Since his big-screen debut in the year 2000, pop-star-turned-actor Justin Timberlake has appeared in over 20 feature films. Following a three-year absence, Timberlake returned to the cinematic limelight in 2020 with Trolls World Tour, in which he reprised the role of Branch from the 2016 original.
In January of 2021, Timberlake is poised to take a dramatic turn in Palmer, in which he plays a troubled ex-con who befriends a bullied teenager from a broken home. As the two get to know each other, a healing process for both unfolds. In anticipation of the film's release, here's a look back at Timberlake's filmography to date.
Longshot (2001) 2.7
According to IMDb, the worst movie Timberlake has appeared in thus far was his very first. Also marking Brittney Spears' big-screen debut, Timberlake plays a background valet in the blackmail crime comedy, Longshot.
Although Longshot was made in 2000, it was not released in the U.S. until 2002. The film follows Jack (Tony DeCamillis), a swanky gigolo in Beverly Hills who is blackmailed into sleeping with a rich widow in order to obtain sensitive stock market information.
The Love Guru (2008) 3.8
In a movie that all but ended the high-flying career of Mike Myers, Timberlake starred as Jacques Grand in the dissed and dismissed Love Guru. Timberlake plays Jacques "Le Cocq," a brash L.A. Kings goalie who has an affair with Toronto Maple Leafs owner, Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba).
To help mend their romantic issues, Jane hires Guru Pitka (Myers), a Deepak Chopra-like self-help expert who vows to better their rocky relationship before it's too late. The film currently ranks #84 on IMDB's Bottom 100 Movies of All Time.
On The Line (2001) 4.2
Although he remains uncredited, Timberlake made a brief cameo appearance as a Make-Up Artist in the cinematic N'Sync debacle known as On the Line.
Starring Lance Bass and Joey Fatone, the cliched rom-com centers on Kevin, a timid ad-exec who finds love at first sight when spotting Abbey (Emmanuelle Chriqui) on a train to work. Desperate to find his dream girl in a large metropolis, Kevin turns to his pal Rod (Fatone) for help.
Yogi Bear (2010) 4.6
In his second time voicing an animated role behind Shrek the Third, Timberlake played Boo Boo in the big-screen adaptation of Hanna Barbera's Yogi Bear.
The 3D animated film finds a documentary filmmaker who stumbles upon Yogi Bear (Dan Aykroyd) and his bestie Boo Boo in Jellystone Park on its centennial. However, with attendance at a low point, the Yogi, Boo Boo, and Ranger Smith (Tom Kavanaugh) are forced to come up with a plan to save the park before it goes under.
Edison (2005) 5.3
Despite the A-list supporting ensemble around him, Timberlake's 2005 crime-drama Edison could not escape the wrath of critics and casual moviegoers alike. Timberlake plays Josh Pollock, a bright-eyed journalist who uncovers a culture of corruption within the local New Jersey police force.
Upon his new assignment in the town of Edison, Pollock begins noticing foul play within the F.R.A.T. police unit and begins to trace the problem all the way to the top of the organization. The closer he gets to exposing the truth, the more endangered his life becomes.
Trouble With The Curve (2012) 6.8
In the domestic father-daughter drama Trouble With the Curve, Timberlake plays a former hot-shot pitcher turned professional scout for the Boston Red Sox.
The larger story concerns Gus (Clint Eastwood), an elderly MLB scout who asks his estranged daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) to join him on his final scouting assignment. Against her wishes, Mickey agrees to accompany her father and begins to mend their frayed relationship along the way. When Gus and Mickey encounter Johnny Flanagan (Timberlake), the personal is mixed with the professional.
Black Snake Moan (2006) 6.9
In Craig Brewer's racy controversial drama Black Snake Moan, Timberlake played a character against type as Ronnie, a National Guard soldier whose deployment leads his girlfriend Rae (Christina Ricci) into a world of abject hedonism.
When Rae happens upon Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson), a religious blues musician in the Tennessee backwoods, her nymphomaniacal habits, and rampant drug abuse are treated through strange therapeutic means. When Ronnie catches wind of Lazarus' methods, he vows to exact fatal revenge.
Alpha Dog (2006) 6.9
2006-07 was a breakout year for Timberlake on the big screen. Two months prior to the release of Black Snake Moan, Timberlake drew rave reviews for his performance in the gritty crime thriller, Alpha Dog.
Written and directed by Nick Cassavettes, the movie follows a band of inept criminals who botch a kidnapping. When the volatile street criminal Jake (Ben Foster) kidnaps fellow gangster Johnny's (Emile Hirsch) little brother Zach, he puts the terrifying Franke (Timberlake) in charge of looking after him. The plan backfires with hyper-violent consequences.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) 7.5
In his first time working with the legendary Coen Brothers, Timberlake scored a Golden Globe nod for Best Original Song by co-writing the farcical folk song "Please Mr. Kennedy."
Inside Llewyn Davis tracks the exploits of a struggling folk musician (Oscar Isaac) in 1960s New York. As Llewyn searches for fame and fortune while retaining his own artistic voice, the brash and cocksure musician is met with one soul-crushing obstacle after another.
The Social Network (2010) 7.7
It comes as no surprise to learn Timberlake's two best films, according to IMDb, were made by the Coen Brothers and David Fincher. In the latter's 2010 film The Social Network, Timberlake captured the charisma of tech investor and Napster creator, Sean Parker.
Written by Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network chronicles the rise of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), from a geeky Harvard student intent on comparing female faces to becoming one of the richest people on the planet. The film won three Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Original Score.