The 70+ Best John Heard Movies

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Updated January 15, 2024 73 items
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List of the best John Heard movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. John Heard's highest grossing movies have received a lot of accolades over the years, earning millions upon millions around the world. The order of these top John Heard movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated John Heard movies will be at the top of the list. John Heard has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest John Heard movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining John Heard films to end the squabble once and for all.

If you think the best John Heard role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest John Heard performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.

List contains films like Waterland and Freak Weather.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best John Heard movies?" and "What are the greatest John Heard roles of all time?"

Notable directors that have worked with John Heard include names like Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and Garry Marshall.

Most divisive: C.H.U.D.
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The 70+ Best John Heard Movies
  • Cutter's Way
    1
    Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn
    19 votes
    Best friends Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) and Alex Cutter (John Heard) are two middle-class guys living in an upper-class town. The Santa Barbara buddies get dragged into a murder mystery when Richard accidentally spots a man ditching a body into a trash can. Alex, an embittered Vietnam veteran who lost an eye and leg in the war, thinks what Richard saw is worth something, especially when it comes out that the potential murderer is a wealthy and powerful man in the community.
  • Big
    2
    Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia
    22 votes
    In the classic comedy-drama Big, Josh Baskin (Tom Hanks) is an everyday 12-year-old boy who yearns for adulthood. After making a wish on a mystical arcade machine, he wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old man. Now navigating the adult world with a child's heart, Josh encounters everything from finding a job at a toy company to experiencing his first love with coworker Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins). Directed by Penny Marshall, Big earned Hanks an Academy Award nomination and solidified his status as a leading man in Hollywood. The movie gracefully explores the contrast between childhood innocence and adult responsibilities, serving both laughter and thought-provoking moments.
  • Home Alone
    3
    Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
    22 votes
    Home Alone, a comedic family film, spins the tale of Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), an 8-year-old boy accidentally left behind when his family flies to Paris for Christmas. In their absence, he must defend his suburban Chicago home from two bumbling burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern). Using wit and daring traps, Kevin turns the tables on the intruders. Directed by Chris Columbus, this movie won a British Comedy Award and received two Academy Award nominations, cementing its place in holiday movie history. It's a delightful mix of humor, adventure, and the indomitable spirit of a child.
  • Pollock
    4
    Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Amy Madigan
    8 votes
    In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
    5
    Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
    15 votes
    In the sequel to the holiday classic, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York sees our young hero Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) once again separated from his family during Christmas. This time, a flight mix-up lands him in bustling New York City, while his family vacation in sunny Florida. Left to navigate the Big Apple alone, he crosses paths with familiar foes Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), the bumbling burglars from the first movie. Armed only with his wit and an array of booby traps, Kevin must outwit them in this comedic family adventure.
  • The Pelican Brief
    6
    Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard
    16 votes
    In the suspenseful thriller The Pelican Brief, law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) finds herself entangled in a dangerous web of political intrigue. After drafting a legal brief predicting the motives behind two Supreme Court justices' murders, she becomes a target. As the plot thickens, investigative journalist Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) joins her to unravel the truth. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, this movie weaves a tale of mystery and peril where trust is scarce and every step could be deadly. With each twist and turn, it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.
  • After Hours
    7
    Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr
    9 votes
    In a Manhattan cafe, word processor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) meets and talks literature with Marcy (Rosanna Arquette). Later that night, Paul takes a cab to Marcy's downtown apartment. His $20 bill flying out the window during the ride portends the unexpected night he has. He cannot pay for the ride and finds himself in a series of awkward, surreal and life-threatening situations with a colorful cast of characters. He spends the rest of the night trying to return uptown.
