Fictional Architects in Movies

Aug 2009

By Sebastian J — Filed under: Architects , Movies

Via mirage.studio.7 we ran into this list of fictional architects in movies. There are some classic ones, like Henry Fonda. Some new ones like Adam Sandler. And there’s even an actual architect who made it to The Simpsons.

Which one do you like the most? The least? Is there anyone missing in this list? Some actor/actress you would really like as an architect in a movie? Tell us what you think. Full list after the break.

Update: Images and sources were taken from mirage.studio.7. They did this article with different sources like DanStewart, Ajolote Boletin, Archinect, ArchitExploitation, and more.

Paul Newman in “The Towering Inferno”:

Keanu Reeves in “The Lake”:

Steve Martin in “HouseSitter”:

Woody Harrelson in “Indecent Proposal”:

Michael Keaton in “White Noise”:

Frank Gehry (voice) in “The Simpsons”:

Gary Cooper in “Fountainhead”:

Jude Law (Landscape Architect” in “Breaking and Entering”:

Adam Sandler in “Click”:

Liam Neeson in “Love Actually”:

Wesley Snipes in “Jungle Fever”:

Luke Wilson in “My Super Ex-Girlfriend”:

Ashton Kutcher (Student) in “Butterfly Effect”:

Matt Dillon in “You, Me and Dupree” and “There’s Something About Mary”:

Tom Hanks in “Sleepless in Seattle”:

Charles Bronson in “Death Wish”:

Michelle Pfeiffer in “One Fine Day”:

Tom Selleck in “Three Men and a Baby”:

Henry Fonda in “12 Angry Men”:

Zach Braff in “The Last Kiss”:

Virginia Madsen in “Firewall”:

Matthew Broderick in “The Cable Guy”:

129 comments »

dingdong says:

哇，原来这么多电影里都有建筑师的身影，以前只记得神奇遥控器里的男主角是建筑师。Indecent Proposal里的建筑师很有感觉！

# August 30, 2009 at 12:23

daily spread says:

didn’t richard gere play an architect, as well?

# August 30, 2009 at 12:32

pete says:

yes – in the movie “intersection” c/w Sharon Stone

# August 31, 2009 at 16:47

Blaze says:

Based on the images, Virginia Madsen looks most realistic :)

# August 30, 2009 at 12:34

Chris says:

No ways, most realistic gotta be my boy Snipes.

# August 30, 2009 at 12:42

simba says:

damn right lol

# August 31, 2009 at 19:41

geoff says:

haha, yep, thats pretty much what we architects get upto in the office.

# August 31, 2009 at 20:04

Zizi says:

Come on! No architect would mess up his/her drawings that way…that’s what the conference table is for…I have an eyewitness story about that one!

# September 2, 2009 at 13:43

karina says:

and you missed Matthew Perry and Oliver Platt on ‘Three to tango’

# August 30, 2009 at 12:48

bb says:

the Keanu Reeves movie is called “The Lake HOUSE.” not “The Lake”

# August 30, 2009 at 12:52

PARTICK BATEMAN says:

the bloke in Gremlins was a Landscape Architect

# August 30, 2009 at 13:01

toby says:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “500 Days of Summer.”

# August 30, 2009 at 13:09

Barb says:

Yes! Awesome movie!

# September 2, 2009 at 20:49

GN says:

you missed David Murphy (Woody Harrelson) in the film “Indecent Proposal”

# August 30, 2009 at 13:33

oops you didn’t! just saw it

# August 30, 2009 at 13:34

Nom_de_Guerre says:

I propose fake architect George Costanza (in multiple Seinfeld episodes) for honorable mention on this list!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXMDRbOBMno

Also, Graham Chapman and John Cleese:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2PyeXRwhCE&feature=fvw

# August 30, 2009 at 14:23

bs says:

the guy in the show: “How I met your mother” (I know it’s a show and not a movie, but still think it counts)

# August 30, 2009 at 14:36

jmk says:

Are not there several TV shows with architects? It would be interesting to get a list of them as well. My doctor told me that the architecture profession is boring and that is why you never see them on TV shows.
Another interesting list would be foreign films with architects.

