This Math Tutor Keeps Popping Up in Wes Anderson Films

New York Times

15-07-2025

Michael Maggart spends most days running the online tutoring company he founded after a decade working as a math teacher. But every now and then, his high school friend Wes Anderson, the director, contacts him out of the blue, summons him to a film set and sends him to wardrobe.
There's Maggart playing a security guard in 'The Phoenician Scheme,' Anderson's latest film, which was released in May. Previously, he played a detective in Anderson's 2023 film, 'Asteroid City,' and a hotel concierge in Anderson's second feature film, 'Rushmore' (1998). His credits also include a series of AT&T commercials that Anderson directed, and Anderson's 2023 short film, 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.'
Maggart, 55, who splits his time between Austin, Texas, and New York City, has no formal training or interest in pursuing a career in acting. He has no other acting credits and would never have appeared in movies at all if not for an old friend who happens to be a celebrated film director — one who likes him enough to put him on camera. For Maggart, this has meant hobnobbing, dining and running lines with A-list actors like Tom Hanks, Bill Murray and Benicio Del Toro.
'I do feel a little guilty sometimes because, for example, the scene in 'The Phoenician Scheme' that I have is three lines,' he said. 'And I'm sure that it would be quite a moment for the career of a young actor or any actor to get those three lines instead of me. But I only think of that briefly and then I just kind of enjoy it.'
Maggart is not certain why Anderson keeps thinking of him for bit parts in his films. Anderson, 56, who did not respond to an interview request, described his old friend as a 'crucial collaborator' in a video message for an event in Houston celebrating the 25th anniversary of 'Rushmore.'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.