Zazie Beetz has been acting since she was a teenager, but in the past five years, Hollywood has really become aware of her and her talents. Some know her as Domino in Deadpool 2others like Van in Atlanta or Sophie in joker. she always creates characters that we are 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 exact 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 at the heart of the film, because even in the harsh far west, where you shoot first and ask questions later, love is in the air.
6 Joker (2019)
Arthur Fleck feels alone and excluded in a city that looks down on him. All the isolation and bullying causes Arthur to burst and become someone new and scary, the future mastermind joker. This movie is all about Joaquin Phoenix in one of his best performances ever, but Beetz holds her own against the titan actor, showing the fatigue of one who never takes a break. Her character, Sophie Dumont, is also at a strange time in her life; a little lost and trying to survive in a Gotham City that you only appreciate if you produce a lot 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 mercenary with a mouth” came back in Deadpool 2 to avoid an apocalyptic future without his knowledge. The second movie of the funny antihero played by Ryan Reynolds brought even more silliness than the first, and Beetz’ character, Domino (her superhero power is lucky) was part of the fun. Beetz plays Domino with a casual demeanor as she is always lucky and steals all the scenes in which she appears. 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 jokes with dry-delivered better ones. Whether it’s part of Deadpool 3 or on its own spin-off, we hope to 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 living 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 must learn how to use them to defend Earth. Beetz plays Amber, the romantic teen who is very smart and knows what she wants for herself, and exudes confidence that most teens would love to have. Beetz told Comic Book Yeti of her character: “I thought I was just going to keep her like that, I don’t know, a motivated teen in high school. So yeah, I guess I drew more from myself and my own experience and what dating was like for me and what’s important to me is 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 money fast, even if it is with a new and groundbreaking idea. Beetz plays Sam, Ray’s assistant, an ambitious woman who understands how the game is played and how to move forward in her career, even if she teams up 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 are on a very narrow path, we go very fast, and then if they peel off a little bit, we kind of move away from them, and he goes into his office and sorts the camera from retreats. With a normal sized dolly that weighs 350 pounds, that becomes potentially dangerous. Someone could get hurt, for example.”
2 Nine Days (2021)
Will (Winston Duke) decides what unborn souls deserve to live and go to the real world through a rigorous nine-day process. While doing his tests, one of the unborn souls, Emma (Beetz), starts asking back questions and making Will think differently about life and death. nine days asks many metaphysical questions about life, death, life, souls, and whether our essence is there before we are 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. Emma van Beetz is not the main character, but it is the character that changes everything. Beetz plays her as an emotionally open, curious, inquisitive and empathetic soul, helping Will with his own trauma and forgiveness.
1 Atlanta (2016–present)
Earn (Donald Glover) tries to earn a living in Atlanta as his cousin’s manager for rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry). Beetz plays Van, Earn’s flashing love and mother of their child. This is the character that made her a mainstream star. Atlanta may be slightly different in each episode; it’s what makes it so special, and one of the most important series in the modern TV landscape. While 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 is much more. Beetz plays Van as a real three-dimensional character with her problems, experiences and crashes. She’s funny and charming, but also fed up with Earn’s nonsense and knows what she wants for herself. That’s why the episodes centered around her are always some of the most interesting. The final episode of the third season is the perfect example, as Beetz gets to play a different side of Van, one we 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.