Although a newcomer to many,Harris Dickinsonhas had his fair share of movie credits so far. This young actor, hailing from Essex, England, started his acting career bystarring in short movies and doing small rolesin TV series. His love of film goes beyond acting, too - Dickinson recentlydirected a music video for the artists Rose Gray and Kungsand has almost half a dozen shorts under his directing belt.
Besides film, Harris Dickinson established himself in the role of J. Paul Getty III in the seriesTrust, based on the real-life events of young Getty’s kidnapping during the 1970s. Furthermore, his latest series,A Murder at the End of the World, is currently among the most watched onHulu. With the upcoming release ofThe Iron Claw, it seems likeDickinson has a bright acting future ahead. Fans interested in his career might be surprised to see the movies he has starred in so far, and those who know he’s been around will love having a list of his best feature films at the ready.
10Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil (2019)
As Prince Phillip
Maleficentmay be one of the betterDisneylive-action attempts, and its sequel, titledMistress of Evil,was received with similar praise. The biggest difference is the role of Prince Phillip - while in the first film, audiences sawBrenton Thwaitesas the prince, in the sequel, that role belongs to Harris Dickinson.Mistress of Eviltakes place five years after the events of the first film, withAurora now grown and ready to be married to her beloved Phillip. But, Maleficent, Aurora’s godmother, doesn’t approve of her choices because, as she claims, “love doesn’t always end well.”
There’s not too much or too little of Prince Phillip in the film, so Dickinson’s fans may not have their fix. But, considering thatthe story has a modern spinand it revolves around Maleficent and Aurora, that’s all the better for the plot.Mistress of Evilis a great feat, withwonderful cinematography and visual effects, and an outstanding performance byAngelina Jolie. She made the famous villainess more complex and nuanced, giving her a side that previously wasn’t implied in the animated movie.
Maleficent 2
Watch on Disney+
9Femme (2021)
Femmeis one of the many short films Dickinson stars in, but if any is meant to capture the audience’s attention, it’s this one. Besides being agripping exploration of toxic masculinity, stereotypes, and repression, it’s emotionally charged with impressive acting performances.
Femme put Dickinson on the map of upcoming talents and established his co-lead,Paapa Essiedu, as one of Britain’s best actors of the moment. The writers and creators ofFemme,Sam H. FreemanandNg Choon Ping,adapted the short into a full-length movieof the same name. Their 2023 feature filmFemmestarsNathan Stewart-JarrettandGeorge MacKayin the roles Essiedu and Dickinson previously held. Both the short and the feature areworth a watch for their noir vibes and tension. The 2023 version hasamazing critical approval, but checking out the short first would help fans see where the vision was headed, and why Harris Dickinson is as popular as he is.
Watch on Mubi
8Matthias & Maxime (2019)
Though Harris Dickinson doesn’t have a big role inMatthias & Maxime, his presence enriches thistouching emotional exploration of a film.One ofXavier Dolan’s tamest,Matthias & Maximeexplores a relationship between two longtime friends who are one evening dared to kiss for a short film. Matthias is an orderly man, always buttoned up, leading a lawyer’s life. Maxime is more chaotic and unruly and works as a bartender while tending to his abusive mother. Suchopposites being attractedis an interesting premise, but one that’s beenseen on film many times. Despite that, the story feels new while exploring the relationship between the two men.
Dolan allows the tension between them to come from their own lives, andtheir emotions for each other. Dickinson appears as McAfee, a test for Matthias (who is struggling with his inner resolutions the most), and, as a critic,Sheila O’Malleyfrom RogerEbert.com noticed, “These scenes are very well-observed.” Dickinson’s rolehelps drive the story and its charactersforward, which seems easy for the young Brit.
Watch on Roku
7The Souvenir: Part II (2021)
Director and writerJoanna Hogg(The Eternal Daughter) wrote and directedThe Souvenirin 2019. In thisautobiographical drama, the character Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) falls in love with an older man (played byTom Burke) during her college studies. The story takes place in the 1980s, which Hogg did on purpose totake things from her own experienceand transfer them onto the screen.This feature definitely deserved an Oscaras a touching depiction of the world through a young woman’s eyes.
InThe Souvenir: Part II, Julie is no longer in that tumultuous relationship and isfocusing on creating her graduation movie. This is where she must find a balance between her own emotions and finding the right ways to tell the story. Besides Honor and her motherTilda Swinton, the cast consists of some famous British actors:Richard Ayoade,Joe Alwyn,Charlie Heaton, and Harris Dickinson appear assome of the men in Julie’s life. Dickinson plays the actor in Julie’s movie, Pete, who gets recommended to her by one of her fellow student filmmakers. Interestingly,Dickinson replaced Robert Pattinson, who had to back out due to his filming schedule forThe Batman. This replacement was perfect, as Dickinson brought his style and charm to the role, making him seem like anideal romantic interestin romance dramas.
Watch on Hulu
6The King’s Man (2021)
After the skyrocketing success ofMatthew Vaughn’sKingsman, which introduced the world toTaron Egerton, Vaughn continued to push the story forward with a sequel and a prequel.The King’s Manis the latter of the two,taking place during the early 20th century, at the brink of WWI.
