Jennifer Garner’s best movies and TV shows offer insight into her career in Hollywood, which continues going strong decades later. The American actor has been working since the mid-1990s, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s and her breakout role as Sydney Bristow in J.J. Abrams’ series Alias that she became a household name. From there, Garner launched a successful movie career that has seen her work with filmmakers like Steven Spielberg as well as alongside actors like Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Reynolds.
Garner has shown a lot of versatility in her roles, being able to portray strong and in-command characters, grounded people struggling with real-life issues, and goofy comedic characters. She has starred in everything from light-hearted comedies to intense thrillers to fun superhero adventures. While there are surely a lot more projects in the future for Garner, her career thus far is filled with notable highlights that show off her talents and have provided her biggest hits.
10
Draft Day (2014)
As Ali
Starring Kevin Costner, Denis Leary, and Jennifer Garner, Draft Day is a Drama and Sports-centric film directed by Ivan Reitman. The 2014 release has Costner posing as the general manager for the Cleveland Browns and the tense moments and decisions that must be made when the NFL team acquires the first pick in the upcoming Draft.
- Release Date
-
April 7, 2014
- Runtime
-
120minutes
Draft Day is one of many Kevin Costner sports movies from his legendary career, but one that takes a very unique approach. Instead of taking place on the field, the movie is a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important days in the professional football season, as Costner plays the manager of an NFL team who is facing a do-or-die situation in making the right call with the team’s latest draft picks.
Garner has a standout supporting role in the movie as Ali, the team’s financial manager who is also in a relationship with Costner’s Sonny Weaver. Draft Day manages to be exciting and fast-paced without including the typical genre sports elements. However, it also manages to capture a feeling of a typical underdog story with Costner as the determined hero who makes miracles happen. The movie also has a great supporting cast, including Ellen Burstyn, Sam Elliott, and Chadwick Boseman.
9
The Kingdom (2007)
As Janet Mayes
Jennifer Garner has shown off her considerable and impressive action skills in a number of projects throughout her career. However, The Kingdom is likely the most grounded of these types of movies she has made. Directed by Peter Berg, The Kingdom draws from real-world events to tell the story of a group of FBI agents who travel to Saudi Arabia in order to investigate a terrorist attack at an American oil company housing compound. Working alongside the Saudi law enforcement officials, the agents try to get to the bottom of the attack while also finding themselves in danger.
Alongside Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman, and Chris Cooper, Garner stars as one of the agents who go on this mission. Her character of Janet Mayes offers a personal passion to the story as she lost a friend in these attacks. The Kingdom is a tense and visceral action movie that draws on the fears of the modern world. There are also some interesting dynamics between the American characters and the Saudi officers, who are just as interested in seeing justice done.
8
Love, Simon (2018)
As Emily Spier
Love, Simon is a 2018 romantic comedy-drama directed by Greg Berlanti and based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. The film follows Simon Spier, a high school student navigating life while keeping his sexual orientation private. When an email falls into the wrong hands, Simon faces the challenges of coming out to his friends and family and finding his anonymous online crush.
- Release Date
-
February 16, 2018
- Runtime
-
110 Minutes
- Cast
-
Nick Robinson
, Jennifer Garner
, Josh Duhamel
, Katherine Langford
, Alexandra Shipp - Director
-
Greg Berlanti
Jennifer Garner excels at playing loving and comforting characters, much like in the teen romance movie Love, Simon. The movie stars Nick Robinson as Simon Spier, a young closeted gay teenager hiding his sexuality from his friends and family. However, he soon finds that his big secret is at risk of being revealed, causing him to confront how his life will change when those around him learn the truth.
Garner plays Emily, Simon’s mother who may not know everything that is going on in her son’s life, but remains a constant source of support through all of his struggles. Love, Simon was notable as the first major studio movie to feature a gay teen romance at its center. It is a touching story that will resonate with a lot of LGBTQ+ audiences, but it is also a universal story of being a teenager and the struggles that come with being that age.