# August 30, 2009 at 16:18

mvu says:

I think the father from the Brady Bunch was an architect.

# August 30, 2009 at 17:22

amflores says:

Wilbur Post, the owner of Mr. Ed the talking horse was an architect

# September 1, 2009 at 11:20

MAD*arx says:

Hey, also Elyse Keaton, the mother from “Family Ties”

# September 12, 2009 at 15:45

areege says:

the butterfly effect, ashton kutcher wasn t an architect, but a psychologist. his best friend was an architect in one of the scenarios though.

# August 30, 2009 at 14:49

INawe says:

Matt Dillon in “There’s Something About Mary” was not an architect. His character was a private investigator.

# August 30, 2009 at 14:57

Panudec says:

He actually was a private investigator but lies about being an architect to look good in front of Mary, also he lies about being twice on a year on Santiago jaja.

# August 30, 2009 at 23:02

Da Insane says:

True, true!

# August 31, 2009 at 08:56

soft says:

good.มันเยี่ยมมากครับ

# August 30, 2009 at 15:04

Braveheart says:

Matthew Langford Perry Three to Tango (1999)

josh says:

what about Scofield (Prison Break) ?:D

# August 30, 2009 at 15:11

Dustin says:

Engineer

# August 30, 2009 at 20:25

Will says:

Jeff Bridges as Max Klein – “Fearless” (1993)
Kevin Klien as George Monroe – “Life As A House” (2001)
Albert Finney as Mark Wallace – “Two For The Road” (1967)
Kirk Douglas as Larry Coe – “Strangers When We Meet” (1960)
Richard Gere as Vincent Eastman – “Intersection” (1994)

Helmut Bakaitis as The Architect – “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) – I know it doesn’t fit the ‘celluloid architect’ type but still worth a mention.

# August 30, 2009 at 15:15

biboarchitect says:

Simpsons is the best… the way Gehry designs, and the way they built the building straight then bend it is really funny!!

# August 30, 2009 at 15:16

el cowboy says:

I think I’ve got a few more candidates: Wasn’t Mr. Brady, from the Brady Bunch, also an architect? Also, the main character in The Phantom of the Opera was an architect too. There was a movie I saw hen I was a kid in which Donald Sutherland played an architect restoring buildings in Venice, but I can’t recall the name of the movie. The protagonist from It’s a Wondeful Life was also an architect. And finally, my favorite fictional character [on TV] was George Constnaza’s own fictional alter-ego, which he every once in a while claimed to be… My two cents.

# August 30, 2009 at 15:17

Claus says:

What about Kevin Kline as “George Monroe” in “Live as a house”? Ore is he just building models?

Really nice pictures of Rome has “The Belly of an Architect” (1987) with Brian Dennehy.

I prefere the german film “Vineta” (2008) with Peter Lohmeyer as “Sebastian Färber” who nearly dies as a workaholic with the big chance to build the perfect city of the future in a secret project.

mariana bucat says:

Bob Rebadow (Donald Groves) > OZ inmate > an architect :) who stabbed his client to death with an umbrella, as he disliked bob’s project!

http://www.hbo.com/oz/cast/character_rebadow.shtml

# August 30, 2009 at 15:18

Good call!

# September 1, 2009 at 07:38

The DD says:

Presenting the architects with these giant drawing tables and the chaotic image with bunch of paper is such a cliche … and I’m sick of it!!! As somebody said before me, Virginia Madsen in “Firewall” is the most realistic representation.

