Tony Goldwyn’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Tony Goldwyn movies and TV shows include Oscar-winning films and one of the most successful television shows in history. Goldwyn has a strong history in Hollywood: His father is film producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., son of movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn, and his maternal grandparents were playwright Sidney Howard and actress Clare Eames. Tony studied acting at the HB Studio in New York City and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He got his first movie role as a victim in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives.

He enjoyed his breakout in Ghost, which was just the start for the talented actor. Over his career, he got some small roles on TV in shows like Designing Women and also voiced the lead character in the Disney animated movie Tarzan. However, it was when he picked up a role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent that he started to find quality roles, and he ironically is still in that franchise, albeit as a different character in the original Law & Order. He was just as successful in movies, appearing in Oppenheimer in 2024.

10 Ezra (2023)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Bruce

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Ezra (2023) RComedy

Stand-up comic Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale) and his 11-year-old autistic son Ezra (introducing William Fitzgerald) set off on a road trip in this vivid portrait of a family figuring out how to understand one another. Having recently blown up his career and his marriage, Max is living with his father Stan (Robert De Niro) and is profoundly at odds with his soon-to-be ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne) about how to address their son’s special needs. When Ezra is expelled from yet another school, Max makes a rash decision to pack up the car and take his son on a cross-country odyssey to LA, where he has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to perform on Jimmy Kimmel.

Director Tony Goldwyn Release Date October 1, 2023 Cast Robert De Niro , Rose Byrne , Vera Farmiga , Rainn Wilson , Bobby Cannavale , Whoopi Goldberg , Daphne Rubin-Vega , Matilda Lawler Runtime 100 Minutes

In 2023, Tony Goldwyn not only starred in the movie Ezra, but he also served as the director of the film. This is a comedy-drama that stars Bobby Cannavale as Max Brander, a former comedy writer turned struggling stand-up comedian living with his father, Stan (Robert De Niro). The story’s main plot sees Max conflicting with his ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne) about how to raise their autistic son, Ezra (William Fitzgerald).

The film was positively received by critics, with a 70% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the reviews singling out the good performances and emotional core. Goldwyn had a tough role to play as Bruce, a cold lawyer and Jenna’s current boyfriend who makes an upsetting joke to Ezra that kicks off the movie’s series of events. The script was based on screenwriter Tony Spiridakis’ relationship with his own son, who is on the autistic spectrum, while Fitzgerald himself is actually an autistic actor.

9 Nixon (1995)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Harold Nixon

Nixon (1995) - Poster

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Nixon (1995) RDramaHistoryBiography

Nixon is a 1995 biographical drama directed by Oliver Stone, starring Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon. The film explores Nixon’s tumultuous political career, from his rise to power to his resignation in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. Featuring a strong supporting cast, including Joan Allen and James Woods, the movie offers a complex portrayal of one of America’s most controversial figures.

Director Oliver Stone Release Date December 22, 1995 Cast Anthony Hopkins , Joan Allen , Powers Boothe , Ed Harris , Bob Hoskins , E.G. Marshall , David Paymer , David Hyde Pierce Runtime 192 Minutes

In 1995, Tony Goldwyn worked with director Oliver Stone on the historical biopic Nixon. The film tells the story of former United States President Richard Nixon, mostly following the years after the Watergate break-in and Nixon’s eventual resignation. Anthony Hopkins stars as Richard Nixon, and he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the movie. As for Goldwyn, he appears in the role of Harold Nixon, the President’s brother who dies of tuberculosis.

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This was Oliver Stone’s second movie about a U.S. President following JFK. While it could have been easy to make this a hit piece, Stone instead created a film that showed a complicated man and one that tried to understand why Nixon did what he did, which resulted in his disgraced legacy. The movie was a box office failure, but it still received four Oscar nominations and mostly favorable reviews. Goldwyn’s role was small but was still an important casting choice for the actor.

