Ranking the Best Performances So Far From Joel Edgerton

Joel Edgerton is a great example of an actor who thrives in the right role. When you see him properly cast, the results are tremendous. Other times, he can fade a bit, which is a shame, given how good we now know he can be. With The Plague now in theaters to begin 2026 and Train Dreams streaming (I spoke to him about his performance in that film here) after a successful 2025 festival run/release, it’s a perfect time to look at Edgerton’s career. It’s very much the time to be praising him, right as his career kicks into a new gear

In my review of Train Dreams (here), I spoke of Edgerton like so:

Joel Edgerton has, give or take Warrior, never been better than he is here, inhabiting a quiet character with so much humanity. There’s a sturdiness to him that would beget a harder figure than he makes Robert. Instead, Edgerton finds the soul of the man, in both happy and sad times. It’s a wonderful performance, the kind almost destined to be under-appreciated.

Below, you can see how Edgerton ranks for me. The undisputed top two of his career so far are Train Dreams and Warrior, in whatever order you’d like. Then, there’s a tier down work like Animal Kingdom, The Gift, The Great Gatsby, and Loving. Hopefully, this is just the start of the man being used properly. If so, the great performances will begin to stack up, without question.

Here now is my ranking of the best work to date from Joel Edgerton. Behold:

Honorable Mention: The Boys in the Boat, The Green Knight, and Red Sparrow

10. It Comes At Night

9. Boy Erased

8. Midnight Special

7. Zero Dark Thirty

6. Animal Kingdom

5. The Gift

4. Loving

3. The Great Gatsby

2. Warrior

1. Train Dreams

What are your favorite Joel Edgerton performances? Let us know!