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 on "", Stuart Best on "Murphy Brown", Jeff Engels on "The Cosby Show", Dr. Howard Stiles on "Crossing Jordan", Arnie Ross on "Taxi", Charles Lester on "The Good Wife", and a reprisal of his role as Mr. Hall on "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 on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart". He appeared in "Vegas Vacation" as Marty. "A Master Builder" opened in New York City in June 2014. In 2018, he joined the cast of "Young Sheldon" in the recurring role of Meemaw's boyfriend and Sheldon's physics professor, Dr. John Sturgis.