Don't Speak
It isn't just a hit song by No Doubt in the 90s—"don't speak" is also what some of the greatest movie characters of all time did (or didn't do, as the case may be). Less really can be more—and these characters have become part of cinematic history without saying a word (okay, some of them say a few words—but it still counts).
Groot (The Guardians Of The Galaxy Movies)
"I am Groot". It's only three words—but the way he says it speaks volumes each and every time. And then there's 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)
There are a few "Eeeeeee"s and one deep baritone-sung line in the "Just The Two Of Us" song. But otherwise Dr Evil's small 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)
Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me And Moonraker)
The seven-foot tall, metal-toothed henchman in two James Bond movies from the late 70s has his only line of dialogue at the end of Moonraker. In an escape pod with his girlfriend Dolly, Jaws pops 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)
Hodak (Charlie's Angels)
Hodak, from the 2019 Charlie's Angels, is also a mute assassin. It wasn't an accident either as he is based on the Thin Man character from the previous films.
Columbia, Charlie's Angels (2019)
Chewbacca (The Star Wars Movies)
Chewbacca says many words, but only in the Wookie language, Shyriiwook.
Twentieth Century, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
The Pale Man (Pan's Labyrinth)
If you have your eyeballs in the palms of your hands, you don't need to speak.
Warner Bros., Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
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)
A very young Michael Myers does speak in Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake, the adult version of the character never utters a word. Zombie did originally plan on having adult Myers whisper one word to Laurie at the end of his movie, but he changed his mind.
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 has created multiple 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)
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. The silent Art the Clown can be found in a number of short films as well as feature-length movies: Terrifier (2016), Terrifier 2 (2022), and Terrifier 3 (2024).
Kevin (Sin City)
Elijah Wood's psycho character is silent and deadly. He doesn't even utter 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)
Silent Bob is a mostly silent character. He does, however, have moments of thoughtful and insightful dialogue—usually catching everyone by surprise.
Miramax, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
God (Dogma)
In Kevin Smith's Dogma, Alanis Morissette was cast as God. She doesn't speak in her brief time on screen, but she she does let out a loud, head-exploding scream.
Ada McGrath (The Piano)
Holly Hunter won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as 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. 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)
Mahogany (The Midnight Meat Train)
Vinnie Jones says very few words—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)
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)
Max Rockatansky (The Mad Max Franchise)
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 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)
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.
