While it feels as though his career is just getting started, Joe Alwyn’s best movies and TV shows showcase the impressive career he has built already. The English actor arrived on the scene working for acclaimed filmmakers like Ang Lee and quickly cemented himself as a talent to watch. While there are a lot of people who will know him most for his romance with Taylor Swift, that shouldn’t distract from his great acting world so far.

Alwyn’s star is quickly on the rise with his latest movie The Brutalist earning strong reviews and early Oscar buzz out of the film festival circuit. The next few years will likely see Alwyn becoming an even bigger name in Hollywood, so now is a good time to get caught up on his work so far, with some terrific performances in Oscar-winning period pieces, intense romances, and dark comedies that show off the range of this talented up-and-coming actor.

10 Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016)

As Billy Lynn

Joe Alwyn got his big break when he was chosen as a relatively unknown actor to star in two-time Oscar winner Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Based on the novel of the same name, Alwyn stars in the titular role as a soldier who has returned from war and is sent on a “Victory Tour” to celebrate his achievements in battle with the American people. However, as he prepares for a halftime tribute ceremony at a football game, Billy contends with his memories of the war and his trauma.

Alwyn brings depth to the conflicted and troubled lead character, carrying a movie with a cast that includes Steve Martin, Kristen Stewart, and Vin Diesel.

It was far from Lee’s best movie, with it receiving a very mixed response from critics and failing to become the Oscar-bait film that many were assuming. However, as an introduction to Alwyn’s talents, it is a key movie in his career. Alwyn brings depth to the conflicted and troubled lead character, carrying a movie with a cast that includes Steve Martin, Kristen Stewart, and Vin Diesel.

9 The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)

As Laurence Stirling

Joe Alwyn seems to navigate towards complicated characters, not particularly concerned about whether they are likable or not. The romance movie The Last Letter from Your Lover finds him taking on a rare villainous role in this decades-spanning drama. Felicity Jones stars as a journalist who uncovers old letters indicating a forbidden love affair between two people (Callum Turner and Shailene Woodley) and attempts to learn the full story of these two people.

In the flashback sequences, Alwyn plays Laurence Stirling, the abusive husband of Woodley’s character, Jennifer. Alwyn does a great job of bringing some threatening darkness into the story. While it might be an overly melodramatic romance for some audiences, there are others who are fans of such stories who will get swept up in the movie, with its multiple timelines reminiscent of The Notebook.

8 Stars At Noon (2022)

As Daniel DeHaven

Joe Alwyn worked alongside another acclaimed auteur as well as a fellow up-and-coming star in Hollywood. Stars at Noon is directed by Claire Denis and stars Margaret Qualley as a woman visiting Nicaragua when she strikes up a ionate love affair with a mysterious man (Alwyn). As the two embark on their romance together, conflicts in the region and the arrival of several shady characters suggest her new lover is hiding something.

The mix of romance and suspense is intriguing as it seems like a more conventional story than Denis is used to telling. Indeed, the story itself is not particularly strong, but it is elevated by the visual style as well as the two central performances. Alwyn suits the part of the mysterious Daniel DeHaven, with an excellent mix of intrigue, romance, and danger.

7 Operation Finale (2018)

As Klaus Eichmann

Joe Alwyn ed a star-studded cast in a thriller based on an incredible true story. Operation Finale stars Oscar Isaac as the leader of a Mossad task force working in the 1960s to find and capture the Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) who managed to escape following the end of World War II. When the team locates him in Buenos Aires, they set up a plan to bring him to justice as a key architect of the Holocaust.

Alwyn once again shows his willingness to play the villain as he stars as Klaus Eichmann, the son of the Nazi officer...

Alwyn once again shows his willingness to play the villain as he stars as Klaus Eichmann, the son of the Nazi officer who is not only helping his father remain in hiding but also looking to reignite the Nazi movement. Operation Finale takes the true story of the post-war manhunt and turns it into a dark yet captivating thriller that is elevated by the outstanding cast.

6 Harriet (2019)

As Gideon Brodess

Joe Alwyn stepped into another detestable role in a historical movie based on real events in Harriet. The movie stars Cynthia Erivo as American hero Harriet Tubman, who after escaping slavery and making her own way to freedom, helped to establish the Underground Railroad to help other slaves escape their unjust life of servitude, captivity, and brutality.

Brodess is a brutal and violent villain, with Alwyn not holding back on showcasing his evilness.