8 The Belko Experiment (2016)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Barry Norris

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The Belko Experiment RThrillerActionHorror

Written by James Gunn, produced by Peter Safran, and directed by Greg McLean, The Belko Experiment follows a group of eighty American workers who get trapped inside their office in Bogota, Colombia, and in an cruel social experiment, they are forced to kill each other. Despite not being directed by James Gunn, his frequent collaborators Sean Gunn and Michael Rooker appear in the film.

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*Availability in US Director Greg Mclean Release Date March 17, 2017 Cast Tony Goldwyn , Rusty Schwimmer , John Gallagher Jr. , Abraham Benrubi , Adria Arjona , Melonie Diaz , Josh Brener , Mikaela Hoover , Michael Rooker , David Dastmalchian , Owain Yeoman , John C. McGinley , David Del Rio , Sean Gunn , Brent Sexton Runtime 89minutes Expand

In 2016, Tony Goldwyn starred in the psychological horror thriller The Belko Experiment. The film has a nice lineage, as James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) wrote the script, and Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) directed it. The film follows 80 foreign workers in Colombia, with most foreigners being American. They work for a company called Belko Industries, but one day, they end up locked in the office building and are told they have to start killing each other, or they will all die.

The Belko Experiment then turns into a bloodbath, with the employees killing each other before they end up dead themselves. Tony Goldwyn stars as Barry Norris, the COO of Belko, who happens to be a former special forces soldier. Barry sets up a group that believes they need to start killing to save themselves, making him the ultimate antagonist of the horror thriller. The Belko Experiment received average reviews, with praise going to its genre conventions.

7 Plane (2023)

Tony Goldwyn Plays David Scarasdale

plane

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Plane RActionThriller

Plane is a 2023 action thriller starring Gerard Butler. Butler plays Brodie Torrance, a renowned pilot whose plane crashes into a war zone after getting stuck in a terrible storm. Mike Colter also stars in the film, whose character, Louis Gaspare, helps Brodie rescue the plane’s passengers from the ongoing war.

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*Availability in US Director Jean-François Richet Release Date January 13, 2023 Distributor(s) Lionsgate Cast Gerard Butler , Mike Colter , Yoson An , Tony Goldwyn , Daniella Pineda , Kelly Gale Runtime 107 minutes

In 2023, Tony Goldwyn starred as Scarsdale in the action thriller Plane. Gerard Butler leads the movie as protagonist Brodie Torrance, a former RAF pilot who flies a plane with 14 passengers, including a homicide suspect named Louis (Mike Colter). However, when Brodie takes a shortcut, lightning hits the plane, and he has to make an emergency landing. They end up on a rebel-controlled island, and authorities refuse to enter the island to save them. Louis and Brodie have to work together to survive.

Tony Goldwyn plays David Scarsdale, a crisis manager who hires a private military unit to try to find Brodie and Louis and extract them. The final battle of the film sees David and his team show up and a giant gunfight with the rebels plays out in the climax. Critics gave the film a 78% positive rating, praising it for its action-adventure and fun genre trappings. While a supporting actor, Goldwyn was able to match up with Colter and Butler to carry the load in the big final battle.

6 The Last Samurai (2003)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Colonel Bagley

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9/10 The Last Samurai RActionDrama

The Last Samurai is a historic epic directed by Edward Zwick, starring Tom Cruise as Captain Nathan Algren, a disillusioned American military officer who finds himself in Japan. Tasked with suppressing the Samurai rebellion, Algren is captured and ultimately assimilates into their way of life. In doing so, he gains profound insights into their culture and honor. The film explores themes of conflict, identity, and cultural transformation in late 19th-century Japan.

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*Availability in US Director Edward Zwick Release Date December 5, 2003 Cast Shin Koyamada , Ken Watanabe , Koyuki Kato , Tom Cruise , Tony Goldwyn Runtime 154 minutes

In 2003, Tony Goldwyn took on one of his biggest roles to date with the historical action movie The Last Samurai. Directed by Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond), The Last Samurai stars Tom Cruise as a former U.S. Army Captain named Nathan Algren who is asked to train the newly created Imperial Japanese Army in military combat to suppress a samurai-headed rebellion. However, what Nathan learns is that the samurai style might work well alongside his military training.

