Marley Shelton

Shelton made her on-screen debut as Roberto's girlfriend at camp in Grand Canyon.[5] She subsequently appeared in 1992's television movie Up to No Good playing Denise Harmon, and had several guest-appearances in episodes of shows such as Family Matters, Camp Wilder and Crossroads. Shelton found her profile raised significantly when she appeared in the 1993 film The Sandlot, playing the lifeguard Wendy Peffercorn.[5][6] The movie received mixed feedback from critics and writers[7][8][9] and, budgeted at US$7 million, was a box office success with a worldwide gross of over US$33 million.[10] It has since developed a cult following.[11][12][13]

In 1994, Shelton had a supporting part in Hercules in the Underworld, the fourth made-for-television movie in the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The following year, she was cast in a minor role, as former President Nixon's adult daughter Tricia Nixon Cox, in Oliver Stone's acclaimed film Nixon,[14] and guest-appeared in the television series Cybill episode "The Big Sleep-Over".[15] Shelton next co-starred alongside Lynda Carter in When Friendship Kills (1996), a made-for-television film about anorexia nervosa among teens.[16]

1997 saw Shelton appear in the romantic comedy Trojan War, opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt,[16][17] and in the fantasy film Warriors of Virtue, as Princess Elysia.[18] Both films rated poorly with reviewers and failed to attract the audiences,[19][20] but James Berardinelli singled out Shelton for her performance in Warrior of Vitue, writing that her character is "the only one in the film that we develop any real interest in, and the script, apparently unable to deal with a personality having the potential to display more than one dimension, discards her perfunctorily and inelegantly".[21]

A major film role came in 1998 with the fantasy comedy Pleasantville, in which Shelton portrayed Margaret, the love interest of Tobey Maguire's character.[22] The movie did not find a wide audience in theaters, but received an extremely positive reaction from critics.[23][24] This role was followed by a number of other appearances in films aimed at a teenage audience, including her role as a member of a snobby high school clique in 1999's sleeper hit Never Been Kissed,[25] a romantic comedy co-starring Drew Barrymore and David Arquette.[26][27]

In 1999, Shelton played the sister of a newly engaged woman in the unsuccessful romantic comedy The Bachelor, opposite Renee Zellweger,[28][29][30] starred alongside Dennis Hopper in the independent drama Lured Innocence, and was cast by her father in the short Protect-O-Man, a black comedy about "an agoraphobic whose disorder is augmented by a stalker on the prowl in her neighborhood", as described by Cinema Review.[31][32]

Shelton took on significant roles in three feature films in 2001, which despite varying degrees of success, helped her establish as a prominent up-and-coming actress. She obtained her first leading part in the teen crime dark comedy Sugar & Spice,[30] directed by Francine McDougall and co-starring Marla Sokoloff, Melissa George and Mena Suvari. She played Diane Weston, the head of a group of high school cheerleaders who conspire and commit armed robbery. The film garnered negative reviews and bombed commercially in theaters, but became somewhat of a cult favorite afterwards.[33] Despite critical reviews, Variety magazine found Shelton to be "good" as "the ridiculously peppy but still smart Diane",[34] and Brian Orndorf wrote for Film Fodder: "The star who emerges from Spice unscathed is Marley Shelton. She achieves the unthinkable with this script by managing to create somewhat of a character for herself. A clear-eyed beauty, Shelton steals the film away from the sizable cast. She emerges as the only thing to recommend in the muddled and compromised Sugar & Spice."[35]

In the slasher thriller Valentine, Shelton appeared opposite Denise Richards as friends who are being stalked by an unknown assailant while preparing for Valentine's Day.[36][37] Released one week after Sugar and Spice,[38][39] the film grossed a modest US$36 million worldwide and was largely panned by critics,[40][41] but Mick LaSalle for San Francisco Chronicle felt that the lead actors were "vivid, and the characters they play are clearly delineated", while he pointed out Shelton for having a "nice gravity" portraying her role.[42] Her final film of 2001 was the dark comedy Bubble Boy, where she played the love interest of a man living in a sterilized dome (Jake Gyllenhaal).[43][44]

After focusing on studio features, Shelton appeared in a variety of independent films —she portrayed a troubled modern dancer in Just a Kiss (2002), a dark comedy co-starring Kyra Sedgwick and Marisa Tomei,[45] and followed with supporting parts in 2003's features Dallas 362 and Grand Theft Parsons, and a starring role in the low-budget drama Moving Alan, directed by her father and in which her sister also appeared. In 2005, Shelton made a brief but notable appearance as The Costumer in the opening sequence of the successful film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel Sin City.[46][47][48] She had supporting characters in the 2006 films American Dreamz and The Last Kiss.[49]