7
The Adam Project (2022)
As Ellie Reed
The Adam Project is a sci-fi action/comedy starring Ryan Reynolds as a time-traveling pilot who accidentally arrives in the past and must work with his 12-year-old self to save the future. Adam Reed (Reynolds) heads back from his time in 2050 to save his wife in 2018. When things go awry, he crashes his time-traveling aircraft in 2022, where his 12-year-old self finds him. Chased into their timeline, they’re attacked by the leader of the dystopian future and must escape their grasp and fight to change and save their future.
- Release Date
-
March 9, 2022
- Runtime
-
106 minutes
- Director
-
Shawn Levy
Jennifer Garner joined some other big-name talents for the sci-fi adventure with heart, The Adam Project. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds as a pilot from the future who goes on a mission into the past where he seeks the help of his 12-year-old self in order to save the world. However, they soon find that their mission also requires them to go further into the past to reunite with their father they both lost at a young age.
Garner plays Ellie Reed, the widowed mother of young Adam who struggles to raise her young son as they both struggle with their grief. Garner and Reynolds share some touching moments with Reynolds as the grown son filled with remorse over how he treated his mother as a kid. These personal relationships help to strengthen the smart, funny, and exciting sci-fi story that manages to find some new ways of having fun with the concept of time travel.
6
13 Going On 30 (2004)
As Jenna Rink
13 Going on 30 is 2004 fantasy romantic comedy about a 13-year-old girl named Jenna Rink, who, in 1987, dreams of being popular and wishes she were “thirty and flirty and thriving.” She later wakes up in 2004 at the age of 30. Jennifer Garner stars as 30-year-old Jenna, while Christa B. Allen plays the role of young Jenna. Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Jim Gaffigan, and Andy Serkis also star.
- Release Date
-
April 23, 2004
- Runtime
-
98minutes
- Director
-
Gary Winick
While Jennifer Garner was already a well-known actor by the time she starred in 13 Going on 30, this was the project that solidified her as a movie star. The movie operates somewhat like a rom-com take on the Tom Hanks classic Big, following unpopular teenager Jenna Rink, who makes a wish on her birthday to escape her teen years. Miraculously, she wakes up as a 30-year-old woman (Garner) and begins exploring her new adult life.
Garner doesn’t always get the chance to show off her comedic talents on screen, but this role is proof that she can deliver big laughs. She is perfect at capturing the charm and innocence of a young girl while also embracing the fun of how her life has changed. More than 20 years later, the movie still has a passionate following among many fans.
5
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
As Dr. Eve Saks
Based on the life of Ron Woodroof, Dallas Buyers Club follows Matthew Matthew McConaughey as Woodroof, who after being diagnosed with AIDS in the mid-1980s, began smuggling unapproved but effective drugs to treat is disease into Texas and began sharing them with fellow patients he met while in treatment. Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto also star.
- Release Date
-
November 17, 2013
- Runtime
-
117 minutes
- Director
-
Jean-Marc Vallee
Jennifer Garner has proven herself just as effective in supporting roles alongside bigger performances as she is in the lead. Dallas Buyers Club is a perfect example of this as Matthew McConaughey stars in the lead role, which cemented his Hollywood comeback. He plays the real-life character of Ron Woodroof, a man who learns he has contracted HIV/AIDS. Frustrated with the treatment he is receiving, Woodroof begins smuggling experimental drugs into the country and selling them to other AIDS patients.
While McConaughey and costar Jared Leto both earned Oscars for their performances in the movie, Garner is also key to the movie’s success, with her performance as Dr. Eve Saks, the doctor who begins treating Ron and becomes sympathetic to his plight. Dallas Buyers Club uses its complex and moving characters to tell a story about empathy and compassion at a time when these people could not find much of it in the world.
4
Alias (2001-2006)
As Sydney Bristow
Created by J. J. Abrams, Alias is a Science Fiction, Thriller, and Action television series that ran for five seasons between 2001 and 2006. Starring Jennifer Garner in the lead role, the plot revolves around a young woman who must disguise her identity as a CIA agent.
- Release Date
-
September 30, 2001
- Seasons
-
5
While Jennifer Garner had appeared in supporting roles in movies like Dude, Where’s My Car? and Pearl Harbor already, Alias was undoubtedly her Hollywood breakout role. The spy series stars Garner as Sydney Bristow, a former college student who is recruited to join a mysterious black ops organization. However, upon discovering that the organization she has joined is not what it appears to be, she becomes a double agent, working to bring it down.