  • The Scarlet Letter
    8
    John Heard, Meg Foster, Kevin Conway
    6 votes
    The Scarlet Letter is a 1979 miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne: it aired on WGBH from March 3, 1979 to March 24, 1979. The series is four episodes long, 60 minutes each. Part 2 won the 1979 Emmy Award for Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Limited Series or Special for film editors Ken Denisoff, Janet McFadden, and Tucker Wiard. In 1979, when most literary programs were being produced in the United Kingdom, Boston public television station WGBH decided to produce a homegrown literary classic of its own. The result was this version of Hawthorne's enduring novel of Puritan America in search of its soul. Hester Prynne becomes stigmatized after committing adultery, and is doomed to live with the consequences forever. Hawthorne's themes, the nature of sin, social hypocrisy, and community repression, still reverberate through American society. Hester Prynne is a young, Puritan woman who commits adultery while her husband is in Europe, and, upon the birth of her illegitimate child, is subsequently condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life.
  • The Milagro Beanfield War
    9
    Sonia Braga, Chick Vennera, Rubén Blades
    6 votes
    In the tiny town of Milagro, New Mexico, where the local water is a premium resource, shady developer Ladd Devine (Richard Bradford) has conceived a glitzy resort that will ultimately siphon off all the water from the neighboring crop-fields. When handyman and farmer Joe Mondragon (Chick Vennera) accidentally breaks a water valve reserved for major companies, he inadvertently sets off a small-scale water-rights war between the farmers and the developers.
  • Awakenings
    10
    Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner
    13 votes
    In Awakenings, Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is a dedicated and innovative neurologist at a Bronx hospital in the late 1960s. Stumbling upon a group of patients who have been catatonic for decades, victims of a severe form of encephalitis, he finds hope in an experimental drug, L-Dopa. One patient, Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), emerges from his life-long stupor, inspiring Sayer to administer the treatment to others with miraculous results. As Leonard grapples with a world drastically changed, and Sayer faces the implications of his medical breakthrough, the film explores human resilience and the power of medical science. This drama, based on a true story, was nominated for three Academy Awards.
  • The Trip to Bountiful
    11
    Geraldine Page, John Heard, Rebecca De Mornay
    8 votes
    Carrie Watts (Geraldine Page) may be old, but she suffers no shortage of spirit. When her carping daughter-in-law (Carlin Glynn) and overprotective son (John Heard) forbid her to travel alone from Houston to her childhood home in Bountiful, she strikes out anyway. Learning that trains no longer stop there, she takes a bus instead and en route meets a young woman (Rebecca De Mornay) with whom she shares both secrets and memories. Little does she know that her family has alerted the police.
  • Deceived
    12
    Goldie Hawn, John Heard, Robin Bartlett
    10 votes
    The murder of a museum curator places art dealer Jack Saunders (John Heard) under suspicion for selling forged treasures to museums. When Jack suddenly dies in a car crash, his wife Adrienne (Goldie Hawn) tries to discover what he did on her own. She finds that she knew little about the man she was married to. The more she learns about her husband's possible illegal activities and double life, the more she places her daughter, and herself, in grave danger.
  • Chilly Scenes of Winter
    13
    John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert
    10 votes
    Charles (John Heard) meets Laura (Mary Beth Hurt) in the the government office where they both work and is instantly smitten. Unfortunately, Laura is not completely unattached but merely separated from her husband. Charles optimistically pursues a relationship with her -- an endeavor made more difficult by his exasperating roommate, Sam (Peter Riegert), and his somewhat daft mother, Clara (Gloria Grahame). Charles and Laura fall in love nevertheless, but struggle with their friends and family.
  • Desert Blue
    14
    Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck
    5 votes
    Desert Blue is a 1998 American comedy/drama film written and directed by Morgan J. Freeman and starring Brendan Sexton III, Kate Hudson. Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck, Sara Gilbert, and John Heard.
  • My Fellow Americans
    15
    Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd
    5 votes
    Ex-presidents Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and Douglas (James Garner) have hated each other for years. But when the current administration of President Haney (Dan Aykroyd) -- Kramer's former vice president -- tries blaming a string of kickbacks from a defense contractor on the two former presidents, they band together. With Haney's goons trying to kill them, they set out across the country to try and clear their reputations. In the process, they see a side of America they never knew before.
