One of the foremost actors of his generation, Jesse Plemons, has quickly shot up in the ranks to outshine many of his peers, far outgrowing the “Not Quite Matt Damon” designation with which he’d been saddled at the dawn of his career. Building a solid resumé out of bit parts in the projects of any and every auteur filmmaker he could get on the phone—in that sense, think of him as the supporting player version of Adam Driver—Plemons has shown time and again that he can make even the most miniscule of characters vibrate with a gravity that will secure his face as one of those you’re bound to remember on the way home.
So, while Plemons has a long and fruitful career still ahead of him, his catalog in its current form leaves no shortage of memorable performances to praise, ranging across the entire spectrum from haunting to hilarious. A list that’s destined to grow and evolve over the course of the actor’s burgeoning lifework, here are the top 10 Jesse Plemons performances.
(Note: This list is being compiled by a critic who, believe it or not, almost never watches TV and, as a result, has not seen “Breaking Bad.” Consider that honorary #11 if you want.)
10. Vice (2018)
A raucous, self-impressed journey into the infamous vice presidency of Dick Cheney, courtesy of everyone’s once-favorite goofball Adam McKay, “Vice” is one of those ensemble pieces banking on a famous name filling the role of each and every forgotten political figure of the junior Bush administration. It’s perhaps poetic, then, that the film is narrated by some nameless Joe (in spirit, at least; his name is actually Kurt), played by Jesse Plemons. For all intents and purposes, Kurt is the audience conduit into “Vice,” and as such, Plemons manages to engage the little-used everyman side of his personality to ground McKay’s bombastic satire with some semblance of restraint. That is, of course, until McKay reveals precisely how Kurt actually figures into Cheney’s life. Still, even in this move, it’s Plemons’s likability that gives the following moments their intended impact.
Related to Jesse Plemons Movies: Vice (2018): Too Many Vices
With most of the audience’s time spent with his even, all-American voice, Plemons justifies the repeated asides to Kurt jogging along as he recites the dirty palm-greasing that defined the Bush Jr. era. This allows us to retain the full context of the political corruption even when those involved would have preferred us to remain in the dark. It’s a small role, to be sure, but Plemons makes the most of it.
9. The Irishman (2019)
Another shorter role—though one coming in service of a decidedly more consistent filmmaker—“The Irishman” sees Plemons entering Martin Scorsese’s world among a who’s who of the director’s greats. In a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino in his first Scorsese collaboration, Joe Pesci coming out of retirement, and Ray Romano because why the hell not, little room is left for another Scorsese first-timer like Plemons to make an impression. And yet, in his limited screen time as Jimmy Hoffa’s foster son Chuckie O’Brien, Plemons slips right into the auteur’s mob world with an ease of skill that completely supersedes his status as the new kid on the block.
The “limited screen time,” like in “The Irishman,” is a relative term as the film runs at a cool three-and-a-half hours, but in truth, Chuckie is truly a character of scant appearance in the movie. Regardless, Plemons injects a sort of underlying innocence (call it naïveté) into the necessary toughness of this character, once more proving that he can take the minuscule role and make it three-dimensional. And if nothing else, that conversation with Louis Cancelmi about fish is an instant all-timer.
8. Civil War (2024)
Do you want to talk about making a lot out of a little? Look no further than Plemons’s role in “Civil War,” a film whose thematic shortcomings only become all the more glaring when you realize that a single uncredited cameo from the man of the hour upends the entire movie. Onscreen for only a handful of minutes, Plemons plays a murderous, ultranationalist soldier with such nonchalance that it’s no wonder A24 couldn’t help but make his scene the focal point of tension in the film’s marketing; hell, Alex Garland made it the focal point of tension for the entire movie!
The line that launched a thousand memes—“What kind of American are you?”—has only reached such a status because Plemons delivers it with such bone-chilling authority behind those laughable pink sunglasses; at a certain point, the only way to break the tension is to laugh. Of course, that only comes after the fact, as throughout the duration of Plemons’s one scene, “Civil War” becomes every bit as intense, striking, and memorable as Garland hopes the rest of the film would be. While the film surrounding him fails to reach that goal, Plemons himself walks away without a screen credit, instead keeping for himself all of our thoughts and fears.