Garner effortlessly steps into the action hero role, bringing a stoic and hardened warrior persona to Sydney’s spy work. However, she also manages to keep the complex protagonist human, often showing the struggles of maintaining her secretive world as well as her personal life. While the show spiraled into over-the-top storylines at times, it remained a hugely entertaining action series with Garner carrying it in her Golden Globe-winning role.
3
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
As Elektra Natchios
A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
- Release Date
-
July 26, 2024
- Runtime
-
127 Minutes
- Cast
-
Ryan Reynolds
, Hugh Jackman
, Emma Corrin
, Morena Baccarin
, Rob Delaney
, Leslie Uggams
, Karan Soni
, Matthew Macfadyen
, Brianna Hildebrand
, Shioli Kutsuna
, Stefan Kapicic
, Lewis Tan
, Randal Reeder
, Jennifer Garner
, Aaron Stanford
, Billy Clements
, Ollie Palmer
, Chris Hemsworth
, Rob McElhenney - Director
-
Shawn Levy
While there was a lot of praise for Jennifer Garner’s performance as Elektra in Daredevil, the movie and her subsequent solo spinoff were not well received. However, Garner and some other past Marvel heroes got their chance at redemption with Deadpool & Wolverine. The third Deadpool movie brings the Merc with the Mouth into the MCU alongside Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine. The reluctant duo team up for a multiverse adventure to save their realities.
One of the most talked-about elements of the movie was Deadpool & Wolverine‘s epic cameos, which included Garner reprising her role as Elektra. More than a simple walk-on role, Garner is able to bring closure to her character, alongside the likes of Wesley Snipes as Blade and Channing Tatum as Gambit. Her role highlights one of the best elements of this hilarious R-rated superhero movie. Alongside all of the violence and vulgarity, Deadpool & Wolverine is a love letter to the Fox Marvel universe.
2
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
As Cheryl Ann
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 biographical crime film directed by Steven Spielberg. It’s based on the true story of real-life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., who successfully impersonated an airline pilot, doctor, and lawyer. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the lead role and Tom Hanks co-stars as FBI Agent Carl Hanratty.
- Release Date
-
December 25, 2002
- Runtime
-
141 Minutes
As Jennifer Garner’s career in Hollywood was really taking off, her stardom was further cemented by working alongside one of the hottest actors in Hollywood and one of the most acclaimed directors of all time. Steven Spielberg directed the true story of Catch Me If You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abangnale Jr, a con artist who posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer all while writing fraudulent checks. To make the story more impressive, Frank was a teenager at the time.
Garner only has a small one-scene role in the movie, but she makes it a very memorable one. As Cheryl Ann, Garner plays a former model turned high-end sex worker who spends a night with Frank. The movie is a stylish and engrossing crime story with a fun energy and a winning performance from DiCaprio in the lead role. The rest of the cast is also outstanding, with Tom Hanks as the FBI agent hunting Frank and Christopher Walken as Frank’s father.
1
Juno (2007)
As Vanessa Loring
Starring Elliot Page, Juno follows the titular character, a teenage girl who unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Deciding to give the baby up for adoption once it is born, Juno finds and befriends Mark and Vanessa, and childless couple desperate for a baby, who she plans to let adopt her child once she gives birth. Michael Cera also stars as Juno’s boyfriend Paulie, with a further cast that includes Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and J. K. Simmons.
- Release Date
-
December 25, 2007
- Runtime
-
96 minutes
- Director
-
Jason Reitman
The Oscar-winning comedy-drama Juno is not only an excellent movie in Jennifer Garner’s career, but also her best movie performance to date. Elliot Page stars as the titular Juno, an acerbic and free-spirited teenager who learns that she is pregnant after a sexual encounter with her friend (Michael Cera). With the baby on the way, Juno seeks out a local couple (Garner and Jason Bateman) while also coming to terms with this life-changing journey she is embarking on.
Garner is perfect as Vanessa Loring, a character who initially seems very tightly wound and overly serious, but gradually reveals herself to be a caring person who wants nothing more than to be a mother. Juno is a hilarious, moving, and unique take on the coming-of-age genre with screenwriter Diablo Cody winning an Oscar for her heartfelt movie.
