Shawn was born on November 12, 1943 in New York City, to William Shawn (1907-1992), the long-time editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Shawn (nee Lyon; 1906-2005); his brother, Allen, is a composer. Shawn attended The Putney School, a private liberal arts high school in Putney, Vermont, and graduated with an B.A. in history from Harvard College. He studied philosophy, politics and economics, as well as Latin, at Magdalen College, Oxford, originally intending to become a diplomat. He also traveled to India as an English teacher, on a Fulbright program.
Shawn's involvement with theater began in 1970 when he met Andre Gregory, who has since directed several of his plays. As a stage actor, he has appeared mostly in his own plays and other projects with Gregory. He made his film debut in 1979, playing Diane Keaton's former husband in Woody Allen's Manhattan and an insurance agent in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. His best-known film roles include Earl in Strange Invaders (1983) and Mr. Hall in Clueless (1995). After seeing his performance in My Dinner With Andre (1981), casting director Janet Hirshenson was so fond of his delivery of the word "inconceivable" that she cast him as Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987). Other roles include Baron Von Westphalen in Southland Tales, on Gossip Girl as Cyrus Rose, and in The Haunted Mansion (2003) as Ezra. His rare non-comedic film roles include two collaborations with Andre Gregory and Louis Malle: the semi-autobiographical dialogue My Dinner with Andre, and a combined production-and-backstage-drama of Uncle Vanya titled Vanya on 42nd Street. Shawn quite often appears on television, where he has appeared in many genres and series. He has had recurring roles as the Grand Nagus Zek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Stuart Best in Murphy Brown, Jeff Engels in The Cosby Show, Dr. Howard Stiles in Crossing Jordan, Arnie Ross in Taxi, Charles Lester in The Good Wife, and a reprisal of his role as Mr. Hall in Clueless (based on the film). He appeared in the 1985 music video for Chaka Khan's "This is My Night". On February 4, 2010, Shawn appeared as Alan Rubin in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He appeared in Vegas Vacation (1997) as Marty. One of Shawn's latest films opened in his birthplace in New York in June 2014 titled A Master Builder. Shawn was honored in 2005 with the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a Master American Dramatist.

Q: What is he famous for acting in?
A: He made his film debut in 1979, playing Diane Keaton's former husband in Woody Allen's Manhattan

Q: Did he win any awards for his acting?
A: Shawn was honored in 2005 with the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a Master American Dramatist.

Q: What else did he star in?
A: and an insurance agent in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz.

Q: Did he have a favorite role he played?
A: unknown

Q: When did he begin acting?
A: Shawn's involvement with theater began in 1970 when he met Andre Gregory, who has since directed several of his plays.

Q: Did he prefer acting to writing?
A: unknown
Did he act more in theater or film?
As a stage actor, he has appeared mostly in his own plays and other projects with Gregory. film roles Shawn quite often appears on television, where he has appeared in many genres and series. One of Shawn's latest films opened in his birthplace in New York in June 2014
One of Shawn's latest films opened in his birthplace in New York in June 2014