Peter Sarsgaard has been acting for more than 25 years and has a long and varied list of roles to prove it. Making his first screen appearance in an episode of Law & Order, he went on to give several award-winning performances in cult classic movies. He is married to actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal and appeared in her acclaimed 2021 movie The Lost Daughter.
Combining that recent critical success with his upcoming role in the heavily-anticipated superhero flick The Batman, Sarsgaard is returning to the public eye. With so many movies under his belt, IMDb user ratings give the best idea of which are worth watching in anticipation for his biggest gig yet.
The Lost Daughter (2021) - 6.8
Based on the eponymous novel, The Lost Daughter was director Maggie Gyllenhaal's feature debut and premiered exclusively on Netflix. Following professor Leda Caruso, played in the present by Olivia Colman, the movie combines a psychological drama that plays out over the course of an island vacation with a fractured history of the character's past, with her younger self played by Jessie Buckley.
Sarsgaard plays a colleague with whom Caruso has a fleeting affair, giving a brief but emotionally fulfilling performance. The Lost Daughter was popular with critics and won multiple awards, including the Gotham Award for Best Feature.
The Salton Sea (2002) - 7.1
D.J. Caruso's directorial debut The Salton Sea stars Val Kilmer as Tom Van Allen, a former trumpeter who sinks deep into the hazy world of drugs and crime after his wife's untimely death, taking on the new identity of "Danny Parker". Sarsgaard appears as Jimmy the Finn, a fellow addict who becomes Danny's best friend and confidant.
Upon release, critics compared The Salton Sea to the works of Quentin Tarantino for its over-the-top action and brutality. It's a fast-paced psychological trip that sees both Kilmer and Sarsgaard deliver winning performances as unlikely protagonists.
Shattered Glass (2003) - 7.1
Shattered Glass tells the true story of Stephen Glass, a popular journalist for The New Republic, chronicling his fall from grace when an investigation revealed that many of the articles he passed of as true stories were actually his own fabricated accounts. Hayden Christensen stars as Glass, while Sarsgaard co-stars as The New Republic editor Charles Lane.
Despite Sarsgaard not having the lead role, Shattered Glass contains one of his best and most famous performances. He won multiple Best Supporting Actor awards for it, including from the prestigious National Society of Film Critics.
Kinsey (2004) - 7.1
Kinsey is a thought-provoking biopic featuring one of Liam Neeson's most memorable roles as the titular biologist who became both famous and controversial for his early research of human sexuality. Sarsgaard appears in the role of Kinsey's longtime assistant, Clyde Martin.
Kinsey earned rave reviews from both critics and audiences, with the performances of Neeson, Sarsgaard, and Laura Linney each singled out for praise. It's an honest look at cultural repression and how the scientific method can encourage communication and enrich society.
An Education (2009) - 7.3
The coming-of-age drama An Education is based on Lynn Barber's memoir of the same name. The movie follows a girl named Jenny, played by Promising Young Woman actress Carey Mulligan, and her experience with being groomed by an older man who uses Jenny's naivety to both impress and take advantage of her.
Mulligan gives a standout performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination, and Sarsgaard is equal parts impressive and unlikable as her deceptive and predatory partner. Thankfully, this isn't his story, but Jenny's, and that distinction is what makes the movie worth watching.
Blue Jasmine (2013) - 7.3
Blue Jasmine stars Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis, a woman whose picture-perfect life begins a downward spiral when her wealthy husband is convicted of fraud. Forced to move in with her estranged sister Ginger, Jasmine tries to escape her origins and start fresh, but the past seems destined to catch up with her.
Blanchett's Academy-Award-winning performance is easily the best part of the movie, but Sarsgaard also delivers as a widowed diplomat with whom Jasmine attempts to begin a relationship.
Garden State (2004) - 7.4
Zach Braff's Garden State is a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama that takes place in New Jersey, AKA The Garden State. Braff plays Andrew Largeman, an actor with depression who returns home after his mother's death. As he attempts to reconcile with old friends and family members, he falls in love with a woman who shares similar struggles.
Sarsgaard plays Andrew's friend Mark, an outgoing partier who works as a gravedigger and makes extra cash by stealing valuables from coffins. Garden State hasn't aged as well as many of the actor's other movies, but it remains a popular, if controversial, cult classic.
Dead Man Walking (1995) - 7.5
The drama Dead Man Walking tells the story of the strange friendship between Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun played by Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Poncelet, a death row prisoner played by Sean Penn. Poncelet is a fictional character, but he's based on two actual convicts who the real Helen Prejean wrote about in the non-fiction novel on which the movie is based.
Sarsgaard has a minor role in the movie as one of Poncelet's teenage victims, though it isn't one of his most memorable appearances. Sarandon's Academy-Award-winning performance, however, is worth the price of admission alone.
Boys Don't Cry (1999) - 7.5
Boys Don't Cry is a biopic detailing the life of Brandon Teena, a trans man who searches for safety and friendship in Nebraska, but becomes the target of two hateful ex-cons (one of which is played by Sarsgaard). It's easily Sarsgaard's most unlikeable role, even if it does show his range and ability.
Though it's far from a comfortable watch, Boys Don't Cry is still an important movie that ultimately drew much-needed attention to violence perpetrated against queer people.
Valley Uprising (2014) - 8.1
Sarsgaard's best-reviewed film on IMDb is a documentary that he only appears in as the narrator, but that's not to say Valley Uprising doesn't still deserve its high rating. The movie follows the history of rock climbers at Yosemite National Park, recalling the wild background of the popular movement.
With fun, drama, and good storytelling, Valley Uprising brings to life a subject that many of its viewers wouldn't be interested in otherwise. It's a surprisingly brisk and entertaining 90-minute watch.