Don't Speak
It wasn't just a hit song by No Doubt in the 90s—"don't speak" was also the mantra of some of the greatest movie characters of all time. Proving that less can be more, these characters have become part of cinematic history without barely ever saying a word.
Groot (The Guardians Of The Galaxy Movies)
He only says three words, "I am Groot"—but the way he says it speaks volumes each and every time. Then there is of course the "I love you, guys" at the end of the third film.
Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Mini-Me (The Austin Powers Movies)
Besides some "Eeeeeee"s and one deep baritone-sung line in the "Just The Two Of Us" song, Dr Evil's little clone lets his middle finger and hand-written notes do the talking.
New Line, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Thin Man (Charlie's Angels And Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle)
While most actors try to get more lines for their characters, Crispin Glover did the opposite for his portrayal of the Thin Man in the 2000 Charlie's Angels movie. The original script had dialogue for the character, but Glover didn't like it and suggested the Thin Man be mute.
Columbia, Charlie's Angels (2000)
Hodak (Charlie's Angels)
It isn't a coincidence that Hodak, from the 2019 Charlie's Angels, is also a mute assassin. The character is based on the Thin Man character from the previous films.
Columbia, Charlie's Angels (2019)
Chewbacca (The Star Wars Movies)
Chewbacca understands English, but only speaks in the Wookie language, Shyriiwook.
Twentieth Century, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
The Pale Man (Pan's Labyrinth)
The character has his eyeballs in the palms of his hands.
Warner Bros., Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me And Moonraker)
While we guess the great white shark from the Steven Spielberg blockbuster could be on the list, in this case, we're talking about a different Jaws. This Jaws is the seven-foot tall, metal-toothed henchman in two James Bond movies from the late 70s.
Jaws is a silent and destructive force who's only line of dialogue comes at the end of Moonraker. In an escape pod with his girlfriend Dolly, flying towards earth, Jaws opens up a bottle of Champagne and says, "Well, here's to us". And while we're on the subject of henchmen in James Bond movies...
United Artists, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Oddjob (Goldfinger)
His boss, Auric Goldfinger, describes him to Bond as "an admirable manservant but mute". Oddjob technically has four lines of dialogue: "Aha!", "Ah! Ah!", "Ah!", "Arrgh!"
United Artists, Goldfinger (1964)
Gromit (The Wallace & Gromit Movies)
Originally, Gromit the dog was going to speak—however, once Nick Park recognized how expressive the character could be with his eyes and face, the idea of him speaking was dropped.
DreamWorks, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Michael Myers (The Halloween Movies)
While a very young Michael Myers does speak in Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake, the adult version of the character never utters a word in any of the films. Although Zombie did originally plan on having an adult Myers whisper one word to Laurie at the end of his movie, he changed his mind in the end.
Jason Voorhees (The Friday The 13th Movies)
Like his horror movie compadre Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees also remains silent throughout the Friday The 13th franchise. Although, in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday he does gain the ability to possess other bodies and while in the body of a police officer, he does speak for the first time, with the line: "Freeze! Get the hell away from her, Ed!"
Warner Bros., Friday the 13th (1980)
Dumbo (Dumbo)
Disney are masters at creating silent characters that we love and care for—and Dumbo is one of them. His sweet eyes and big ears tell a story just as well as any dialogue could've.
Dopey (Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs)
Another endearingly silent Disney character.
Walt Disney, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
WALL-E (WALL-E)
A Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth-class doesn't sound like something anyone would really care about, but if you weren't smiling, laughing, or crying at some point during WALL-E then, well...we just don't understand how that would be possible. Speaking in beeps and boops and blips, WALL-E stole our hearts without uttering a single word. Those beeps and boops were voiced by the great Ben Burtt, who also did the beeps and boops for another iconic movie robot.
R2-D2 (Star Wars)
Yup, Burtt vocalized many of R2-D2's beeps and whistles.
Twentieth Century, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
Kevin (Sin City)
Elijah Wood's psychopathic character is silent when being deadly and doesn't even speak a word when his life is eventually taken.
Mr Shhh (Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead)
As the character's name suggests, Steve Buscemi's Mr Shhh speaks only when necessary in 1995's Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.
Miramax, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
Silent Bob (The View Askewniverse Movies)
As his name suggests, Silent Bob (played by Kevin Smith) is a mostly silent character. He does, however, have moments of thoughtful and insightful dialogue—usually catching everyone by surprise that he is actually speaking.
Miramax, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
God (Dogma)
In another Kevin Smith film, Dogma, the writer/director cast Alanis Morissette as God. And while she doesn't speak in her brief time on screen, she lets out a loud, powerful, head-exploding scream.
Harpo Marx (Lots Of Marx Brothers' Movies)
Unlike Groucho and Chico, Harpo was the quiet brother (at least on film). Well, "quiet" might not be the right word. He never spoke, but his use of horns and whistles as a form of communication definitely wasn't "silent".
Art The Clown (The Terrifier Franchise)
As if clowns weren't terrifying enough. First we had the talkative Pennywise and then—come the 2000s—we got the silent (but just as scary) Art the Clown. You can catch Art in a number of short films as well as feature-length movies: Terrifier (2016), Terrifier 2 (2022), and Terrifier 3 (2024).
Ada McGrath (The Piano)
Holly Hunter won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the mute McGrath, who speaks through her piano.
The Driver (Drive)
Throughout the entire 100-minute long film, Ryan Gosling's character only has 116 lines of dialogue. That might be more than anyone else on this list, but as those who've seen this excellent movie know—it really isn't much. The Driver's silence is a key component of his character. It also wasn't the first time director Nicolas Winding Refn had worked with a relatively silent character...
One-Eye (Valhalla Rising)
In Refn's film Valhalla Rising—which he made previous to Drive—the main character, One-Eye (played by Mads Mikkelsen) is a mute Norse warrior.
One Eye, Valhalla Rising (2009)
Max Rockatansky (The Mad Max Franchise)
Another member of the strong, silent type club—Max has no more than 90 lines of dialogue in any of the Mad Max films.
Warner Bros., Mad Max 2 (1981)
The Magic Carpet (Aladdin)
It doesn't even have a face—and yet Disney's ability to derive emotions and feelings from a carpet is impressive. And while we're on the Aladdin tip...
Abu (Aladdin)
We have to mention Aladdin's monkey partner in crime.
Hattie (Sweet And Lowdown)
Samantha Morton, as the mute laundress, earned her first Oscar nomination without ever saying a word.
Sony, Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Lil (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me)
The Lil character briefs the FBI agents not with words, but with an interpretive dance.
New Line, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Mahogany (The Midnight Meat Train)
Vinnie Jones says very few words—but he doesn't have to speak to be outright intimidating. And that wasn't the first time Jones had been almost dialogue-free in a movie...
Lionsgate, The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Sphinx (Gone In 60 Seconds)
Jones played Sphinx, a mute mortician in 2000’s Gone in 60 Seconds. Silent throughout the film, he surprises everyone when he says a few words at the end of the movie.
Touchstone, Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
Lurch (The Addams Family)
In the 1960's television series, the Lurch character spoke a few words and even had a popular catchphrase: "You rang”. However, when it comes to the films in the 90s, Lurch is silent—except for some grunts and such.
