Aaron Moten’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Aaron Moten movies and TV shows reveal an actor on the cusp of career success, with his starring role in Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout a big break earned after minor appearances in a multitude of complex dramas. Born in Austin, Texas, in 1989, Aaron Moten began his life as a professional actor following his 2011 graduation from the prestigious Julliard School in 2011. His earliest roles were on stage, notably in the 2012 Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.

It was in 2014 that Aaron Moten first began appearing on screens, appearing in an episode of NCIS and in Chris Rock’s comedy-drama Top Five. From there he continued to land several relatively minor roles, though there were also some leading parts too, such as in 2016’s The Transfiguration and the 2017-2018 Netflix series Disjointed. It was in 2024 that the actor got his big break thanks to landing the part of Maximus in Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout, and the best Aaron Moten movies and TV shows reveal his incredible journey getting there.

10

Native Son (2019)

Aaron Moten Plays Tony

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Native Son

TV-MA
Drama

Release Date

January 24, 2019

Runtime

114 minutes

Director

Rashid Johnson

Writers

Suzan-Lori Parks

Producers

Matthew Perniciaro, Stephanie Meurer

Cast

  • Headshot Of Ashton Sanders

    Ashton Sanders

    Bigger Thomas

  • Headshot Of Margaret Qualley

    Margaret Qualley

    Mary Dalton

  • Headshot oF Nick Robinson

    Nick Robinson

    Jan Erlone

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Native Son follows the story of Bigger Thomas, a young black man in Chicago, as he takes a job with a prominent family. The 2019 film, directed by Rashid Johnson, explores themes of race, identity, and societal expectations, depicting the transformative impact of Bigger’s choices on his life.

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During the earlier years of his career so far, many Aaron Moten roles in both movies and TV shows were incredibly minor parts, with many featuring the future Fallout star as a named extra. This was the case with 2019’s Native Son, the Rashid Johnson-directed drama with an ensemble cast that also includes Ashton Sanders, The Substance star Margaret Qualley, and Nick Robinson, among others.

Given how minor his appearance was in Native Son, it’s difficult to assess the quality of his performance (and, as Moten’s career continues, it’s all but guaranteed to be replaced when considering his best movies and TV shows). However, as a movie in its own right, Native Son was received relatively well by critics, and highlights Moten’s attraction to complex roles and projects, since it’s one of several nuanced dramas that he’s been attached to throughout his career.

9

Ricki And The Flash (2015)

Aaron Moten Plays Troy

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Ricki and the Flash

Not Yet Rated
DramaMusicComedy

Release Date

August 7, 2015

Director

Jonathan Demme

Writers

Diablo Cody

Cast

  • Headshot Of Mamie Gummer In The 96th Academy Awards Vanity Fair Party held

    Mamie Gummer

  • 77th Cannes Film Festival - Opening Ceremony Official Gala DinnerHeadshot Of Meryl Streep In The

    Meryl Streep

  • Headshot Of Rick Springfield In The 26th Annual Power of Love Gala

    Rick Springfield

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Ricki and the Flash is a comedy-drama directed by Jonathan Demme and stars Meryl Streep as Ricki Rendazzo, a musician who left her family to pursue rock and roll stardom. Years later, she returns home to reconnect with her estranged family, including her daughter, played by Streep’s real-life daughter Mamie Gummer. The film explores themes of redemption, family bonds, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of dreams.

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The musical dramedy Ricki and the Flash marks Aaron Moten’s second movie appearance, and, like Native Son, features the future Fallout star as a named extra rather than in a central role. Directed by Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme (the filmmaker behind Silence of the Lambs) from a script penned by Diablo Cody (who also holds an Academy Award thanks to Juno), Ricki and the Flash focuses on a middle-aged woman who drops everything to pursue her dream of becoming a rockstar.

The cast of Rick and the Flash is led by Meryl Streep as Linda Brummel. Much like Native Son, it stands out among the best Aaron Moten movies and TV shows due to the quality of the movie itself, rather than his performance as Troy (who is, essentially, a background character). However, also like Native Son, it also highlights Moten’s early career drive to seek out more nuanced and emotionally-complex projects.

8

Mozart In The Jungle (2014-2016)

Aaron Moten Plays Erik Winkelstrauss

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Mozart In The Jungle

Mozart in the Jungle

TV-MA
ComedyDramaMusic

Release Date

2014 – 2017

Cast

  • Headshot Of Lola Kirke

    Lola Kirke

    Hailey Rutledge

  • Headshot Of Gael García Bernal

    Gael García Bernal

    Rodrigo De Souza

  • Headshot Of Saffron Burrows

    Saffron Burrows

    Cynthia Taylor

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Mozart in the Jungle is a television series that explores the behind-the-scenes world of a fictional New York symphony, highlighting the eccentricities of musicians and maestros, particularly focusing on a young oboist and a new conductor grappling for control and artistic integrity within the orchestra. The show stars Gael García Bernal and Lola Kirke and blends drama and comedy in its portrayal of classical music’s contemporary challenges.

Creator(s)

Alex Timbers, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman

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One of Aaron Moten’s earlier TV show appearances was as Erik Winkelstrauss in the Amazon Prime Video original comedy-drama Mozart in the Jungle. Developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz, Mozart in the Jungle is based on the memoir of a New York oboist. The original book, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music by Blair Tindall, exposed the surprisingly scandalous lives of many high-end musicians in organizations like the New York Philharmonic orchestra, and the show is just as hilarious as the source material.

Aaron Moten appeared in 6 episodes of Mozart In The Jungle as Erik Winkelstrauss, a board member who finds himself increasingly torn between the responsibilities of his role and his sympathy for the musicians. While not the most prominent character, it was among the earliest roles that allowed Aaron Moten to showcase his talents and remains highly recommended viewing for fans seeking more of his work following discovering him in shows like Fallout.

7

Father Stu (2022)

Aaron Moten Plays Ham

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Father Stu

R
Drama

Release Date

April 13, 2022

Runtime

124 minutes

Director

Rosalind Ross

Writers

Rosalind Ross

Cast

  • Headshot Of Jacki Weaver

    Jacki Weaver

  • Headshot Of Niko Nicotera

    Niko Nicotera

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    Teresa Ruiz

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Father Stu was written and directed by Rosalind Ross, and stars Mark Wahlberg in the leading role. The biographical drama focuses on real-life figure Stuart Long, an amateur boxer with progressive muscle disorder who, following a series of career setbacks and a near-fatal car accident, finds a new calling as a Catholic Priest.

Aaron Moten co-stars in the 2022 movie as Ham, who becomes a friend of Long when both are studying at the seminary to become priests. Like many movies Aaron Moten has been cast in, the critical response to Father Stu was mixed to say the least. However, he has solid chemistry with Mark Wahlberg, and his performance as Ham still ranks as one of the best of his career so far. What’s more, audiences disagreed with critics when it came to Father Stu, as evidenced by its 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to a 43% critical rating).

6

Emancipation (2022)

Aaron Moten Plays Knowls

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Emancipation

pg-13
HistoryActionThriller

Release Date

December 2, 2022

Runtime

132minutes

Director

Antoine Fuqua

Writers

Bill Collage

Cast

  • Headshot OF Will Smith

    Will Smith

  • Headshot Of Ben Foster

    Ben Foster

  • Headshot Of Grant Harvey

    Grant Harvey

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Based on the true story of a man named Gordon in the 1860s, Emancipation tells the tale of an enslaved person named Peter, played by Will Smith, who escapes from a Louisiana plantation. The film is an action/thriller that shows Peter’s journey as he tries to avoid murderous hunters that will stop at nothing to catch him. Finally, Peter escaped to the North and joined the Union Army to stop the slave trade in the south and fight for true emancipation. The true story of Gordon featured the famous photographs of Peter’s whipped back, which became a central focal point for strengthening the abolitionist movement of the time. 

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2022’s Emancipation is the most recent movie appearance from Aaron Moten, and sees him appear in an ensemble cast that also includes the likes of Will Smith and Ben Foster. The historical action thriller comes from director Antoine Fuqua, and focuses on the struggles of slaves struggling to escape the Confederate states during the civil war following Abraham Lincoln’s issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

In Emancipation, Aaron Moten has a minor but incredibly memorable role as Knowls. An antagonist, Knowls is a former slave who works with Ben Foster’s slave hunter Fassel to capture and return escapees like Will Smith’s Peter. It’s a complex role, and one that Aaron Moten excelled in, capturing the nuance and conflicted interests of Knowls and the historical figures he’s based on incredibly well. Emancipation may have received a mixed response from critics, but his performance cements it as one of the best Aaron Moten movies.

5

The Night Of (2016)

Aaron Moten Plays Petey

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The Night Of

DramaCrime

Release Date

2016 – 2015

Network

HBO Max

Directors

James Marsh

Writers

James Marsh

Cast

  • Headshot Of Riz Ahmed In The 24th British Independent Film Awards

    Riz Ahmed

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Xavier Cadeau

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    David Chen

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The Night of is a TV mini-series revolving around Nasir ‘Naz’ Khan, a young college student who, after partying with a woman, finds her stabbed to death in his room the following morning. Riz Ahmed stars as Naz alongside John Turturro as his lawyer and Michael K. Williams as Freddy Knight, an influential inmate at Rikers Island.

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The HBO miniseries The Night Of ran on the network in 2016, and was based on the 2008 British series Criminal Justice. It was highly critically acclaimed, landing 14 Emmy nominations (of which it won five – most notably an award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Riz Ahmed). Aaron Moten appeared in four episodes of The Night Of as Petey, and the part is arguably the most tragic played by the Fallout star so far.

Petey is among several inmates Riz Ahmed’s character, Naz, meets in prison. While the two never strike up an intimate friendship they move in the same circles, and Naz is distraught when he discovers that Petey took his own life after being sexually assaulted. It’s an incredibly dark role among the best Aaron Moten movies and TV shows, and demonstrates a side of his range that his more prominent appearances in series like Fallout don’t.

4

Next (2020)

Aaron Moten Plays Ben

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Next

Mystery

Release Date

2021 – 2020

Directors

Sandip Sarkar

Cast

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The 2020 sci-fi crime drama Next may have been canceled after a single season, but this doesn’t stop it from being among the best Aaron Moten TV shows so far. Created by Manny Coto for the Fox network, Next starred Jon Slattery as Paul LeBlanc, a tech genius and former CEO with a degenerative brain disease and one of the few people who understand the threat presented to humanity by a rogue AI.

Aaron Moten plays Ben in Next, one of several investigators on the team put together by LeBlanc and FBI agent Shea Salazar (Fernanda Andrade). Unfortunately, due to the fact that Next was canceled after only 10 episodes, Moten didn’t have much opportunity to distinguish himself among the ensemble cast. This likely wouldn’t have been the case had the show gone on longer, however, and his performance in Next hinted at many of the performance skills Moten would later go on to rely on in the likes of Fallout.

3

Disjointed (2017-2018)

Aaron Moten Plays Travis

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Disjointed

TV-MA
Comedy

Release Date

2017 – 2017

Network

Netflix

Cast

  • Headshot Of Kathy Bates In The CBS Fall Schedule Celebration At Paramount Studios

    Kathy Bates

    Ruth

  • Headshot Of Aaron Moten

    Aaron Moten

    Travis

  • Headshot Of Tone Bell

    Tone Bell

    Carter

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Disjointed is a comedy series featuring Kathy Bates as Ruth Whitefeather Feldman, a cannabis advocate who operates a Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary. The show explores her unconventional approach to business and life alongside her staff and loyal customers.

