John Malkovich made his acting debut in the 1978 American satirical comedy-drama film ‘A Wedding’ where he made an uncredited appearance as an extra. In 1984, he starred as ‘Mr. Will’ in the American film ‘Places in the Heart’ directed by Robert Benton. The film earned praise from critics and was a financial success. Malkovich also received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in the film. That same year, he portrayed Al Rockoff in the British biographical drama film ‘The Killing Fields’ directed by ‘Roland Joffé.’ The film saw critical acclaim upon release and grossed over $34.7 million on a budget of $14.4 million. He went on to star in films like ‘Eleni’ (1985), ‘The Glass Menagerie’ (1987), ‘Empire of the Sun’ (1987), ‘Miles from Home’ (1988), ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988), ‘The Sheltering Sky’ (1990), ‘The Object of Beauty’ (1991), ‘Queens Logic’ (1991), ‘Shadows and Fog’ (1992), and ‘Jennifer 8’ (1992). He received his second Academy Award nomination for his performance as ‘Mitch Leary’ in the American political action thriller film ‘In the Line of Fire’ directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The film opened to a positive reception and grossed over $187 million on a $40 million budget. He was next seen in films like ‘Beyond the Clouds’ (1995), ‘Mary Reilly’ (1996), ‘The Ogre’ (1996), ‘Con Air’ (1997), ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ (1998), ‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999), ‘The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc’ (1999), ‘Shadow of the Vampire’ (2000), ‘Knockaround Guys’ (2001), ‘Les âmes fortes’ (2001), ‘Ripley's Game’ (2002), ‘Johnny English’ (2003), ‘The Libertine’ (2004), ‘Colour Me Kubrick’ (2005), ‘Art School Confidential’ (2006), and ‘Beowulf’ (2007).
In 2008, he portrayed Reverend Briegleb in the American mystery crime drama film ‘Changeling’ directed by Clint Eastwood. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $113.4 million on a budget of $55 million. He played the role of ‘Quentin Turnbull’ in the 2010 American Western superhero film ‘Jonah Hex’ directed by Jimmy Hayward. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and was a commercial disaster. He was next seen in films like ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ (2011), ‘Lines of Wellington’ (2012), ‘Warm Bodies’ (2013), ‘Cesar Chavez’ (2014), ‘Casanova Variations’ (2014), ‘100 Years’ (2015), ‘Zoolander 2’ (2016), ‘Deepwater Horizon’ (2016), ‘Unlocked’ (2017), ‘The Wilde Wedding’ (2017), ‘Supercon’ (2018), ‘Bird Box’ (2018), ‘Velvet Buzzsaw’ (2019), ‘Arkansas’ (2020), and ‘The Survivalist’ (2021). He was last seen in the 2022 American thriller film ‘Shattered’ directed by Luis Prieto. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. He will be next seen in the upcoming American action film ‘White Elephant.’