Tony Goldwyn stars as Colonel Bagley, the man who handpicks Nathan to go to Japan to train the Imperial Japanese Army. He is a minor antagonist in the film as a man who is amoral, ruthless, and dismissive of the samurai culture and fighting skills. He ends up as one of Nathan’s main rivals throughout the film and delivers a great performance as a villain. The Last Samurai earned four Oscar nominations, with one of them going to Ken Watanabe for Best Supporting Actor.

5 King Richard (2021)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Paul Cohen

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6.5/10 King Richard PG-13BiographyDramaSport

Based on the true story that will inspire the world, Warner Bros. Pictures’ King Richard follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever. Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard plans to take Venus and Serena Williams from the streets of Compton, California, to the global stage as legendary icons. 

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*Availability in US Director Reinaldo Marcus Green Release Date November 19, 2021 Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Cast Jon Bernthal , Saniyya Sidney , Aunjanue Ellis , Demi Singleton , Will Smith , Tony Goldwyn Runtime 138 minutes

King Richard was a 2021 film that told the story of Richard Williams, the father of tennis phenoms Serena and Venus Williams. Will Smith stars as Richard and impressed critics, earning an Oscar win for his role in the movie. While the movie tells the story of how the Williams sisters became the biggest tennis stars in the world, it was criticized as being more about their dad than it was about the actual world-famous athletes. Despite this, it still picked up six Oscar nominations.

Will Smith’s Oscar win for
King Richard
was overshadowed by him infamously slapping Chris Rock earlier in the ceremony.

Tony Goldwyn stars in the movie as Paul Cohen, a coach that Richard takes his daughters to. In real life, Cohen was a legitimate tennis coach, and when he first appeared in the movie, he was working with male tennis legends John McEnroe and Pete Sampras. He then agrees to train Venus but not Serena. Goldwyn’s Paul Cohen was an important part of the story, as he warns Richard not to pull them out of the junior circuit and push for moving into the pros.

4 Scandal (2012-2018)

Tony Goldwyn Plays President Fitzgerald Grant III

Scandal TV Poster

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Scandal Drama

Created by Shonda Rhimes, Scandal follows Olivia Pope, the head of a crisis management firm in Washington D.C., and her team of associates as they work to mitigate public relations fallouts for some of the biggest names in politics, including the President of the United States. The show stars Kerry Washington as Oliva Pope, with a further ensemble cast that includes Katie Lowes, Darby Stanchfield, Tony Goldwyn, and Bellamy Young. 

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*Availability in US Cast Kerry Washington , Tony Goldwyn , Scott Foley Release Date May 4, 2012 Seasons 7 Showrunner Shonda Rhimes

One of Tony Goldwyn’s biggest television roles came in 2012 when he joined the cast of Scandal. This is a political thriller series about press aide Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) who has to find a way to keep U.S. President Fitzgerald Grant III (Tony Goldwyn) out of trouble and free from any scandals. He is also the love interest of Pope in the series and wants to divorce his wife to be with her.

Rowan Pope, Cyrus Beene, Jake Ballard From Scandal Related Scandal Villains Ranked From Practically Harmless To Extremely Dangerous

From Jake Ballard to Olivia Pope’s own parents, Rowen and Maya, Scandal was filled to the brim with villains. But who was the most dangerous?

This makes him the biggest center of attention when it comes to the scandal that the series title indicates, as he started an affair with Olivia while he was on his campaign trail and has kept it hidden from the public. The TV series earned myriad award nominations, including a People’s Choice Award and Prism Award nomination for Goldwyn for his performance in the series as the U.S. President. Scandal lasted for seven seasons and 124 episodes.

3 Ghost (1990)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Carl Bruner

Ghost Movie Poster

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Ghost PG-13DramaFantasyMysteryRomanceThriller

Ghost is a romantic thriller directed by Jerry Zucker, featuring Patrick Swayze as Sam Wheat, a man who has been murdered and becomes a ghost in order to protect his girlfriend Molly Jensen, played by Demi Moore. With the assistance of a reluctant psychic named Oda Mae Brown, portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg, Sam attempts to uncover the truth behind his death and bring closure to his unfinished business.

