In 1986, he took a small part in Candy Mountain, as millionaire golf enthusiast Al Silk. He costarred in Hector Babenco's Ironweed, as Rudy the Kraut. Hoskyns noted that Ironweed put Waits "on the mainstream Hollywood map as a character actor". In Fall 1987, Waits and his family left New York and returned to Los Angeles, settling on Union Avenue. He appeared as a hitman in Robert Dornhelm's Cold Feet and lent his voice to Jarmusch's Mystery Train.
In 1986, he took a small part in Candy Mountain, as millionaire golf enthusiast Al Silk. He costarred in Hector Babenco's Ironweed, as Rudy the Kraut. Hoskyns noted that Ironweed put Waits "on the mainstream Hollywood map as a character actor". In Fall 1987, Waits and his family left New York and returned to Los Angeles, settling on Union Avenue. He appeared as a hitman in Robert Dornhelm's Cold Feet and lent his voice to Jarmusch's Mystery Train.