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The 2017-2019 Netflix sitcom was created by genre veteran Chuck Lorre (known for the likes of The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men). The show starred Kathy Bates as Ruth Whitefeather Feldman, a long-time advocate for legalized cannabis who finds herself running her own dispensary in Los Angeles. Disjointed marks one of Aaron Motens most prominent roles to date, as he co-starred as Travis, Ruth’s son.

A recent graduate, Travis returns back home in Disjointed and quickly finds himself roped into helping his mom with her dispensary. While the show received mixed reviews from critics, audiences fell in love with Ruth, Travis, and the rest of the Disjointed characters. Disjointed currently sits with an 87% Popcornmeter rating (audience score) on Rotten Tomatoes, and remains one of the best Aaron Moten TV shows.

2

The Transfiguration (2016)

Aaron Moten Plays Lewis

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The Transfiguration

HorrorDrama

Release Date

April 14, 2016

Runtime

97 minutes

Director

Michael O’Shea

Writers

Michael O’Shea

Producers

Susan Leber, Daniel Hammond

Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Eric Ruffin

    Milo

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Chloë Levine

    Sophie

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Luis Scott

    Corey

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The Transfiguration follows troubled teen Milo, who becomes fascinated with vampire lore, and his bond with the equally alienated Sophie. Released on April 14, 2016, this film explores themes of fantasy and reality as their connection begins to alter Milo’s perceptions.

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When it comes to his feature-film appearances, the 2016 horror drama Transfiguration stands out as the best Aaron Moten movie so far. Directed by Michael O’Shea, Transfiguration focuses on Milo (Eric Ruffin), a troubled teenager who believes he’s a vampire and is caught drinking blood from corpses on several occasions. He strikes up a friendship with Sophie (Chloe Levine), a girl with many troubles of her own.

In The Transfiguration, Aaron Moten plays Lewis, the older brother of Milo and one of the first to discover his vampiric delusions – specifically, when Lewis walked in on Milo drinking from the sliced wrists of their mother, who had taken her own life. The under-the-radar drama features Moten in an incredibly nuanced and complex role, and to this day remains one of the strongest performances in his filmography.

1

Fallout (2024-Present)

Aaron Moten Plays Maximus

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Fallout TV Show Poster Showing Lucy, CX404, Ghoul, and Maximus in Front of an Explosion with Flying Bottle Caps

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Fallout

TV-MA
Sci-FiActionAdventureDrama

Release Date

April 10, 2024

Showrunner

Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan

Writers

Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan

Franchise(s)

Fallout

Cast

  • Headshot Of Ella Purnell In The 7th Canneseries International Festival 'Fallout'

    Ella Purnell

    Lucy MacLean

  • Headshot Of Aaron Moten

    Aaron Moten

    Maximus

  • Headshot Of Moises Arias

    Moises Arias

    Norm MacLean

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Set 200 years after an apocalypse, Fallout follows residents of luxury shelters as they re-enter a post-nuclear world. Confronted with a bizarre and violent landscape, the series explores the stark contrasts between their sheltered existence and the harsh realities of the outside universe.

Creator(s)

Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner

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Many viewers were first introduced to Aaron Moten thanks to his role as the Brotherhood of Steel Squire, Maximus, in Amazon Prime Video’s 2024 apocalyptic sci-fi series Fallout. The adaptation of the game series also stands as the best Aaron Moten TV show or movie to date, and his most prominent role in any project. It’s inarguably the breakout role of Moten’s career, and has generated no small amount of interest in his name.

Set in the future of an alternate history decades after a global nuclear war in 2077, Fallout focuses on the various inhabitants of the wasteland that remains. Various factions fight for control of the dwindling resources that remain. Among them are the Brotherhood of Steel, a zealous militaristic group known for wearing powered armor. Aaron Moten’s Fallout character, Maximus, was a Brotherhood of Steel knight-in-training before going rogue. Moten is hilarious in the role, and has great chemistry with co-star Elle Purnell – and it’s these aspects that secure Fallout as the best movie or TV show he’s featured in so far.