Frank Whaley

4. "Swimming With Sharks" (1994): A cult film to degraded personal assistants everywhere (actually, it probably plays more like a documentary to some), the savage Hollywood dissection "Swimming With Sharks" is a movie so painful (and painfully funny) that it's almost unbearable... more to watch. An inspired Spacey plays a sadistic, egomaniacal vice president of production for a big studio who so punishes his new personal assistant (played by Frank Whaley) that, enacting the dream of every poor sycophant schlepping coffee to his ogre boss, the young man turns the tables on him. But before that, it's Spacey attempting to teach his new charge about the business the hard way, chucking the supposed tough love at him with lovely lines such as, "You are nothing! If you were in my toilet, I wouldn't bother flushing it. My bathmat means more to me than you!" Spacey is so good at this kind of behavior, you're left almost speculating his own personal sanity. No wonder serial killers are absolutely no stretch for the actor. (Everett Collection)