--- name: "Ron Vawter" canonical: "https://film.one/person/ron-vawter" fi1m_id: "ron-vawter" imdb_id: "nm0891381" tmdb_id: 32592 wikidata_id: "Q1421128" roles: ["Actor"] born: "9 December 1948" died: "16 April 1994" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 84 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-09-17T16:48:25.215001+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Ron Vawter ## Identity Ron Vawter - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ron-vawter - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** ron-vawter - **IMDb ID:** nm0891381 - **TMDB ID:** 32592 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1421128 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Vawter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1421128, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891381/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/32592 Actor. Born 9 December 1948 in Latham, New York, USA. Died 16 April 1994. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 9 December 1948, Latham, New York, USA - **Died:** 16 April 1994 - **Active:** 1989–1993 - **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (1), 1990s 84 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 84 to 77 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 1, History 1, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $505m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Vawter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1421128, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0891381/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/32592 ## Fi1m on Ron Vawter > Ron Vawter listens so patiently that it starts to feel unkind. We value that precision: he makes professional authority uncomfortable without making a supporting part needlessly conspicuous. In *sex, lies, and videotape* (1989), Andie MacDowell's Ann tells her therapist that she has stopped wanting sex and begun worrying about where the rubbish goes. Ron Vawter listens with a patience that makes the consultation feel faintly judgemental. He gives Ann room to speak, but not much comfort. We rate him for that exactness: a supporting actor who can make professional attention feel distinctly unfriendly. He was a founding member of the Wooster Group in the mid-1970s, working in experimental theatre with Elizabeth LeCompte before taking film character parts in the early 1980s. The title role in *King Blank* (1983) belongs to that early screen work, but cinema did not replace the theatre. In the solo stage piece *Roy Cohn/Jack Smith* (1992), he played both title figures, exploring sexual identity and repression. The attention to voice and physical detail in that work is worth remembering when a film gives him little to do beyond sitting and listening. Steven Soderbergh, who wrote, directed and edited *sex, lies, and videotape*, also shows the limits of such a part. The therapy sessions keep stating what the other scenes have already made clear, and Vawter's restraint cannot remove the repetition. By the third session we were impatient, because Ann was being asked to explain what we could already see in her behaviour. We wanted the screenplay to stop using him to explain Ann. His firm voice made him a natural fit for men whose position grants them a hearing. Jonathan Demme cast him as law-firm partner Bob Seidman in *Philadelphia* (1993). It is the sort of establishment role for which he was frequently cast. We find the film humane and moving, though its cautious screenplay leaves too little life outside the case. Vawter belongs to its professional world, but the film's chief strength is the work of Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Start with *sex, lies, and videotape* for the precision of the listening. Its quiet comedy gives Vawter's patient attention something to work against, particularly when Ann's worries turn towards the rubbish. Just allow for a screenplay that brings the therapist back once too often. ## Biography Ron Vawter (9 December 1948 – 16 April 1994) was an American actor. He was a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group and performed in most of its productions from the late 1970s until his death. Vawter appeared in films including *Born in Flames* (1983), *sex, lies, and videotape* (1989) as a therapist, *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991) as Paul Krendler, *Johnny Suede* (1991), *Philadelphia* (1993) as Bob Seidman, and *King of the Hill* (1993). He created the one-man show *Roy Cohn/Jack Smith* (1992) and received an Obie Award for sustained excellence in performance. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *King of the Hill* (1993), Fi1m 84, as Mr. Desot - Hotel Manager — [page](https://film.one/film/king-of-the-hill.md) - *Philadelphia* (1993), Fi1m 76, as Bob Seidman — [page](https://film.one/film/philadelphia.md) - *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991), Fi1m 91, as Paul Krendler — [page](https://film.one/film/the-silence-of-the-lambs.md) - *sex, lies, and videotape* (1989), Fi1m 83, as Therapist — [page](https://film.one/film/sex-lies-and-videotape.md) ## Complete filmography (39) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Fresh Kill* (1996), as Roger Bailey - *Roy Cohn/Jack Smith* (1995), as Roy Cohn / Jack Smith - *The Last Time I Saw Ron* (1994), as Ron Vawter - *Philadelphia* (1993), as Bob Seidman — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/philadelphia.md) - *King of the Hill* (1993), as Mr. Desot - Hotel Manager — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/king-of-the-hill.md) - *Brace Up!* (1993), Actor - *White Homeland Commando* (1993), Actor - *Mastergate* (1992), as Nat Picker - *Swoon* (1992), as State's Attorney Crowe - *Buying a Landslide* (1992), as Bob D'Avanzo - *Roy Cohn/Jack Smith (Live Stage Recording)* (1992), as Roy Cohn & Jack Smith - *The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez* (1991), as Dr. Ramirez · Story - *Johnny Suede* (1991), as Winston - *Women & Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules* (1991), as Ad Man (segment 'A Domestic Dilemma') - *Plymouth* (1991), as Percy - *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991), as Paul Krendler — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/the-silence-of-the-lambs.md) - *Made in Hollywood* (1990), as Matt - *Postcards* (1990), as Fred - *The Machine That Killed Bad People* (1990), Actor - *Internal Affairs* (1990), as Jaegar - *Fat Man and Little Boy* (1989), as Jamie Latrobe - *sex, lies, and videotape* (1989), as Therapist — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/sex-lies-and-videotape.md) - *Twister* (1989), as Man in Bar - *Used Innocence* (1989), as Donald Eisenberg - *Volcano Saga* (1989), as Gest - *American Experience* (1988), series, as Charles Guiteau - *She Must Be Seeing Things* (1988), as Pink Pussycat Customer - *Arena Brains* (1987), as Man with Cigar - *Landscape Suicide* (1987), as Prosecutor (voice) - *ScreenPlay* (1986), series, as Bob D'Avanzo - *The Equalizer* (1985), series, as Lieutenant - *Miami Vice* (1984), series, as Lt. Jones — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/miami-vice.md) - *Atalanta Strategy* (1984), as Immigration Staff/Flying Saucer - *Born in Flames* (1983), as FBI Agent - *King Blank* (1983), as King Blank - *Strong Medicine* (1981), as Max - *Empty Suitcases* (1980), Actor - *Minus Zero* (1979), as Freud - *Sudden Death* (1977), as Businessman (uncredited) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ron-vawter