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*Availability in US Director Jerry Zucker Release Date July 13, 1990 Studio(s) Paramount Cast Patrick swayze , Demi Moore , Tony Goldwyn , Stanley Lawrence , Christopher J. Keene , Susan Breslau Runtime 127 minutes

While Tony Goldwyn got his first role in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives as one of the camp counselors who Jason killed, his real breakout came four years later when he appeared in the supernatural romantic drama Ghost. Most people remember this film as the one where Patrick Swayze’s Sam Wheat dies at the hands of a mugger, but his ghost remains behind trying to help his widow Molly (Demi Moore) move on. Goldwyn stars in the film as Carl Bruner, Sam’s friend and co-worker.

However, Goldwyn’s role in Ghost is a lot more important than just being a friend to the lead character. As a ghost, Sam learns that the man who killed him was hired by Carl to steal his bank passwords and launder millions in drug money. Critics praised the film upon its release with a 76% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, with Whoopi Goldberg winning for Best Supporting Actress. Goldwyn also earned a Saturn Award nomination.

2 Law & Order (2024)

Tony Goldwyn Plays D.A. Nicholas Baxter

Law & Order

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10/10 Law & Order TV-14CrimeDramaMystery

The beginning of the long-running franchise Law & Order is a crime-drama series created by Dick Wolf and launched on NBC in 1990. The series follows the day-to-day lives of detectives and legal professionals in New York who are involved in apprehending and prosecuting dangerous criminals.

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*Availability in US Cast George Dzundza , Chris Noth , Dann Florek , Michael Moriarty , Richard Brooks , Steven Hill , Paul Sorvino , Carolyn McCormick , Jerry Orbach , S. Epatha Merkerson , Jill Hennessy , Sam Waterston , Benjamin Bratt , Carey Lowell , Angie Harmon , Jesse L. Martin , Dianne Wiest , Elisabeth Rohm Release Date September 13, 1990 Seasons 23 Showrunner Walon Green , Michael S. Chernuchin , René Balcer , William M. Finkelstein , Artuhr Penn , Barry Schindel , Nicholas Wootton , Rick Eid Main Genre Drama Expand

Tony Goldwyn’s history in the Law & Order franchise is a little complicated. He started out on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, where he played Frank Goren, the brother of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Robert Goren. He was only in four episodes, but he played a hugely important role, as he was mentally unstable, a condition that in the Goren family. However, he dies in the series, murdered by a criminal with a grudge against Robert. His death there allowed Goldwyn to take on a different role in the original Law & Order.

Starting in 2024, Goldwyn has played D.A. Nicholas Baxter, the man who replaced Jack McCoy in the position. Baxter has a rough relationship with the police as he seems to be more concerned with his political career and moving up the ladder than he is with doing the right thing in his court cases. He joined the cast in the 23rd season and continues with his role as the ADA in Law & Order season 24.

1 Oppenheimer (2024)

Tony Goldwyn Plays Gordon Gray

Oppenheimer Poster

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8.5/10 Oppenheimer RDramaHistoryBiography

Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

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*Availability in US Director Christopher Nolan Release Date July 21, 2023 Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Cast Cillian Murphy , Emily Blunt , Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. , Rami Malek , Florence Pugh Runtime 150 Minutes

The most significant movie Tony Goldwyn ever appeared in was the 2024 historical drama Oppenheimer. This was Christopher Nolan’s biopic about Robert Oppenheimer, one of the men who helped create the atomic bomb, which changed the trajectory of all future disputes and wars forever. Oppenheimer boasted an all-star cast, with several huge-name actors taking on roles of historical figures, all led by Cillian Murphy’s performance as Oppenheimer.

In the film, Tony Goldwyn played the role of Gordon Gray, an American attorney and government official during the administrations of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, dealing with defense and national security. In the film, he was part of the committee that decided on revoking Oppenheimer’s security clearance, one spearheaded by the antagonistic Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.). Oppenheimer won seven Oscars in 13 nominations and made $975 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo).