Kristen Wiig

Watch the small changes in Kristen Wiig’s expression when she plays someone awkward or over-eager. The physical comedy can be broad, but she is just as effective when the face does the work. We like the care in that, and the sense that the character’s discomfort matters beyond the joke. Her character work and impressions developed through the Groundlings and Saturday Night Live (2005–2012). Film has given her more kinds of work, though not always more to do.

Bridesmaids (2011), which she co-wrote and starred in, was the decisive move into leading film roles. Its physical comedy and female ensemble suited her strengths; writing for herself plainly helped. Her recurring collaborators include Annie Mumolo, a co-writer and frequent co-star, and Bill Hader. Her understated work opposite Hader in The Skeleton Twins (2014) makes a useful companion to the broad comedy, with their established rapport giving her another way to hold our attention.

The voice roles make a less straightforward guide. In How to Train Your Dragon (2010), she voices Ruffnut for directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, whose boy-and-dragon friendship earns the film’s warmth and excitement. We recommend it, with the caveat that the supporting humans are less carefully drawn; it gives only a limited idea of what Wiig can do. Masters of the Universe (2026) casts her as the voice of Roboto in Travis Knight’s bright, cheerfully cast reboot. Its uncertainty about how seriously to take its own jokes gives us more to question about the script than to say about her contribution.

Despicable Me 4 (2024) is a clearer example of the problem: Wiig’s Lucy cuts hair badly, then the film has another subplot to attend to. Editor Tiffany Hillkurtz keeps every scene to the length of its gag, so almost nothing has time to matter. We were frustrated by Lucy’s haircutting business because the film moves on before she has much chance to matter either. Start with Bridesmaids if the actor, rather than the franchise, is what interests you.