Wallace Shawn

Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American character actor, voice actor, playwright and essayist. His film roles have included those of Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in the Louis Malle directed comedy-drama My Dinner with Andre (1981), John Lahr in Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987), Mr. James Hall in Clueless (1995) and providing the voice of Rex in the Toy Story franchise. He has also appeared in a variety of television series, including recurring roles as Grand Nagus Zek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999) and Cyrus Rose in Gossip Girl (2008–2012).\n', ' His plays include Obie Award winning Aunt Dan and Lemon (1985), The Designated Mourner (1996) and Grasses of a Thousand Colors (2008). He also co-wrote the screenplay for My Dinner with Andre with Andre Gregory, and he scripted A Master Builder (2013), a film adaptation of the play by Henrik Ibsen, which he also starred in. His book Essays was published in 2009 by Haymarket Books.\n', ' Shawn was born in New York City, to a Jewish family. His parents are William Shawn (1907–1992), the long-time editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Shawn (née Lyon; 1906–2005); his brother, Allen, is a composer. Shawn attended The Putney School, a private liberal arts high school in Putney, Vermont, and graduated with a B.A. in history from Harvard College. He studied philosophy, politics and economics, as well as Latin, at Magdalen College, Oxford, originally intending to become a diplomat. He also traveled to India as an English teacher, on a Fulbright program. He then taught Latin in Manhattan but, since 1979, has made a living primarily as an actor.\n', '