Julia Garner is well known for playing Ruth Langmore in the hugely popular drama series Ozark, a role for which she has won several awards including two Primetime Emmys. Right now, the actress is making headlines as the lead in Netflix's Inventing Anna, a miniseries that explores the fascinating case of fake German heiress Anna Delvey.
Both of these roles are fairly recent; Ozark's fourth season came out last month whilst Inventing Anna came out only last week, but Garner has been acting for over a decade. Appearing in several indie movies, as well as some big-name productions, Garner has had some brilliant roles in her career; Ozark aside, here are five of her best.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age movie based on director Stephen Chbosky's novel of the same name. At the heart of the movie is painfully shy freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman) who makes some unexpected, lasting friends in his freshman year. The Perks of Being a Wallflower explores Charlie's relationship with the sharp and sassy Patrick (Ezra Miller) and enigmatic Sam (Emma Watson) in particular, as well as the character's struggles with depression and undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder.
Garner has a minor role in the movie as Charlie's old friend Susan. Susan rarely appears in the movie, only briefly addressed and seen in the background of some scenes. In the novel, she has a slightly bigger role as an insecure girl grieving her late boyfriend (Charlie's best friend) Michael. Despite her little screen time, however, Garner encapsulates Susan's sadness in her sympathetic stares, ensuring her presence is felt.
The Americans (2013)
Created by Joe Weisberg for FX, The Americans is an award-winning spy thriller series set during the Cold War, spanning the early to late 80s. Leads Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys star as married soviet spies, Nadezhda and Mischa, posing as Philip and Elizabeth Jennings. Infiltrating suburban Washington D.C the couple don various disguises and manage to deceive even their US-born children Paige (Holly Taylor) and Henry (Keidrich Sellati).
Julia Garner joined The Americans in season 3 as 15-year-old Kimberly "Kimmy" Breland, the daughter of CIA agent, Isaac Breland. Like the Jennings children, Kimmy is unaware of her father's job, believing he works for the US department of agriculture. On a mission to expose her father, Philip, posing as Jim, befriends Kimmy and the two enter a brief sexual relationship. 21 at the time of filming, Garner steps into the role of teenage Kimmy with impressive ease, delivering a strong and sympathetic performance.
Grandma (2015)
Directed by Paul Weitz, Grandma is a feminist comedy-drama movie about an elderly misanthropic lesbian named Elle (Lily Tomlin) and her pregnant granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner). In need of an abortion, and afraid to ask her mother for help, Sage turns to her grandmother for help and the two embark on a journey to get money and get the former to a clinic. This proves to be much more difficult than expected, and mayhem and misadventures ensure.
Garner's Sage begins Grandma a timid girl, but after some time with her grandmother, she learns to stand up for herself and — satisfyingly — tell people to screw off when necessary. Garner is brilliant at marking this shift in Sage, whilst retaining the girl's sweet side. Viewers get the feeling that Sage is much stronger and smarter than people give her credit for, and Garner confirms this by the movie's end. Through dealing with pro-lifers and her uppity mother, Sage demonstrates beneath her soft exterior is a hard interior.
Maniac (2018)
Maniac is a genre-bending miniseries created by Patrick Somerville for Netflix. It follows two strangers who take part in an experimental drug trial for different reasons. Both suffering from mental illness, male protagonist Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill) suffers from depression and schizophrenia and is the black sheep of his wealthy family, whereas female protagonist Annie Landsberg (Emma Stone) struggles with borderline personality disorder and the guilt of her sister's passing.
Julia Garner plays Annie's late sister, Ellie, who died in a car crash that the former managed to escape from. Garner appears as Ellie in flashbacks and as Ellie's alternate form Elia, an elf, in the C-pill induced fantasy. The actress does her best impression of a younger sister irritated by her older sister's antics, and brings life to the tragic character. Sweet and sarcastic, she's hard not to love.
Modern Love (2019)
Based on the popular New York Times column of the same name, Modern Love is an award-winning anthology series about love in all of its forms. Developed by John Carney for Amazon Prime, each episode tells a different story with different characters. Previous actors include Anne Hathaway, Kit Harrington, and, of course, Julia Garner.
Garner's episode, "So He Looked Like Dad. It Was Just Dinner, Right?" comes in season 1 and tells the story of a young woman infatuated with an older, divorced colleague named Peter (Shea Whigham). Garner plays the lead role of Maddy who ends up in a strange relationship with Peter. Cleaning her apartment and taking her to appointments, Maddy sees Peter as the father she never had, whereas he sees her as a romantic partner. Tension brews when Peter kisses Maddy, and she is forced to look her "daddy issues" straight in the eye. Although somewhat disturbing, this episode of Modern Love is one of the best, with a heartfelt ending.