  • First Love
    16
    Susan Dey, Beverly DAngelo, Robert Loggia
    7 votes
    First Love is a 1977 American romance movie. It stars Susan Dey and William Katt and was directed by Joan Darling. The movie is based upon the story Sentimental Education by Harold Brodkey. The original music score was composed by John Barry.
  • The Great Debaters
    17
    Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker
    7 votes
    Poet and professor Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) teaches at the predominately black Wiley College in 1935 Texas. He decides to start a debate team, something nearly unheard of at a black college. While at first he butts heads with the influential father (Forest Whitaker) of one of his best debators, eventually he is able to form a team of strong-minded, intelligent young students, and they become the first black debate team to challenge Harvard's prestigious debate champions.
  • Heaven Help Us
    18
    Patrick Dempsey, Donald Sutherland, Mary Stuart Masterson
    7 votes
    Heaven Help Us is a 1985 comedy-drama film starring Andrew McCarthy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kevin Dillon, Donald Sutherland, Wallace Shawn, Stephen Geoffreys, John Heard, and Patrick Dempsey.
  • Beaches
    19
    Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard
    11 votes
    In the heart-tugging drama Beaches, two childhood friends, C.C. Bloom (Bette Midler) and Hillary Whitney (Barbara Hershey), navigate life's ups and downs together. Despite differing backgrounds, C.C., a brash singer with dreams of stardom, and Hillary, an affluent lawyer, maintain their bond over decades. As they experience love, heartbreak, and career highs and lows, their friendship remains a constant. Directed by Garry Marshall with a memorable soundtrack including the hit song Wind Beneath My Wings, Beaches is a poignant portrayal of enduring friendship in the face of life's inevitable trials.
  • White Chicks
    20
    Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Jaime King
    10 votes
    In White Chicks, FBI agents Kevin Copeland (Shawn Wayans) and Marcus Copeland (Marlon Wayans) have the task of protecting socialite sisters, Brittany Wilson (Maitland Ward) and Tiffany Wilson (Anne Dudek), from a kidnapping plot. When things take an unexpected turn, the agents find themselves donning whiteface and drag to impersonate the sisters, diving headfirst into high society shenanigans. This comedy film, directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, is filled with slapstick humor and clever disguises that keep the laughs coming as the brothers navigate their new identities while solving the case.
  • Betrayed
    21
    Debra Winger, Tom Berenger, John Heard
    6 votes
    Following the murder of a radio personality in Chicago, all evidence of the crime points to a white supremacist group from Iowa. With the FBI on the case, the department sends inexperienced agent Catherine Weaver (Debra Winger) on an undercover mission to root out the killers. Falling for her guise, local farmer and suspect Gary Simmons (Tom Berenger) fully embraces Weaver into the community. As Weaver spends more time with Simmons, her belief in his guilt diminishes and love takes its place.
  • Rambling Rose
    22
    Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, Diane Ladd
    6 votes
    During the Great Depression, a Southern family hires the domestic services of Rose (Laura Dern), a damaged woman who hopes to avoid prostitution as a way of life. While in the employ of the household, Rose begins to develop feelings for the father of the family (Robert Duvall), who must continually rebuff her unwanted sexual advances. Meanwhile, Rose also develops a relationship with the 13-year-old son, Buddy (Lukas Haas). Eventually the father begins to reach the limits of his tolerance.
  • The Seventh Sign
    23
    Demi Moore, Michael Biehn, Jürgen Prochnow
    8 votes
    Prior to his death on the crucifix, Jesus Christ (Jürgen Prochnow) was offered a drink of water, a kind act turned away by a Roman soldier. These events play a profound role in occurrences during modern times, which some construe as signs of Christ's return and the apocalypse. While Abby Quinn (Demi Moore) believes the end is coming and that her unborn child may be in danger as a result, Father Lucci (Peter Friedman), a Vatican agent, is doubtful no matter what evidence she presents.