Ralph Fiennesand Harris Dickinson play the Duke of Oxford and his protégé, Conrad, of the newly established organization called Kingsman. The Kingsman’s only goal is toprevent catastrophic evil plots from taking placein the world.The King’s Manwas an interesting addition and introduction to the Kingsman universe, boasting some great cinematography and stellar editing. The movie shows whyVaugh’s films are always a good time. Dickinson’s Conrad Oxford is charming, slightly naive, but gentlemanly -which are great traits for a Kingsman. He portrays Conrad seamlessly, or as an interview with him in the publication Mr. Porter states, he “has both wide-eyed naivety and extreme deftness with a weapon.”
The King’s Man
5See How They Run (2022)
As Richard Attenborough
See How They Runis an underrated whodunit, and despite not being one ofthe best whodunits of all time, it’sworth a watch for any fan of the genre. The story takes place in 1953, on the set of the movie adaptation ofAgatha Christie’sThe Mousetrap. The eccentric director that’s making the film, Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody), gets into a fight with his lead actor Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) and is later found dead.
Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell), a gentle and insightful detective, and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan), an impulsive and clever young officer, are tasked to solve the case of Leo Kopernick’s death. Their investigation leads them intoa classic, Hercule Poirot-style story, where they interrogate everyone in the cast and crew, looking for clues to solve the mystery. This star-studded movie allows most of its cast to stand out. Rockwell and Ronan have incredible team charisma, while Dickinson is one of the actors tasked with portraying a real-life person. The directorTom George said that he and Dickinson had an agreementfor him to not portray Attenborough too seriously, but he still does an excellent job of taking a famous actor andadding some comic charm to his character.
See How They Run
4Scrapper (2023)
ASundance-winning movieScrapperisan independent feature debut written and directed byCharlotte Regan, and the main protagonist is 12-year-old Georgie. Georgie grew up with her mother, without a father in the picture. But when her mom suddenly dies, Georgie’s left living alone. She comes up with an elaborate plan to avoid social services, steals bikes for a living, and practically raises herself. That’s why, when her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson) appears, Georgie learns how to trust him, while Jason learns how to approach the daughter he never met.
Scrapperis as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, andLola Campbell and Harris Dickinson lead the story with touching performances. Campbell portrays Georgie like a seasoned actor, though this is her debut, and Dickinson does a great job of balancing between portraying a father and a young, immature man.Scrapperis one of the best features of this year and one that will surely help Dickinson reach new heights of stardom.
Watch on Fubo
3Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
As Chase Andrews
Where the Crawdads Singwas welcomed with some hype and ended up being one ofthe movies critics hated but audiences loved. It wasbased on the 2018 novel of the same namebyDelia Owens, and the hype came from the fact that the book describes events similar to thoseOwens was accused of while residing in Zambia during the 1990s.
The story revolves around Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who grew up in an abusive household,deep in the swamps of the Deep South. When her mother abandons the family because of the abuse, Kya and her siblings are left with their violent father. Years later, Kya is the only child still living in the swamp, making her ostracized from modern society. She encounters variouspeople who want to take advantage of her(including the suspicious Chase Andrews, played by Harris Dickinson) but also finds true love and purpose. The controversy regardingWhere the Crawdads Singwas what could help the movie become more popular, but even its leads couldn’t convince the critics to enjoy the story. Despite that, the movie is not only with faults; Edgar-Jones proves she’s a wonderful leading woman, while Harris Dickinson in particular showshe can portray sweet and vicious characterswith the same zest.
Where the Crawdads Sing
2Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Ruben Östlund’sTriangle of Sadnessswept the award shows and crept into people’s hearts with almost the speed of light in 2022. Thiseat-the-rich movieis a slow burn and a character study that combines comedy with drama and societal criticism. Not unusually for Östlund, bizarre things happen, and the folks on the luxury cruiser,where a big chunk of the movie takes place, behave in a way many “regular” folk often imagine the filthy rich would.
Harris Dickinson plays Carl and shows up in the first minutes of the film. Carl is a model, but his background is seemingly simple; he’smeant to be the eyes and ears of the audience, the regular people and observers of the show. Though Carl seems simple, he’snew to the world of luxury and riches, meaning there’s still time for him to become corrupt.
Triangle of Sadness was nominated and has won numerous accolades, including a Palme d’Orwhich was Östlund’s second. Last year,Harris Dickinson opened up to The Guardianabout his preparations for the role and the process of working with Östlund.
Triangle of Sadness
A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.
1The Iron Claw (2023)
As David Von Erich
The most recentA24feature taking the world by storm,The Iron Claw, is expected to win big at award shows this season. It was based on a true story about theVon Erich brothers, the wrestling champion trio that was popular during the early 1980s. One of the most prominent things about the Von Erichs was their bond,as well as the conditions they grew up in; anyone familiar with them knowsthey didn’t have the healthiest family life.
Zac Efron,Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson play the three brothers, who’ve seemingly reached new acting heights. Thethree leads have immense chemistryand portray the brothers and their relationship with ease while equally carrying the emotions of their characters. It seems Zac Efron is the standout in the film, though every single casting choice drives the story forward. Ifreviews are anything to go by,The Iron Clawis amasterclass of honest, heartbreaking, and emotionally charged filmmaking.Audiences will get a biopic worth investing in, and the movie is surely going to beone of the best A24 features ever made.
The Iron Claw
Watch in Theaters
NEXT:From ‘Amour’ to ‘Triangle of Sadness’: Every Palme d’Or Winner of the Past Decade (And How to Watch Them)