7. The Power of the Dog (2021)
Thus far, the only Plemons performance to earn the actor a coveted Oscar nomination, George Burbank is a character who, like the actor playing him, finds himself surrounded by exhausted, or exhaustive, figures. Amidst Benedict Cumberbatch’s traumatizing (complementary) scenery-chewing and his wife Kirsten Dunst’s gradual resignation towards the entire act of living itself, Plemons stands as a pillar of stability in this rugged world. In so doing, his poise only serves to reveal just how out-of-place such grace can be in this environment, as his sturdiness can only go so far as to hide the clear discomfort this man possesses in the presence of his own brother.
Related to Jesse Plemons Movies: 10 Films Like The Power of the Dog
Of the four actors who dominated “The Power of the Dog” and were almost given Oscars for it (the above-mentioned, alongside Kodi Smit-McPhee), Plemons’s accolade may seem the most puzzling, but that’s precisely why this character makes such a dent in the narrative in the first place. Jane Campion, more than anything, exerts total control throughout her film, which extends all the way to the use of her actors. Plemons understands this and never reaches beyond what’s necessary to contribute to this particularly fractured image of the American Midwest.
6. Black Mass (2015)
Does anyone remember “Black Mass”? No one would blame you if you didn’t; Scott Cooper’s icy films, more often than not, frustrate with their lack of staying power in spite of the filmmaker’s clearly adept hand and propensity for drawing out compelling performers. One such performer is, of course, our boy Jesse, who here plays real-life mob affiliate and eventual cooperating witness Kevin Weeks, who contributed to the downfall of notorious Boston crime leader Whitey Bulger. Before getting into the roles in which he’s the FBI agent flipping witnesses, Plemons found himself on the other side of the interrogation table, and in Black Mass, he imbues Weeks with the most forward variant of his tough guy personas.
Once again, Plemons acts as the audience guide, partially narrating the film and making us privy to the criminal exploits of a different variety of crooks than Dick Cheney. With the opportunity to show off a hardy Boston accent—a chance that few actors would ever take for granted—Plemons brings a touch of vulnerability, slight as it may be, to the dim mob henchman archetype that populates so many films of this ilk. By making Kevin Weeks the viewer’s link to the story, “Black Mass” puts quite a bit of weight on Plemons’s shoulders, and it’s a weight the actor carries with more dignity than this real-life petty crook is probably worth.
5. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
In the original draft of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the focus of the narrative, in keeping with David Grann’s source material, rested upon FBI investigator Thomas White in his uncovering of the Osage murders; at this time, the juicy lead role would have been played by Leonardo DiCaprio. When Martin Scorsese and Eric Roth rightfully made the choice to pivot their focus more towards the Osage People themselves, the role of White became less enticing—as is customary, Leo hopped his way over to the more substantial leading role, no matter what it wound up being—but all that did was give Jesse Plemons another chance to shine.
Related to Jesse Plemons Movies: Killers of the Flower Moon and the Politics of Martin Scorsese
Just one of several instances in which Plemons has played a law enforcement agent of some kind (be it an FBI operative, a town sheriff, or a typical cop), Killers of the Flower Moon finds Plemons exercising a more forceful presence in his character’s attempt to bring those he (and everyone else) knows to be responsible for the atrocities committed against the Osage. With a collected demeanor that launched yet another trailer-oriented meme, Plemons was, indeed, here to see “who’s doing it” while also proving that he himself is doing everything he can to anchor the investigative portion of Scorsese’s film at a moment when the plot could very well risk losing the audience. In Jesse’s hands, that possibility is out of the question.
4. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Now for a reminder of how the FBI truly operates, Shaka King’s propulsive “Judas and the Black Messiah” delves directly into the institute’s role in the sabotaging and eventual assassination of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. As is expected, most of the film’s crucial, impactful performances come courtesy of its African American cast members (not least of which, an Oscar-winning turn from Daniel Kaluuya), but Plemons as the FBI operative who coerces Bill O’Neill into spying for him carries almost as much weight.
