known for his essays on politics and culture, often writing for The Nation and other publications.
Wallace Shawn was born on November 12, 1943, in New York City, New York. Wallace went to Harvard (where he received a B.A. in history) and Oxford (where he majored in history and philosophy). In 1975, Shawn's play, "Our Late Night" opened off Broadway, and the production earned them an Obie Award (the Tony for off-Broadway theater).
In 1977, Shawn made his debut as an actor, appearing in his own adaptation of Machiavelli's "The Mandrake," staged by the New York Public Theater. At this time, Shawn was still working in a copy shop to make ends meet, but things changed when Woody Allen cast him in a small role in Allen's film "Manhattan."
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In 1980, Shawn and Gregory collaborated with filmmaker Louis Malle on "My Dinner with Andre," an unusual and engaging film based on a performance piece by Shawn and stage director Andre Gregory in which the two friends discussed their philosophies and very different life journeys. The film was a major critical success and a modest hit on the art house circuit. My Dinner with Andre gave Shawn a much higher profile as both an actor and a playwright, and over the next several years, successful productions of "The Hotel Play," "Aunt Dan" and "Lemon and The Fever" were also staged in New York. In 2004, Shawn teamed up with Gregory again and Gregory directed a production of Shawn's The Designated Mourner, with Shawn in the cast.
Personal Life & Real Estate
Wallace has been in a multi-decade relationship with writer/actress Deborah Eisenberg. In 2007, they paid $2.15 million for an apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. In 2010, they paid $380,000 for a studio in a nearby building.
