# Dwarves in serious roles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418 "2007-09-16T20:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/1 "2007-09-16T20:51:42Z")
Another thread linked a video to _The Safety Dance_ that features a dwarf jester. Seems like dwarves are either jesters, guys in suits (Sid & Marty Kroft roles), evil geniuses (Dr. Loveless), sidekicks (Tattoo, Nick Nack), sideshow freaks, or some sort of bizarre dream-image character. Have there been any serious films (drama, crime drama, etc. – not comedies) where the lead has been played by a dwarf? ---
**Author:** ![lilflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@lilflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilflower)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/2 "2007-09-16T20:54:39Z")
Although I did not see it, I believe [The Station Agent](http://imdb.com/title/tt0340377/) meets your criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/3 "2007-09-16T20:56:45Z")
willow ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/4 "2007-09-16T21:03:41Z")
Time Bandits. Tip toes, is about a midget, but played by Gary Oldman, a full-sized dude. I think it still counts, though. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/5 "2007-09-16T21:04:37Z")
_The Station Agent_ was very good. _Tiptoes_ was an okay movie, starring Gary Oldman playing a dwarf. Peter Dinklage, the star of _Station Agent_, is in this one too, along with several other dwarf actors. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/6 "2007-09-16T21:11:29Z")
I can’t answer your question (at least, I can’t think of a non-comedy/fantasy which had a dwarf in a ‘normal’ role) but this thread immediately brough up the Nick/Tito exchange from **Living With Oblivion** where director Nick is trying to coach Tito (a dwarf) through some sterotypical “dream sequence” stuff. > [@](#): > > **NICK:** Look, Tito. It’s not that big a deal. It’s a dream, alright. Strange things happen in a dream. All you have to do is laugh. Why is that such a problem? > > **TITO:** Why does it have to be a dwarf? > > **NICK:** What? > > **TITO:** Why does my character have to be a dwarf? > > **NICK:** He doesn’t have to be a dwarf. > > **TITO** : Then why is he?! Is that the only way you can make this a dream; put a dwarf in it? > > **NICK:** No, Tito; that’s not – > > **TITO:** Have you ever had a dream with a dwarf in it?! Do you know anyone who’s had a dream with a dwarf in it? NO! I don’t even have dreams with dwarves in them! The only place I’ve seen dwarves in dreams is in stupid movies like this! Make it weird; put a dwarf in it. Everyone will go “Whoa whoa whoa, must be a dream, there’s a fucking _dwarf_ in it!” Well, I’m sick of it. You can take this Dream Sequence and shove it up your ass! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/7 "2007-09-16T21:17:47Z")
**Find me Guilty** (with the same little person from _The Station Agent_). Both good movies. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/8 "2007-09-16T21:20:58Z")
Not the lead role, but Peter Dinklage proved his acting chops once more in **Death At A Funeral**. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/9 "2007-09-16T21:22:14Z")
David Rappaport guest-starred as ruthless attorney who wasn’t above using his dwarfism to influence the jury on a few episodes of “LA Law” in the 80s. It wasn’t a leading role, but it was a serious one. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/10 "2007-09-16T21:23:00Z")
I third _The Station Agent_. A great movie all around. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/11 "2007-09-16T21:26:47Z")
While not technically a dwarf, [Corky Hubbert](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0399155/) frequently played “little people” (e.g. lead Munchkin in “Under the Rainbow”). He played a _very_ serious character in “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe”. Co-starring with Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, and Rod Steiger isn’t too bad. He could also be quite serious in real life. I once saw him almost tear into a raving street preacher (Holy Hubert I think) waaay back when. The preacher made a nasty comment about the size and contents of Corky’s heart. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/12 "2007-09-16T21:33:18Z")
Does Danny DeVito count? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/13 "2007-09-16T21:35:45Z")
_Time Bandits_? A troupe of Little People who happen to be (at least somewhat) wack-jobs doesn’t quite fit. I’ve only seen _Willow_ once, when it came out, so I don’t remember that one. **Jophiel** : I have that somewhere. It’s been years since I’ve watched it. I’ll have to see it again. [QUOTE=KayElCee] David Rappaport guest-starred as ruthless attorney who wasn’t above using his dwarfism to influence the jury on a few episodes of “LA Law” in the 80s. It wasn’t a leading role, but it was a serious one. [/QUOTE] Never watched the show, but it does sound like what I was getting at. I’ll have to see _The Station Agent_. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/14 "2007-09-16T21:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Does Danny DeVito count? [/QUOTE] How short do you have to be to qualify as a dwarf, anyway? I believe Danny DeVito is 5’ 0", BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/15 "2007-09-16T21:47:11Z")
In the HBO series _Carnivale_ a dwarf, played by Michael J. Anderson, was the carnival manager (Samson) and allaround “guy who knows things.” A major role and a serious one. Actually, looking at his IMDB page, few of his roles have been comical. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/16 "2007-09-16T21:51:32Z")
I’ve been wanting to see _The Station Agent_ ever since I saw Peter Dinklage in reruns of the TV show _Threshold_, where he played a computer expert. He’s supposed to be starring in a movie based on George Cheesbro’s books, playing a dwarf detective. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/17 "2007-09-16T21:52:33Z")
I forgot about _Carnivale_. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/18 "2007-09-16T21:54:11Z")
[QUOTE=Alive at Both Ends] How short do you have to be to qualify as a dwarf, anyway? I believe Danny DeVito is 5’ 0", BTW. [/QUOTE] I don’t believe he does: Dwarfism refers to a condition of extreme small size of a person, animal, or plant. Any type of marked human smallness could be termed dwarfism in older popular and medical usage. Currently, in both general and technical usage, the term as related to human beings (the major subject of this article) is restricted to those forms of extreme shortness characterized by disproportion of body parts, typically due to an inheritable disorder in bone or cartilage development. In contrast, those forms of shortness characterized by proportional body parts usually have a hormonal or nutritional cause. An example is growth hormone deficiency, which was once called “Pituitary dwarfism”. According to current usage, proportional shortness, even when severe, is no longer referred to as “dwarfism”.[sup][[1](http://web.archive.org/web/20060516011550/http://www.lpaonline.org/resources_faq.html)][/sup] > **[Dwarfism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarfism)** > > Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is defined as an adult height of 147 centimetres (4 ft 10 in) or less, regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is 120 centimetres (4 ft). Disproportionate dwarfism is characterized by either short limbs or a short torso. In cases of proportionate dwarfism, both the limbs and torso are unusually small. Intelligence is usually normal, and most peopl The most c... ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/19 "2007-09-16T22:02:10Z")
Does the character of Mickey, on “Seinfeld,” count? I mean, there were some funny moments that resulted from his being a dwarf (the plot that revolved around him being a stand in for a little kid, the time he and Kramer got into a physical altercation when Kramer was wearing stiff pants and couldn’t sit down), but it _was_ a comedy. I don’t think it was too different from them making jokes about Newman being fat, or George being short/bald. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418/20 "2007-09-16T22:13:42Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Seems like dwarves are … sideshow freaks … Have there been any serious films (drama, crime drama, etc. – not comedies) where the lead has been played by a dwarf? [/QUOTE] Well, the movie _Freaks_ was a serious drama, where the lead character was a sensitive, dignified and honourable human being, who just happens to work in a sideshow. And the “normal” people are evil money grubbers, who are the real freaks. does R2D2 count? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dwarves-in-serious-roles/419418.md?page=2)