Alwyn stars in the movie as Gideon Brodess, the last slaver to own Harriet and the man who pursues her when she escapes. Brodess is a brutal and violent villain, with Alwyn not holding back on showcasing his evilness. The movie itself is a thrilling depiction of one of the greatest heroes in American history, transforming her story into a sweeping adventure story. However, the real highlight of the movie is Ervio’s powerful and commanding performance in the lead role.

5 A Christmas Carol (2019)

As Bob Cratchit

While there have been many A Christmas Carol over the years, the 2019 miniseries from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is perhaps the darkest. Guy Pearce stars in the iconic role of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the greedy businessman who is sent on a path of redemption when a trio of ghosts show him the past, present, and future of Christmas in an effort to show him the error of his ways. Alwyn takes on the pivotal role of Scrooge’s maligned clerk, Bob Cratchit.

Stream A Christmas Carol on Hulu.

It is not surprising given Knight’s other work that he embraces the darkest aspects of Charles Dickens' novel, creating an intense ghost story. Pearce makes for a good Scrooge,

while the likes of Stephen Graham and Andy Serkis appear as some of the ghosts. However, Alwyn provides an emotional core to the movie, as the section of the story that focuses on the Cratchit family and their struggles is the most heartbreaking.

4 Kinds Of Kindness (2024)

Collectibles Appraiser 1 / Jerry / Joseph

Joe Alwyn has been building an impressive career by working with some amazing directors, including Yorgos Lanthimos. The Greek filmmaker has cemented his distinct style of dark comedic journeys and seems to enjoy working alongside the same actors multiple times. With Kinds of Kindness being the second collaboration Alwyn has had with Lanthimos, he could become one of his frequently used actors.

Stream Kinds of Kindness on Hulu.

The movie is an anthology story that tells three very different but hilariously bizarre tales with the Kinds of Kindness cast, including Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Willem Dafoe, playing different characters in each story. Alwyn is part of the ensemble, getting the chance to show his range in three very different roles, from an antique collector to a victim of bizarre police brutality to a detestable ex-husband. The movie and its tone will not be for everyone, but those who can dial into Lanthimos’ style will find a lot of fun in seeing him explore these short stories.

3 Conversations With Friends (2022)

As Nick

Following the success of Normal People starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, a new series based on another novel by Sally Rooney arrived on Hulu. Conversations with Friends is another intense story of relationships, albeit with a larger cast this time around. The series follows best friends and ex-lovers, Bobbi (Sasha Lane) and s (Alison Oliver), who form a bond with a married couple, Nick (Joe Alwyn) and Melissa (Jemima Kirke). However, what begins as friendship leads to affairs on both sides.

The main focus of the story is the complex love affair that ignites between Nick and s, with Alwyn delivering a terrific and nuanced performance as the layered character. Nick is someone that the audience has shifting opinions about as the story progresses, but Alwyn always manages to keep him feeling like a grounded and authentic character.

2 The Souvenir: Part II (2021)

As Max

The Souvenir was a romantic drama from 2019 that featured a love story with a tragic ending. The sequel, The Souvenir: Part II, picks up in the aftermath of the tragedy to continue the story of love. Honor Swinton Byrne stars as film student Julie, who seeks to make her student film about the love she had previously lost while coming to with her future as an artist as well as dealing with the loss she has not fully come to with.

They share the best scene in the movie as Max shares some advice and helps Julie confront some of the feelings that she has been running from.

Joe Alwyn has a small but standout role in the movie as Max, an editor working with Julie on the movie. They share the best scene in the movie as Max shares some advice and helps Julie confront some of the feelings that she has been running from. It is an inventive bit of storytelling with a terrific lead performance and more humor than the premise might suggest.

1 The Favourite (2018)

As Samuel Masham

Joe Alwyn’s first collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos is also the best movie in the director’s career so far. Based loosely on a real historical rivalry, The Favourite stars Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah Churchill, the closest confidante of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) who finds herself fighting for the notice and favor of the queen with the arrival of the cunning Abigail Hill (Emma Stone).

Alwyn has a standout role as Samuel Masham, a young man of promise who becomes a suitor for Abigail. The courting and relationship between Samuel and Abigail are hilariously unconventional, with Abigail seeing him as merely a means to an end and Alwyn showing a lot of comedic talent in playing Samuel as a whining and petulant man who doesn’t get his way. The movie is filled with genuinely gripping political intrigue as well as hilarious dry humor delivered perfectly by the stunning cast.