# August 30, 2009 at 15:33

youri favre says:

French Movie:

YVAN ATTAL in “Les regrets”

http://www.lesregrets-lefilm.fr/

# August 30, 2009 at 15:36

hc says:

In “Click” Adam Sandlers boss (head architect) is no lesser than “The Hoff”; David Hasselhoff

# August 30, 2009 at 15:46

speedwing says:

Brian Dennehy as Stourley Kracklite in “The Belly of an Architect”

# August 30, 2009 at 15:53

Arly Jover in “Les regrets”

# August 30, 2009 at 16:17

mir says:

i know its only english movies but even in bollywood:
Dev Anand in 1963 film “Tere Ghar Ke Samne” translation

# August 30, 2009 at 16:23

I remember seeing an old movie on TV when I was a kid with Kirk Douglas playing an architect. I do not remember the name of it, but it was probably made in the 50’s. He either was living in a beach house or designing one. Does anybody know this movie.

Tee says:

One more!
Kevin Kline in “Life as a house”

# August 30, 2009 at 16:24

Kirk Douglas as Larry Coe in “Strangers When We Meet”

# August 30, 2009 at 17:00

Chelsey Pratt says:

Ashton Kutcher’s character in The Butterfly Effect was not an architect, he was a psychology student. His friend Lenny was an architecture student in some of the different life scenarios.

# August 30, 2009 at 17:17

@ says:

Wow, if hollywood thinks we’re such a sexy profession why aren’t we getting payed more?

michelle the archie says:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt from 500 days of summer.

Plus, wasn’t Mr. Brady from the Brady Bunch an Architect?

# August 30, 2009 at 17:25

pedro says:

George Constanza @ Seinfeld

# August 30, 2009 at 17:56

Matt says:

Can we also make a list of fake architects, that is, guys who pretend they’re architects to score with chicks?

Matt Dillon in “There’s Something About Mary”
George Costanza as Art Vandelay in “Seinfeld”
etc.

Frank says:

At the mention of the “Butterfly Effect”, is wrong. Ashton Kutcher was a psychology student, the movie features two roommates, one is a dark guy and the second who was his childhood friend, this was the student of architecture.

# August 30, 2009 at 17:57

Luca says:

what about Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother? i know its not a movie but in one eppisode Barny, the friend, demonstrates that saying to girls he’s an architect is the best pick up line ever!

# August 30, 2009 at 17:58

titisnurabadi says:

there’s one japanese serial tv drama, by takuya kimura in “CONCERTO”, its about a self-taught architect and his lovelife. and another one from indonesia, a movie called “ARISAN”, its about a young promising architect who turns into ***.

# August 30, 2009 at 18:02

Jim on according to Jim.

# August 30, 2009 at 20:27

David Basulto [tricky] says:

Dustin,

I think he was a contractor.

# August 30, 2009 at 20:46

Maybe the architect was Andy then…

# September 1, 2009 at 01:09

Ane Molina says:

http://arquis.blogspot.com/2008/08/architects-are-nice-guys.html

# August 30, 2009 at 21:10

casa says:

i like father of Kaenu revees in the lake house , he played with Le corbusie and mr. FLR…hehehe

# August 30, 2009 at 21:35

aufi says:

i was once saw a television series where this architect use microsoft paint to design a building. amazing! :D

# August 30, 2009 at 21:39

One of the caracters of brendan fraser on that movie with elizabet hurley as the devil was a gay architect.

The guy in Butterfly effect was a sicology student (almost sure)

Mark Rufallo in “just like heaven” (landscape architect)

Heino Ferch actually played Albert Speer in “der untergang” (for those who dont know, hitler´s architect)

David Duchovny in “return to me”

# August 30, 2009 at 23:14

snowman says:

Thursday. best architect ever.

# August 30, 2009 at 23:57

LeTo says:

Gary Cooper, definitely.