Shelton at Flaunt's 9th Anniversary Bash and Holiday Toy Drive, in October 2007

Shelton found larger attention for appearing in the lead role of Dr. Dakota Block in the Robert Rodriguez—Quentin Tarantino horror film double feature Grindhouse, appearing in both of the film's segments (a cameo in Tarantino's segment, and a starring role in Rodriguez's).[50] Delighted to work on "playing with the ideas of building suspense" with Rodriguez and Tarantino, who she described as "masters of their craft", she based her character in the female leads in Alfred Hitchcock's movies, specifically Tippi Hedren.[51] The picture's ticket sales were significantly below box office analysts' expectations despite largely positive critic reviews.[52][53][54]

In 2008, Shelton had a brief appearance in the biopic film about George W. Bush, W., directed by Oliver Stone, and took on her first full-time television role in CBS's Eleventh Hour, appearing as FBI Special Agent Rachel Young of the executive protection detail.[55] The show earned mixed reviews,[56] but Shelton received negative notes for her portrayal; Robert Bianco wrote for USA Today that she has "no character to play at all, or at least none that stays consistent between the two episodes made available for review", while Chicago Tribune remarked that her performance was "much less interesting" than co-star Rufus Sewell's and that whenever her character "opens her mouth, the show’s flaws come into sharp relief".[57][58] The series was canceled after one season due to its inability to hold the CSI audience lead-in.[59][60]

In 2009, Shelton had a supporting part opposite Milla Jovovich and Timothy Olyphant in the psychological thriller A Perfect Getaway,[61] and landed the leading role of Madeleine Gray, a trendy New York art gallery owner in the independent comedy (Untitled).[62] Describing her role in (Untitled) during interview with Los Angeles Times, she stated: "There's a purity to her. As driven as she is to find the 'get,' the next hot commodity, she also has a pure passion for art."[63] Despite a very limited release, the film drew positive reviews.[64][65][66] Roger Ebert remarked that Shelton "has the confidence and presence of a born comedienne",[67] and writing for The New York Times, Stephen Holden stated that she "gives a bright screwball performance that recalls the frisky young Diane Keaton".[68]

Her final 2009 film release was the independent ensemble comedy Women in Trouble, in which she portrayed a flight attendant and one in a group of several women in Los Angeles whose their lives interconnect in the course of one day.[69][70] Joe Neumaier for the New York Daily News considered the film to be a "forced, charmless multi-character [production]",[71] but Tyler Foster for DVD Talk felt that Shelton made a "brief impact" in her role.[72]

Shelton in early 2008

Shelton reprised her Women in Trouble role for the sequel, Elektra Luxx (2010), which Los Angeles Times described as "a rambunctious affection for women and appreciation for flamboyant production design".[73] She next replaced Lake Bell in the role of Deputy Judy Hicks in the Wes Craven slasher sequel Scream 4 (2011).[74][75][76] The film made US$97 million globally and garnered largely mixed reviews from critics;[77][78] Matthew Turner for View London remarked that Shelton turned in an "enjoyably weird performance".[79]

In the independent sport drama The Mighty Macs, Shelton reunited with Carla Gugino, taking on the role of Sister Sunday, a nun of Immaculata University and the assistant coach of Cathy Rush. The film was released in theaters in October 2011, more than three years after it was filmed, due to the difficulties of finding a distributor.[80][81][82] Reviewer Nell Minow praised Shelton, writing that she "shows us how the sister’s faith supports her strength and integrity".[83] She also had guest-roles in episodes of Harry's Law and Mad Men, in 2011 and 2013 respectively.[84][85][86][87][88]

In 2014, Shelton played the sister of an ill woman tireless researching for the cure for breast cancer in the independent drama Decoding Annie Parker, alongside Samantha Morton and Helen Hunt,[89][90][91][92] and starred in the Lifetime television series The Lottery, as a doctor who successfully fertilized embryos in a dystopian future when women have stopped having children due to an infertility pandemic.[93][94][95] While Decoding Annie Parker was released for limited markets, The Lottery only aired for one season.[96]

Shelton appeared opposite Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell in the psychological thriller Solace (2015), as the wife of a FBI special agent.[97][98][99][100] In December 2016, the made-for-television family film Heaven Sent —which saw her star as one half of a couple on the verge of divorce while an eight-year-old runaway from heaven comes to save their relationship— premiered on Lifetime.

In 2018, Shelton starred in the short-lived NBC musical drama series Rise, as the wife of an English teacher,[101] and played a scientist and astronaut, opposite Dwayne Johnson, in the science fiction monster film Rampage, which made over US$428 million worldwide.[102]

In September 2020, it was confirmed that Shelton would be reprising her role as Deputy Judy Hicks on the fifth Scream film, which was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.[103] The film will be released on January 14, 2022.[104][105]