Zazie Beetz has been acting since she was a teenager, but in the last five years, Hollywood has really become aware of her and her talents. Some know her as Domino in Deadpool 2, others as Van in Atlanta or Sophie in Joker. She always creates characters we’re both interested in, and empathize with. Here are Zazie Beetz’s best performances, ranked
7 The Harder They Fall (2021)
Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), a cowboy and former slave, discovers his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison and decides to reunite with his band and get his revenge. The Harder They Fall is an incredible revenge Western with impeccable direction by Jeymes Samuel, and a stacked cast that includes Majors, Elba, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo, and Zazie Beetz. She plays Mary Fields, who was based on a real woman who was the first African-American female star route carrier in the United States (although most of her story here is pure fiction). Her character and Majors have a beautiful love story that is the heart of the film, because even in the hard far west, where you shoot first and ask questions later, love is in the air.
6 Joker (2019)
Arthur Fleck feels alone and disengaged in a city that looks down on him. All the isolation and bullying makes Arthur crack and become someone new and scary, the future mastermind Joker. This film is all about Joaquin Phoenix in one of his best performances ever, but Beetz holds her ground acting against the titanic actor, showing the tiredness of someone who never catches a break. Her character, Sophie Dumont, is also in a strange moment of her life; a bit lost and trying to survive in a Gotham City that only values you if you produce lots of money. The scenes of Phoenix and Beetz together are the best in the movie, as they show how lost souls can help each other and give mutual hope. Although, a twist in the third act might make us think differently.
5 Deadpool 2 (2018)
Deadpool, “the merc with a mouth” came back in Deadpool 2 to, without his knowledge, avoid an apocalyptic future. The second movie of the funny antihero played by Ryan Reynolds, brought even more craziness than the first, and Beetz’s character, Domino (her superhero power is being lucky) was part of the fun. Beetz plays Domino with a nonchalant attitude, as she’s always lucky, stealing all the scenes she appears in. Her almost brother-sister relationship with Deadpool is one of the funniest additions to the film, as she’s the only one who can answer his quips with dryly delivered better ones. Be it as part of Deadpool 3 or on her own spinoff, we hope we see Beetz’s Domino again in the future.
4 Invincible (2019-Present)
Invincible is the adaptation of the comic of the same name written by The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman. The show tells the story of Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), the teenage son of an alien superhero who also develops powers and has to learn how to use them to defend Earth. Beetz voices Amber, the teenage romantic interest who’s very smart and knows what she wants for herself, radiating confidence that most teenagers would love to have. Beetz told Comic Book Yeti of her character: "I thought I would just keep her as, I don't know, a motivated teenager in high school as possible. So yeah, I think I drew more from myself and my own experience and what dating was like for me and what's important to me being reflected in what's important to her."
3 High Flying Bird (2019)
Ray Burke (André Holland) is a sports agent struggling to survive during the NBA lockout. One of his clients is the number one player in the draft, Erick Scott (Melvin Gregg), and he needs to get money, fast, even if it’s with a new and game-changing idea. Beetz plays Sam, Ray’s assistant, an ambitious woman who understands how the game is played, and how to get ahead in her career, even linking with Scott to do it. Her chemistry with both Holland and Gregg makes the game between all three even more interesting. High Flying Bird looks different because the always great and innovative Steven Soderbergh decided to shoot it with an iPhone. He told Indiewire about his motives: “We’re in a very narrow path, we’re moving very quickly, and then as they sort of peel off from us, we sort of move away from them, and he goes into his office and the camera sort of retreats. With a normal size dolly, which weighs 350 pounds, that becomes dangerous, potentially. Like, somebody could get hurt.”
2 Nine Days (2021)
Will (Winston Duke) decides what unborn souls deserve to live and go to the real world, through a thorough nine-day process. While doing his tests, one of the unborn souls, Emma (Beetz), starts asking questions back and making Will think about life and death differently. Nine Days asks many metaphysical questions about life, death, living, souls, and if our essence is already there before we’re born. Nine Days is also, surprisingly, Edson Oda's first film, and he creates a unique world where the most important thing is the message of humanity and how the actor's performances express it. Beetz’s Emma is not the protagonist, but it’s the character that changes everything. Beetz plays her as an emotionally open, curious, inquisitive, and empathic soul and helps Will with his own trauma and forgiveness.
1 Atlanta (2016-Present)
Earn (Donald Glover) is trying to make a living in Atlanta as his cousin's manager, for rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry). Beetz plays Van, Earn’s on-again-off-again love interest and mother of their kid. This is the character that made her a mainstream star. Atlanta can be a different thing in every episode; it's what makes it so special, and one of the most important series in the modern TV landscape. Although Beetz's character hasn’t always been at the forefront of the series, she’s not just Glover’s romantic interest or his baby-mama; she’s much more. Beetz plays Van as a real tridimensional character with her problems, experiences, and hang-ups. She’s funny and charming, but also has had enough of Earn’s crap and knows what she wants for herself. That’s why the episodes centered around her, are always some of the most interesting ones. The last episode of the third season is the perfect example, as Beetz gets to play a different side of Van, one we had never expected. It might be strange, almost surreal, and scary (we’ll never look at a baguette the same way), but she’s still able to keep the character in real emotions and humanity.