Joan Cusack is a powerhouse actress best known by her supporting roles in films. With over 100 roles in her filmography, Cusack has worked in various genres, from animation to comedy and dramas to even a few action roles. Perhaps best known as the beloved Toy Story character Jessie the Cowgirl, Cusack’s roles often instill either laughs or tears from the viewers.

While Cusack is known for screwball antics in films like In & Out and the 2000s coming of age filmSchool of Rock, she has also starred in her share of serious roles. One such notable performance was the 1999 film Arlington Road, which put Cusack in the role of a possible terrorist. One of Cusack’s other best roles was in the film Working Girl, which has reentered the news thanks to the upcoming reboot featuring Selena Gomez. In fact, it was this film that earned Cusack her first Oscar nomination.

Although Cusack has not been in a film since Toy Story 4 in 2019 and a few episodes of the TV series Homecoming in 2020, the actress is still talked about to this day thanks to her roles. The star’s filmography is extensive, but here is a look at five of her best and most notable performances.

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6 Working Girl

     20th Century Studios

Working Girl is iconic for Cusack as it was her first major recognition in the awards circuit. Cusack was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Cyn in Working Girl. Cyn is the best friend of Melanie Griffith’s character, Tess, a big-haired fellow secretary who sports a Jersey accent. The film revolves around Tess, a secretary who finds her idea stolen by her boss. For revenge, she pretends she has her boss’ job when she is out of the office. However, when she returns, it’s not so easy to keep up the ploy.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Working Girl stars big names like Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Alec Baldwin. Weaver joined Cusack in obtaining an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Katharine Parker. Many think it was Weaver and Cusack who outshone the main cast despite being supporting characters.

5 School of Rock

     Scott Rudin Productions

Many know School of Rock as one of Jack Black’s best performances, but did you also know it’s also one of Cusack’s? She plays Rosalie Mullins, aka Principal Mullins. While she may not be as fun as Black’s Dewey Finn, it’s her true stickler nature that makes her such a riot in this film.

School of Rock mainly revolves around Dewey Finn, a new substitute teacher of an uptight private school who turns his class into a rock band — one that eventually competes in Battle of the Bands in order to win the much-needed prize money for Dewey. Dewey does all of this behind Principal Mullins and even the students’ parents’ backs. Oh, and to make things more interesting, he is posing as his friend Ned in order to be qualified for the job as his background is in a rock and roll band, not education.

4 Arlington Road

     Universal Pictures

Arlington Road is one of the few action films in Cusack’s filmography. In this film, Cusak plays Cheryl Lang, wife of Oliver Lang, played by Tim Robbins, who are neighbors of Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges), an American History professor who finds himself mixed up with the atypical couple. He befriends the couple and begins to suspect they are terrorists. No one, of course, believes him, causing Michael to wonder if it’s all a figment of his imagination or if they really are bad people.

When you think of Cusack, odds are you are thinking of either her comedic roles or her drama roles. While Cusack is not one that comes to mind when thinking of action films, Arlington Road is a great example that truly shows Cusack’s depth as an actress. If you haven’t already watched this 1999 film, it’s a great one to watch during your next rainy weekend.

3 Shameless

     Showtime

When you think of Shameless, it’s easy to think of stars like Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, or Jeremy Allen White. While you may not immediately think of Cusack, she, too, had a large role in the hit TV series. Cusack starred as Shelia Jackson, the thrice-married second wife of Frank (Macy). Shelia is agoraphobic, that is, someone who is afraid to go outside or leave the house, a battle which she tries to overcome throughout her time on the show.

Cusak portrayed her character as a series regular in the first three seasons of Shameless, with appearances in seasons four and five as well. Her character’s relapses and wins over her disease helped make her more multidimensional. Her on-again-off-again relationship with Frank also added some interesting plays to the quirky character. Cusack did win an Emmy in 2015 for her portrayal of the character.

2 In & Out

     Spelling Films

In & Out was Cusack’s second Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Emily in the category of Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In this comedic film, Emily has self-esteem issues surrounding an obsession with body image. She is about to marry Howard (Kevin Kline), an English teacher, who was just recently outed as possibly gay. Howard’s former student thanked him in an Oscar acceptance speech and hinted that he might be gay despite being engaged to a woman. As the news spreads around the town, everyone is analyzing Howard’s characteristics to see if the claim was true. To make matters worse, Emily and Howard have yet to become intimate. Despite this, and her self-esteem issues, Emily is one of the few on Howard’s side.

Cusack’s performance is unmatched in In & Out. As the queen of supporting roles, Cusack steals the viewers’ attention each time she is on-screen. From her screwball antics to her supportive moments, this film is the height of Cusack’s career.

1 Toy Story Franchise

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Toy Story 2 was the first film to feature Cusack as Jessie the Cowgirl in what is often considered one of the best movies in the entire franchise. She went on to reprise her role in subsequent films, but the second one made the character Cuscak’s top career performance. While each time Cusack voiced Jessie led to a great movie, let’s focus on the second one as it was her first with the character.

In Toy Story 2, Woody is stolen by a toy collector, which is how he meets the rest of the cast from the TV series Woody’s Roundup. Woody finds his new life of fame isn’t all that bad thanks to his new friends, including Jessie and her horse Bullseye. While Woody is enjoying his new life, his friends from back home try to find him before he is sold off to Japan with the rest of the Roundup gang. In the film, Cusack plays the rowdy Jessie, who is spunky and stubborn, but also has a big heart. She was loved by a girl like Andy loves Woody, only she was given away, which makes her untrusting of people, especially kids who can outgrow their dolls. Cusack is able to portray all the emotions of Jessie in a convincing and even heartbreaking way.