In part, this comes from Plemons weaponizing his affable demeanor in order to disarm us; a man who lets his mole sit at his table and have coffee can’t possibly be as bad as the cops who’d beat that mole within an inch of his life, right? Well, just thirty seconds spent listening to this man wax poetic about how Black people can’t “cheat their way to equality” tells you all you need to know about that answer, which is all the more potent because of the conviction in Plemons’s delivery. This character actually believes himself to be doing a public service in gutting a crucial component of the Civil Rights movement. Plemons’s convinced delivery maintains this delusion with a chilling indifference.
3. Kinds of Kindness (2024)
The most recent of Plemons’s films at the time of writing this list also happens to be the most recent film to win the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. Once you see “Kinds of Kindness,” the reason for such a choice goes beyond the festival lineup’s apparent lack of competition in that arena in 2024. Playing not one, not two, but three separate roles, Plemons is given the same performing deal as his co-stars (among them Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Margaret Qualley). But it’s he who comes out on top not only in his capacity as the lead character in the first two stories but also in how those performances bring together every ounce of ruthlessness, vulnerability, and perplexing swagger that have dominated the actor’s persona up to this point.
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“Kinds of Kindness” marks the first occasion on which Plemons has had the privilege of molding his acting skills to the singular calibrations of Yorgos Lanthimos, and the actor wastes no time in throwing everything but the kitchen sink into these performances; the results are clear for those watching, as the actor’s affable oddity makes him a perfect fit for Lanthimos’s deadpan universe. That the pair already have another collaboration lined up for 2025 should come as a surprise to no one…
2. Game Night (2018)
Comedies are famously difficult to get right (owing to the extreme subjectivity of individual comedic tastes) and even more challenging to make in such a way that they don’t feel immediately dated and forgettable by the time the credits start to roll. Through sheer dedication and a genuine display of craft and ingenuity, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein ensured that “Game Night” would join those precious few comedies that surpass these hurdles, and Jesse Plemons was a pivotal piece to the puzzle. Once more playing a police officer, Plemons finally gets to utilize his strangely discomforting but quietly cuddly disposition for an outright comedy, playing his most overtly self-serious role that makes perfect use of the actor’s delivery and posturing.
Constantly armed with a crooked smile, a small dog, and a burning desire to join in on the cast’s escapades, Game Night gives Plemons’s Gary the room to dominate the screen in a more enjoyable manner than some of his other significant roles. A comedic straight man who somehow becomes the source of every joke whenever he’s onscreen, Plemons relishes the opportunity to turn every one of Gary’s lines into a masterclass of vacant artistry.
1. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
When Charlie Kaufman’s existentially mortifying third feature, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” was finally released in the final third of 2020—a year that itself brought along its fair share of existential burdens for all of us—many were quick to make an assertion about Jesse Plemons’s performance: under the guidance of Kaufman, Plemons had finally completed his gradual transformation into Philip Seymour Hoffman’s successor. Really, no greater compliment can come to a performer, as Hoffman’s own versatility never failed to shine through against his distinct physique, and the late actor’s propensity for outshining his cast-mates, even in supporting roles, was second to none.
In “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” Plemons takes the rare chance at a leading role with deft precision, aiming for the same sort of terrifyingly human sensitivity that plagued the demon-ridden characters of Hoffman’s heyday. Here, Plemons proves himself more than a capable descendant, shuffling through Kaufman’s surreal, frigid universe with precisely the sort of hesitation and resignation that one would expect of any character under such circumstances.
In a patently hopeless film, Plemons shines through as the secret beacon that only draws you in as a means of accentuating the darkness around him. The kind of role that many other actors would turn into a flamboyant showcase of self-impressed mania, Jesse Plemons sees the cracks in Jake’s hull and, rather than tearing them open further, seeps his way inside to show what it’s like to truly become this tortured soul, rather than to observe it with distant fascination.
