Actors we'd love to see in a Wes Anderson movie

Anderson has shown a real cache for grabbing great actors for his films. Sure, there’s three-time Oscar winners like Frances McDormand, but also Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks. Washington may be known more for searing dramas and high-concept action flicks, but he’s been in some romantic comedies in his career, so he can hit the usually lighter tone of an Anderson movie.

Speaking of movie stars, once upon a time Roberts and Washington co-starred in “The Pelican Brief.” Maybe Anderson could even reunite them for a movie! Roberts’ superstardom has dipped a bit, which is just largely the case for non-MCU movie stars anyway, but she can still use her charisma in an Anderson film.

Maybe Anderson can get his friend Schwartzman to dip into the family tree. Schwartzman is the son of Talia Shire, the sister of Francis Ford Coppola, and Nicolas Cage’s real name is Nicolas Coppola, as he too is a member of that family. Can’t you see Cage playing one of Anderson’s oddball characters?

Stone starred in Damian Chazelle’s “La La Land,” and she spends a decent amount of her time working with Yorgos Lanthimos these days, so she’s not against working with a distinct filmmaker who makes stylized movies. Also, she was in “Cruella,” which meant wearing wild costumes. That should be the priming for an Anderson film she needs.

Craig is free from what seems to have been a monkey’s paw wish to be James Bond. He’s having a lot of fun playing Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s mystery series centered on the character. Blanc, as a character, feels like he would fit in Anderson’s milieu. Craig seems like he’d be game to do the Anderson thing.

The end of “Stranger Things” is nigh, and Brown is going to have to try and make the move into adult acting. Let’s hearken back to “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which made excellent use of young actors Tony Revolori and Saoirse Ronan. Let’s see how Brown fits with Anderson.

Crowe seems like he’s mostly interested in doing roles where he can ham it up and do ridiculous accents these days. Maybe back in the days of him being the biggest movie star in the world, Crowe would not be up for an Anderson movie. Now, though, he could step right in with a silly supporting role in which he could chew the scenery.

Louis-Dreyfus is known more for television, where she has racked up Emmy after Emmy. On occasion, though, she dips into film, and why not give her a chance in an ensemble piece? She excelled in the ensemble casts of “Seinfeld” and “Veep.” She can crush it in a movie as well.

Once upon a time, Anderson gave Gene Hackman his last substantive role in “The Royal Tenenbaums” (sorry, “Welcome to Mooseport” fans). Hopkins has two Oscars, and his career is as acclaimed as Hackman’s. He’s not exactly a young man, though, so seeing the knighted actor in a role a la Royal Tenebaum would be a nice quasi-capper to his career. Beats playing Odin.

A major star in her teens and 20s, Dunst matured into a strong dramatic actor who works well in character pieces and supporting roles. She got an Oscar nomination for “The Power of the Dog,” but her early career was built on a flair for comedy. If Jesse Plemons comes along as part of a package deal, even better.

One of Anderson’s best skills as a director is his ability to manage, um, tempestuous personalities. There’s Hackman, sure, but also Willis and Edward Norton, two guys known for being difficult to work with. We imagine McDormand likes to have her thoughts heard as well. Downey’s failed to really get in the groove post-MCU, and “Dolittle” was a disaster that seemed to be overly managed by the actor. Anderson, though, should be able to get the best out of the erstwhile Iron Man.

Diaz retired from acting, but she has decided to return. What better way to celebrate that than by stepping into one of Anderson’s movies? People would be excited to see Diaz in one of the director’s films, a winning combination for her as she gets back in the swing of things.

A lot of these actors are movie-star types. Broderick was once one of those, but he long ago became more of a character actor. Since Anderson makes ensemble pieces, getting some notable character actors in the mix is a wise idea. The dude loves Bob Balaban, and Broderick has some Balaban vibes to his current work.

Mirren has eclectic interests as an actor. She’s been on “Documentary Now!” for years, and she got herself into the “Fast and Furious” series. While we couldn’t imagine, say, 85 percent of the cast members of that franchise in an Anderson film, Mirren is a different story. She’d be great in the kind of roles that Anderson has given to Anjelica Huston.

Bautista is lapping the field as the best former pro wrestler turned actor, even if that isn’t the toughest competition. He brings the nuance of character actors even while being so jacked he could probably lift a Honda Civic over his head. We bet Bautista would jump at the chance to join in on an Anderson ensemble.

Wiig’s comedic style is perhaps a bit broad when left to her own devices, but she has shown the ability to stick to a tone. It’s not all “Saturday Night Live” and “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.” Maybe Wiig shouldn’t be front and center in an Anderson movie, but if somebody like Harvey Keitel or Willem Dafoe can pop up in tertiary roles, why not Wiig?

Anderson could be part of the next step of the theoretical resurgence of Fraser’s career. He has an Oscar now, and he’s been in films from Steven Soderbergh and Martin Scorsese. It’s been serious, dramatic work, but back in the day Fraser’s stock in trade was on the lighter side.

Why not give somebody who is not yet a star a chance to emerge in films with an Anderson movie? Goldberg jumped out to a lot of people in Bill Hader’s HBO show “Barry,” which is admittedly darker than anything Anderson has ever done. However, there was plenty of comedy in the mix, sometimes subtle, and sometimes broad. “Barry” is over, so let’s get Goldberg something fun to do.

It’s well worn at this point. Sandler, left to his own devices, does goofy, mediocre-at-best comedy. Then, on occasion, he’ll make a film with somebody like Paul Thomas Anderson or the Safdies and he shows just how good he can be. Nobody is as distinct a filmmaker as Wes Anderson, and we’re fascinated with how Sandler would work in the mix.

Spencer has not quite taken off after winning an Oscar for “The Help.” Now, she’s been good, but she’s also kind of faded into the background. It almost feels like her biggest project since “The Help” was that “Murder, She Wrote” reboot that didn’t happen. An Anderson movie would at least give her something interesting to do, and not in a campy “Ma” way.

There is an asterisk on this entry, because Clooney and Streep were technically in an Anderson film. They both lent their voices to “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.” That being said, we would so thoroughly be excited for either Clooney or Streep to show up in a live-action Anderson movie that we wanted to include them anyway.