  • The Chumscrubber
    24
    Ralph Fiennes, Jamie Bell, Carrie-Anne Moss
    8 votes
    After a friend who sells prescription medication is killed, Dean (Jamie Bell) is confronted by Billy (Justin Chatwin), the high-school drug dealer, who demands he hand over the remaining stash. Dean refuses, causing Billy and his partner to plot to kidnap his younger brother, Charlie (Rory Culkin). However, unaware of what Charlie looks like, they accidentally abduct another boy. When neither parents nor law enforcement believes his story, Dean is forced to go on a rescue mission.
  • Before and After
    25
    Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong
    9 votes
    The lives of Carolyn Ryan (Meryl Streep), a small-town doctor, and her artist husband, Ben (Liam Neeson), are shaken up when their son, Jacob (Edward Furlong), becomes the prime suspect in the death of a local teen girl. While Carolyn is intent on learning the truth about her son's involvement, Ben is willing to protect him at any cost, regardless of his guilt or innocence. When Jacob finally tells his parents what happened, events take a surprising series of turns.
  • The Package
    26
    Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Tommy Lee Jones
    9 votes
    Army Sgt. Johnny Gallagher (Gene Hackman) is reassigned after he angers Col. Glen Whitacre (John Heard) at a meeting of American and U.S.S.R. military types. Gallagher's new job is to shepherd detainee Thomas Boyette (Tommy Lee Jones) from Europe to the U.S. But when Gallagher loses track of his prisoner, he asks his ex-wife, a servicewoman with access to Boyette's background data, for help. As the chase leads Gallagher to Chicago, the intrigue ramps up in way he couldn't have imagined.
  • Radio Flyer
    27
    Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin
    7 votes
    When their parents divorce, brothers Mike (Elijah Wood) and Bobby (Joseph Mazzello) move to a California suburb with their mother, Mary (Lorraine Bracco). Soon after, she remarries a man (Adam Baldwin) who insists on being called "the King" and who beats young Bobby when Mary isn't around. The boys try to escape their harsh home life through fantasy, most of it centered on their Radio Flyer wagon. Inspired by the legend of another neighborhood boy, they hope to make it fly.
  • C.H.U.D.
    28
    John Heard, Kim Greist, Daniel Stern
    10 votes
    Photographer George Cooper (John Heard) is documenting the lives of subterranean homeless people, a population that has mysteriously dwindled. After receiving information from a reporter, George becomes aware of a conspiracy theory about cannibalistic monsters lurking in the sewers. He teams up with the reporter, a policeman (Christopher Curry) and a priest (Daniel Stern) to fight two battles: one against the cannibals and the other against a corrupt government official.
  • Snake Eyes
    29
    Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, John Heard
    10 votes
    Detective Rick Santoro (Nicolas Cage) has never played by the rules. When he attends a high-profile boxing match with his friend Navy Cmdr. Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise), as well as Defense Secretary Kirkland (Joel Fabiani), he witnesses a terrorist assassinate Kirkland. Despite a lockdown on the arena, key witness Julia Costello (Carla Gugino) escapes -- and Santoro begins to suspect Kirkland's death is part of a much larger conspiracy that involves boxing rivals and a beautiful stranger.
  • One Eight Seven
    30
    Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan
    6 votes
    When a student writes the police code for homicide, 187, inside a textbook owned by teacher Trevor Garfield (Samuel L. Jackson), he feels threatened. The principal dismisses the incident, but, soon after, Trevor is stabbed by the same student. Fifteen months later, a physically and emotionally scarred Trevor relocates to California and takes up substitute teaching. To his dismay, his new school is as full of dangerously undisciplined students as the last one, driving Trevor over the edge.