<P> That year, Dinklage also starred in several Off - Broadway productions, such as Richard III . Dinklage appeared in the Christmas comedy film Elf as Miles Finch, an irritable children's author who beats up Buddy Hobbs (Will Ferrell) after he mistakes him for an elf . In 2005, he starred in the short - lived CBS science fiction series Threshold and appeared as a wedding planner in the comedy film The Baxter . He also made an appearance in the adventure comedy - drama Lassie as a traveling circus performer . The film received highly positive reviews, though it did not fare well at the box office . </P> <P> In 2006, Dinklage co-starred with Vin Diesel in Find Me Guilty, a courtroom drama directed by Sidney Lumet . The film tells the true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history; Dinklage played Ben Klandis, the lead defense attorney . Critical reaction to the film was mostly positive, though it was a commercial failure . Writing for Chicago Sun - Times, film critic Roger Ebert praised Dinklage's performance, saying that the character he plays stands apart as "concise, articulate and professional". The same year, he portrayed the character Marlowe Sawyer in episodes of Nip / Tuck . He played a fictionalized version of himself in an episode of the HBO series Entourage and appeared in NBC's 30 Rock as Stuart . The same year, Dinklage appeared in the British romantic comedy Penelope playing Lemon, a tabloid reporter . The film received mixed reviews from critics . </P> <P> Dinklage appeared in the 2007 British comedy film Death at a Funeral, reprising the role in the 2010 American remake; the films tell the story of a family trying to deal with a variety of issues after the death of their father . Later in 2007, he played the villainous Simon Bar Sinister in Underdog, which was poorly received but had some commercial success . </P> <P> Dinklage played Trumpkin in the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian . The movie was a box office disappointment, with global revenues of $419.7 million, although film critic Bill Gibron described Dinklage's role as a "cutesy stereotype he has tried to avoid". Later that year, he played the title role in Uncle Vanya (directed by his wife, Erica Schmidt) in Bard College's annual Bard SummerScape, the Upstate New York summer stage on the Annandale - on - Hudson campus . In 2010, he appeared in the Australian movie I Love You Too alongside Brendan Cowell and Peter Helliar . </P>

Who wrote good things come in little packages