He’s a comedian, actor, writer, banjo player, and the kind of man who can wear a white suit without looking like a Vegas Elvis. Steve Martin turns another glorious year older today (August 14), and it’s the perfect excuse to look back at five of his most iconic roles.
As Charles-Haden Savage, Steve Martin gives us the delightfully neurotic middle-aged neighbour we all secretly want to investigate a murder with. Playing opposite Martin Short and Selena Gomez, Martin combines old-school comic timing with the quiet melancholy of a man whose glory days are behind him (or so he thinks). The result? A true-crime comedy that’s equal parts laugh-out-loud and oddly touching. The knitted hats are just a bonus.
This was the role that cemented Steve Martin as a comic genius and probably the only man alive who could deliver the line “I was born a poor black child” and still be beloved. As Navin Johnson, Martin bumbles through life with idiotic optimism, discovering love, wealth, and a very strong attachment to an ashtray. It’s absurd, it’s outrageous, and it’s still laugh-out-loud funny more than four decades later.
As George Banks, Martin channeled the everydad who loves his daughter but not the price tag of her wedding. Watching him unravel over cake samples, swans, and the mysterious cost of a “minor” floral arrangement is pure magic. His gift here is blending slapstick with genuine warmth – by the time the aisle walk comes, you’re laughing and tearing up in equal measure. A rom-com for dads, daughters, and anyone with a mortgage.
A modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, this role had Steve Martin rocking one of the most impressive prosthetic noses in cinema history. As fire chief C.D. Bales, he’s quick-witted, hopelessly romantic, and heartbreakingly self-conscious about his appearance. The scene where he rattles off 20 nose jokes in a bar fight is pure Martin – lightning-fast delivery wrapped in charm. Beneath the laughs, it’s a story about self-acceptance, told with heart.
As uptight advertising exec Neal Page, Martin is the perfect foil to John Candy’s overly chatty Del Griffith. The film is a masterclass in odd-couple comedy, with Martin’s slow-boil frustration reaching glorious heights (“Those aren’t pillows!”). But it’s the ending – when Neal realises Del’s heartbreaking truth – that seals this as one of Martin’s most beloved roles. It’s rare for a comedy to hit you right in the feels. This one does.
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