The recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, an AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Steve Martin is one of the most revered and prolific comedic performers on Earth. He’s a Tony away from completing his EGOT. On top of his hugely influential standup albums and best-selling books, Martin has starred in some of the most beloved comedies ever made.
Some of Martin’s characters, like Tom Baker, the father of 12 from Cheaper by the Dozen, are more likable than others, like Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr, the murderous brain surgeon from The Man With Two Brains.
Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr (The Man With Two Brains)
Aside from having a name that’s impossible to pronounce, Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr from The Man with Two Brains is Martin’s most amoral character. He’s a gifted brain surgeon who marries a gold digger, then falls in love with a talking brain in a jar that he finds in a mad scientist’s lair.
When his wife finds out about his emotional affair with this brain, Dr. Hfuhruhurr plots to murder her so he can put the brain of this more well-matched mate in her head.
Freddy Benson (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
In Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Martin and Michael Caine co-star as a pair of unscrupulous con artists who compete for their territory in the French Riviera by trying to trick a seemingly naive and unsuspecting woman out of her newly acquired fortune.
Both Freddy Benson and Lawrence Jamieson are as bad as each other. In the hilarious twist ending of the movie, both con men get their much-deserved comeuppance.
Bobby Bowfinger (Bowfinger)
The title character in Martin’s delightfully offbeat Hollywood satire Bowfinger is a sleazy movie producer who would rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. But he doesn’t just lie to Tinseltown bigwigs; he lies to all his cast and crew, too.
Bobby Bowfinger puts his actors in life-threatening situations just to get his shots. He convinces poor Jiff to run across a busy freeway by erroneously claiming that all the speeding cars are being driven by stunt drivers.
Neal Page (Planes, Trains, And Automobiles)
John Hughes’ comedy classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles combines a buddy movie with a road movie as two mismatched travel companions embark on a disastrous trip from New York to Chicago. Martin plays the exasperated everyman, Neal Page, opposite John Candy’s loudmouthed goofball Del Griffith.
Neal is initially a little too mean-spirited in his interactions with Del, to the point that it’s difficult to root for him. But, by the end of the movie, he’s made up for it and they’re the best of friends. Neal figures out that Del lost his wife and invites him over to spend Thanksgiving with his family.
Lucky Day (Three Amigos)
Written by Martin in collaboration with Lorne Michaels and Randy Newman, Three Amigos stars Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short as a trio of silent film stars who are mistaken for real heroes. When they’re invited to Mexico for a showdown, they think they’re being booked for a live show.
At first, Lucky Day is a coward who runs from danger and allows a village to be raided. But he ultimately achieves redemption by returning with his fellow amigos to defeat El Guapo and liberate the village.
Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther)
In a modern remake of the iconic Pink Panther series, Martin inherited the role of bumbling French sleuth Inspector Clouseau from the late, great Peter Sellers. Clouseau doesn’t have any particularly endearing qualities, but at least he’s on the right side of the law.
Clouseau’s reputation as the village idiot makes him a lovable underdog as he’s tasked with solving a murder (and the subsequent disappearance of the eponymous diamond) that no one expects him to be able to solve.
C.D. Bales (Roxanne)
Scripted by Martin himself, Roxanne is a modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. The lead character of C.D. Bales is a hopeless romantic. He’s smart and witty and charming. The only thing that keeps him from being the perfect guy is his gigantic nose.
Lacking the confidence to make a move of his own, Bales vicariously uses his wit and charisma to help a better-looking suitor to attract the attention of the woman he loves: Roxanne Kowalski, an astronomy PhD student.
George Banks (Father Of The Bride)
George Banks from the Father of the Bride movies is one of Martin’s most relatable characters. He worries that his kids are growing up too fast and it takes him a while to wrap his head around big changes like his daughter getting engaged and later getting pregnant.
At times, he’s an overprotective father, but it’s easy to understand why. He comes around eventually and always does what’s right, even if it’s not necessarily what he wants.
Navin R. Johnson (The Jerk)
Martin’s first starring vehicle, the self-penned absurdist gem The Jerk, tells the epic saga of Navin R. Johnson. Navin is a simpleton who’s too harmless and childlike to be unlikable. He drifts across America, working odd jobs and narrowly avoiding the deranged sniper that wants his blood for no reason other than him being a “typical run-of-the-mill b*****d.”
Fame and fortune turn him into a monster when the “Opti-Grab” takes off, but he’s promptly humbled and turned back into a naive nincompoop when a mountain of lawsuits takes back all his riches.
Tom Baker (Cheaper By The Dozen)
Tom Baker, the central character in the Cheaper by the Dozen franchise, is the loving, devoted father of a whopping 12 children. It takes a special kind of patience to raise a dozen kids. In the first movie, Tom takes on all the parenting responsibilities while his wife embarks on a book tour.
He sometimes overparents his kids (like lurking in a movie theater to watch over his daughter on her first date), but there are worse qualities to have than parenting too much when there are 12 children to parent.