# August 31, 2009 at 01:34

Archimaniak says:

the 2 main male characters in the Japanese TV series: Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (Man who can’t get married)

# August 31, 2009 at 02:14

Lovas says:

The most convincing? Definitely Virginia Madsen – only one using a computer… ;)

# August 31, 2009 at 03:12

normm says:

Michael J. Fox, “The Frighteners,” 1996

# August 31, 2009 at 03:47

groszek says:

Pierce Brosnan ‘Mamma Mia’

# August 31, 2009 at 04:29

freud says:

Monty Python of course, in The Architect Sketch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2PyeXRwhCE

# August 31, 2009 at 04:35

Goncalo Gaspar says:

The belly of an architect
Director: Peter Greenaway
Architect: Brian Dennehy

# August 31, 2009 at 04:44

matty says:

oh and don’t forget Brad Pitt!
oh no wait!… he acts as an architect in real life….
even though he is not one….

# August 31, 2009 at 04:50

peter says:

sehr gut Wesley Snipes!!

# August 31, 2009 at 05:02

David Schwimmer can't act says:

David Schwimmer was an architect in “The Pallbearer”.

Easily one of the worst films of all time.

That Schwimmer is such a putz.

# August 31, 2009 at 05:51

Jason says:

Frank Ghery in The Simpsons, only because of The Simpsons. lol.

# August 31, 2009 at 06:07

Jude Law says:

Breaking and Entering FTW!!!

# August 31, 2009 at 06:11

1GR3 says:

i think that ted mosby from HIMYM is most unrealistic architect i’ve ever seen. from his outfit to his introspection.

# August 31, 2009 at 07:13

:) says:

VISIT LAS PALMAS

# August 31, 2009 at 07:18

agnes says:

Gabriele Ferzetti as Sandro in «L’Avventura» (Antonioni, 1960).

# August 31, 2009 at 07:30

shishkebab says:

I can’t stand the fact that all those architect characters are so positive and lame

# August 31, 2009 at 08:02

BC says:

You forgot about “ART VANDELAY” (George’s alter ego in SEINFELD), he claimed the Guggenheim addition…

# August 31, 2009 at 08:40

MrG says:

William Petersen (CSI´s Grissom) in FEAR

# August 31, 2009 at 08:51

barbara says:

wesley snipes!!! he knows how to draw…….

# August 31, 2009 at 08:57

see says:

Indecent Proposal cos he couldnt afford to repay the mortgage..?!
And the lake house, cos keanu looks really scruffy and frustrated in the site office! just like what happens in reality..

# August 31, 2009 at 09:14

Salome says:

Shame, Michelle Pheiffer trips and then breaks the model she’s carrying to bits! Probably the most cry-worthy scene ever!!

Shame!

# August 31, 2009 at 09:24

zigwin says:

Considering the design…maybe not a shame

# August 31, 2009 at 11:52

Nikola says:

Grace from “Will & Grace”. There have been a lot of jokes about Interior Decorators.
Do you remember, people.
:)))))

# August 31, 2009 at 10:00

zsolt says:

Josh Radnor aka Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother series is the best :)

patentpolice says:

“Something About Mary” – While Matt Dillon claims one time to be an architect while on a date with Cameron Diaz, it’s Cameron Diaz’s close friend (the guy with the leg braces) who plays the role of the architect (he’s also a fake). It’s this friend in the movie who calls out Matt Dillon on his lie.

So technically “Something About Mary” contains 2 architects.

# August 31, 2009 at 10:15

Mario Estay says:

…Keanu Reeves in “The Lake house”….the most real image about the architect romanticism…and the dreems, the bad work….the cause of their studies….mmmmmm…..I think it is the best image of the current architect

….mmm ok….that is all

# August 31, 2009 at 10:44

Gato says:

Great Post, i love the photo of Wesley Snipes with that girl haha

# August 31, 2009 at 11:33

I have noticed, that when the main character needs a profession which has to be insignificant to the plot, but be somewhat interesting…an architect. The reason for this, I think, is that it is a profession which everybody can imagine but it is not to specific.

# August 31, 2009 at 11:49

Pichon says:

1GR3, ted mosby from himym is going to evolve to a more convincing architect, keep watching and you’ll see…

# August 31, 2009 at 12:36

arch_m says:

Wesley Snipes in “Jungle Fever”…wow is very hot..:-P

# August 31, 2009 at 15:55

Donald Sutherland in “Don’t Look Now” by Nicholas Roeg

# August 31, 2009 at 16:12

Stefano says:

I can’t decide which one is worse, Pfeiffer’s project or Broderick’s…

# August 31, 2009 at 23:58

Eric Rang says:

Brodericks project was an adaptive reuse… i think that factors in the decision

# September 2, 2009 at 02:14

Another TV series is the OC… Ryan turns out to be an architect.

# September 1, 2009 at 01:06

mach5beez says:

yea he did…the profession does suit his brooding character…

# November 17, 2009 at 21:04

nolls says:

my favorite is Keanu Reeves in The LAKE HOUSE,
he looks convincing

# September 1, 2009 at 06:00

Skaap says:

Archdaily’s article was written by an idiot – one word: Fountainhead

# September 1, 2009 at 07:33

Before you call someone an idiot about an article you’ve only read diagonally maybe you should check the 7th picture on the list…

# September 1, 2009 at 07:37

franck says:

David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) in The Invaders
http://www.memorabletv.com/ i/the-invaders.html

# September 1, 2009 at 08:18

Count_Spatula says:

John Stewart (yes, that John Stewart!!) played an architect who lived in, and (improbably) designed Case Study House #21 in the mostly lousy “Playing by Heart” from 1998.

* arch: Pierre Koenig

# September 1, 2009 at 13:45

rypat says:

doesn’t anyone remember Clarissa Explains It All?
her father was an architect who worked from home.

# September 1, 2009 at 14:53

Roxane says:

in a french movie

Guillaume Canet in “Jeux d’enfants” (love me if you dare)

# September 1, 2009 at 17:42

hand says:

i love this game!
Guillaume Canet in Jeux d’enfants
Gwyneth Paltrow in Hush

# September 1, 2009 at 17:46

the good old Australian TV show, ‘Hey, Dad’.

ha, the dad was an architect who worked from home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Dad..!

# September 1, 2009 at 20:31

Lachie says:

Kevin Kline in Life as a house, I cringe every time i see him smash his models after he gets fired.

Its actually not a bad house he builds in the end….

# September 1, 2009 at 22:14

Joe says:

i love the lake

# September 2, 2009 at 00:10

I was pretty surprised and flattered when i saw ArchDaily today, as alot of these images came from Stills that I ripped from the movies for my blog ArchitExploitation (www.architexploitation.blogspot.com). I don’t believe that I ever told to many people about it, but am glad to see that people have been reading.

Anyway, for those of you who are interested in the site, I’ll get back to regular posting again soon. Summers comming to an end and the winter months mean staying indoors and watching movies….

# September 2, 2009 at 01:59

ELMANCO says:

Charles Bronson!

# September 2, 2009 at 04:40

Andrew says:

Maybe you should credit the source of this material.

It originally came from the ArchitExploitation blog.

# September 2, 2009 at 12:20

bk2000 says:

don’t forget Brian Dennehy in Belly of an Architect…

http://www.cooper.edu/facilities/library/vrc/pix/picks_pix/greenaway-architect.jpg

# September 2, 2009 at 13:04

Good call! But I think we should also add the co-star architect’s role – the Xerox machine! Certainly had the client-architect relationship nailed.

# September 2, 2009 at 13:41

jejalan says:

landscape architect in “just like heaven”, but i forget the actor..

# September 3, 2009 at 09:46

Tamary says:

pierce brosnan @ Mamma Mia

# September 3, 2009 at 17:17

SAMMI.ZHANG says:

THEY ARE SO LOVELY, SO INTERESTING!

# September 4, 2009 at 04:55

JJ says:

Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) the main character in “How I Met Your Mother” (tv-sitcom) also is an architect !

# September 4, 2009 at 11:02

Carl says:

I would have thought “The Architect” was a given: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466665/ Didn’t think it was too great nor realistic to the profession but its a movie based on an architect!

# September 4, 2009 at 16:52

David says: