Paul Atreides' Story May Never Be Finished, Despite Denis Villeneuve's Dune 3 Plans (& That's OK) Summary Joey King's diverse range of acting credits includes comedies, thrillers, comic book adaptations, and more. Despite brief roles like Talia Al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises, King's impactful performances make her stand out. Check out King's standout performances in films like Slender Man, White House Down, and The Act for a glimpse at her versatility.
Despite being only 24 years old, Joey King currently has 73 acting credits to her name. She has appeared in a wide array of genres on both TV and on the big screen, including comedies, psychological thrillers, comic book adaptations, rom-coms, and more. King's most famous characters may well be her recurring role in The Kissing Booth franchise, but her range is better explored in a number of other performances, many of which are based on true stories.
King has been in feature films, miniseries, indie films, shorts, TV series, and multiple Taylor Swift music videos, and she's just getting started. However, even though Joey King's acting career is in its relative infancy, she still has many impressive projects worthy of recognition. With so much acting likely still ahead of her, here's a look at 10 unmissable performances that have marked her career so far.
10 The Dark Knight Rises King Plays Talia Al Ghul In A Brief Flashback Scene The Dark Knight Rises 13+ActionSuperheroDramaThrillerCrime Sci-Fi
The Dark Knight Rises is the final chapter in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, with Christian Bale donning the cape and cowl once more to save Gotham City from certain destruction. Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Batman has left the public eye after taking the fall for the crimes committed by a twisted Harvey Dent. However, he is called back into action when a mysterious villain named Bane arrives to bring disorder to Gotham, forcing him to confront deeper, darker recesses of his past to be able to face a challenge he may not be ready for.
Director Christopher Nolan Release Date August 16, 2012 Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Writers Christopher Nolan , Jonathan Nolan Cast Christian Bale , Anne Hathaway , Michael Caine , Gary Oldman Runtime 2h 45m Franchise(s) Batman Sequel(s) Batman Begins prequel(s) The Dark Knight Budget 250 million USD Expand
It is not much of a role to speak of, given that her time on-screen measures out to less than 30 seconds, but Joey King's character's importance to the narrative of the film lands The Dark Knight Rises in the number 10 spot. She plays the child version of Marion Cotillard's Talia al Ghul, the mastermind behind the film's takedown of Gotham City, alongside the indomitable Bane, played by Tom Hardy.
Joey King's role in The Dark Knight Rises was one of her first; she was just 12 years old at the time of filming. Despite not saying a word throughout her entire appearance in the film, her performance is impactful, and it stands out as one of the more memorable flashback scenes in the entirety of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. The shot selection and intentionally limited screen time help make the moment an important one.
9 Slender Man King Plays Wren In This Horror Adaptation Slender Man PG-13 Where to Watch
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Director Sylvain White Release Date August 10, 2018 Cast Jaz Sinclair , Javier Botet , Julia Goldani Telles , Joey King , Annalise Basso Runtime 100minutes
While Slender Man may have garnered plenty of negative reviews, King's performance as a terrified teen struggling against forces beyond her control is noteworthy. Wren is one of the few good characters in the film, and King is quite believable as a victim. She fully commits to the role, and her willingness to play the part makes this one of her best performances.
Joey King's horror film acting ability was certainly noticed during her performance in The Conjuring, which kickstarted her acting career and helped broaden her range and her ability to play characters who stand out; she's anything but a static character in Slender Man. As the film progresses, Wren's stability and reliability regress, which is a testament to King's casting in the film. Joey King makes Slender Man into something passable.
Close 8 White House Down King Plays Emily Cale in This Fun Action Romp White House Down PG-13Thriller
While divorced veteran John Cale is taking his daughter on a guided tour of the White House, a terrorist attack is made on the building. Soon, it's up to Cale to save both his daughter, and the President of the United States himself.
Director Roland Emmerich Release Date June 27, 2013 Studio(s) Sony Distributor(s) Sony Writers James Vanderbilt Cast Channing Tatum , Jamie Foxx , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Jason Clarke , Richard Jenkins , James Woods , Joey King Runtime 131 minutes Sequel(s) Olympus Has Fallen , London Has Fallen Budget $150 million Expand
White House Down struggled to compete with Olympus Has Fallen, which came out in the same year and featured a strikingly similar premise. Olympus Has Fallen spawned two sequels, while White House Down never received a second installment. It's a shame, though, because in a different release window reality, the reverse could have been true. As a result, King wasn't given the chance to grow alongside her character, Emily, in the film.
Her performance in White House Down was strong, though, given that it's a small, secondary part: playing John Cale's (Channing Tatum's) daughter. Her role in the film is to provide a grounded, stake-setting narrative motivation for her father, a prospective Secret Service agent forced into the role of protecting the president during a terrorist attack. Emily Cale is kidnapped, so she is absent from much of the action in the film, but her resillience and charm make this a memorable milestone in Joey King's career.
Close 7 Ramona And Beezus King Plays Ramona Quimby In This Adaptation Of Beverley Cleary's Beloved Story Ramona and Beezus Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum Release Date July 23, 2010 Runtime 1h 43m
Ramona and Beezus is the film that put Joey King on the map, and it remains one of her most memorable and beloved roles. As the titular Ramona, she stirs up loveable trouble and drives the film forward. Starring alongside Selena Gomez in this adaptation of Beverley Cleary's cherished works, King charms and delights as Ramona. This is her biggest early acting credit, introducing her to the mainstream viewing public for the first time.
King's first major foray into the spotlight - as the focal point of this movie - helped present her as a genuine Hollywood name, and she's utilized that to expand into genres and formats as varied as can be. King is perfectly cast in this role and, alongside Selena Gomez, makes this comedy film a must-see for families and film lovers alike.
6 Bullet Train King Plays "The Prince", The Conniving String-Puller Bullet Train Not Yet RatedThrillerAction
Packing a stellar cast with the likes of Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Zazie Beetz, David Leitch's Bullet Train tells the story of an assassin for hire who bumps into multiple dangerous criminals aboard a high-speed Shinkansen trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. The 2022 action comedy is an adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's novel "Maria Beetle".
Director David Leitch Release Date July 29, 2022 Studio(s) Sony Distributor(s) Sony Writers Zak Olkewicz Cast logan lerman , Karen Fukuhara , Hiroyuki Sanada , Joey King , Brian Tyree Henry , Andrew Koji , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Masi Oka , Brad Pitt , Zazie Beetz , Michael Shannon , Sandra Bullock Runtime 126 minutes Budget 87 million Expand
Bullet Train is one of the best ensemble action films in recent memory, and its unsurprising that the impressive Bullet Train cast would want to include Joey King. Her stature and demeanor: picture-perfect for a seemingly-timid, scared, and innocent girl. Her acting prowess: excellent for a secretly-plotting, vindictive, and truth-twisting plotter.
King stands out in this ensemble action/comedy flick despite sharing the spotlight with a dozen other notable actors. Her character, "The Prince," spends most of the film putting on an act of her own, so King does double duty, acting while acting, and fooling the other characters into believing she's the victim, not one of the people manipulating events. In spite of sharing screen time with some arguably more famous A-list stars, she holds her own.
5 Fargo King Plays Greta Grimly In The First Two Seasons Fargo TV-MAAnthologyCrimeDramaComedyThriller
Fargo is a Black Comedy Crime Drama television series that is based on the film of the same name, which was originally created by the Coen Brothers. The TV adaptation was developed by Noah Hawley and follows an anthology format for each of its seasons, taking place in a different time period or location within the "Fargo" universe. So far, the series has seen big-name stars like Billy Bob Thornton, Ewan McGregor, Chris Rock, and Kirsten Dunst.
Cast Billy Bob Thornton , Allison Tolman , Martin Freeman , Kirsten Dunst , Patrick Wilson , Jesse Plemons , Ewan McGregor , Carrie Coon , Chris Rock , Jessie Buckley , Jason Schwartzman , Juno Temple , Jon Hamm Release Date April 15, 2014 Seasons 5 Network FX Streaming Service(s) Hulu Franchise(s) Fargo Writers Noah Hawley Showrunner Noah Hawley Expand
The 52-time nominated and six-time Emmy winning hit anthology series Fargo has had its fair share of stars come through in its five seasons. Accordingly, certain performances can get lost in the weeds. Nevertheless, King's remains memorable, despite being in her early teens when her character, Greta, featured in the show.
She portrays the daughter of Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), who is one of the main protagonists of the show's inaugural season. Both Hanks and King briefly reprise their roles in the second season, which shifted to a different narrative focus and a different cast of characters. King has often been presented to audiences as a secondary character, but she's succeeded, in large part because of roles like this one, in carving out a name for herself as a great actor in her own right.
4 Radium Girls King Plays Bessie Cavallo In This Film Based on True Events
Radium Girls, despite some mixed reviews, is an important movie: it tells an important, cautionary story that condemns the practice of prioritizing profit over people. While the characters in the film, including King's character, Bessie Cavallo, are fictitious, the "radium girls" were very much real, and their stories are riddled with tragedy and misfortune.
King, keeping with many of her other roles, portrays someone who has a dynamic character shift, seen developing as the film progresses. In Radium Girls, she takes Cavallo from a pitiable individual to someone who enacts and inspires radical change, and her work is both believable and emotional. This film - and Joey King's commendable work within it - deserve a better outlook, just like the radium girls themselves.
3 The Act King Plays Gypsy Blanchard In This True Crime Story The Act TV-MACrime
The Act is a true-crime anthology series that delves into the disturbing real-life cases behind headline-grabbing stories. The show's first season focuses on the toxic relationship between Dee Dee Blanchard and her daughter, Gypsy Rose, revealing a complex web of deception, abuse, and ultimately, murder. Starring Patricia Arquette and Joey King, the series explores themes of manipulation and the lengths to which individuals will go to escape their circumstances.
Cast Patricia Arquette , Joey King , AnnaSophia Robb , Chloe Sevigny , Calum Worthy , Denitra Isler , Rachel Ticotin , Steve Coulter Release Date March 20, 2019 Main Genre Biography
King has been involved in numerous adaptations of real-life events, and perhaps none is more jarring than her performance as Gypsy Blanchard in the true crime telling of the horrors of Munchausen by proxy (MSP). This behavioral disorder is one that impacts a caretaker, in this case, Gypsy's mother Dee Dee, who makes - and keeps - Blanchard sick. This triggers a response, and it allows them to perpetually garner sympathy and admiration, despite being the cause of the issues that they supposedly treat.
(Gypsy Blanchard's) Her change from scared victim to scarred killer is not something every actor could pull off.
King's narrative arc, based on the real-life Gypsy Blanchard, is as chilling as it is cautionary. Her change from scared victim to scarred killer is not something every actor could pull off. However, as a sympathetic and slightly terrifying presence throughout the drama King manages to do so.
For her portrayal of Gypsy Blanchard, Joey King was nominated for best actress at The Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and the Satellite Awards.
2 We Were the Lucky Ones King Plays Halina Kurc In This True Story Set During World War II We Were the Lucky Ones TV-MADrama
Based on the novel by Georgia Hunter, We Were the Lucky Ones is a 2024 drama-history television series created for Hulu by Erica Lipez. The film follows a Polish Jewish family who try to find one another decades after the aftermath of World War II.
Cast Joey King , logan lerman , Henry Lloyd-Hughes , Amit Rahav , Hadas Yaron , Sam Woolf , Michael Aloni Release Date March 28, 2024 Seasons 1 Writers Erica Lipez Directors THomas Kail Creator(s) Erica Lipez Where To Watch Hulu Expand
In one of her most recent roles - as Halina Kurc in We Were the Lucky Ones - Joey King once again embodies a person who actually lived and brings their tale to life. Halina Kurc, born in 1917 in Poland, grew up as nazism grew and expanded throughout Germany, and, ultimately, nearly half of Europe.
The film, based on the 2017 Georgia Hunter novel of the same name, centers on the Kurc family's adversity, both internally and externally, as they navigated a world that cast them aside and persecuted them as inferior. This is no easy task for any actor, but King plays Halina Kurc with dignity and reverence. Alongside Logan Lerman (Addy Kurc), King brings an important tale to life; they both perform admirably, and the miniseries quickly garnered high praise.
1 The Conjuring King Plays Christine In This Modern Classic Horror Film The Conjuring RMysteryThrillerHorror
Based on the real-life case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring chronicles the haunting of the Perron family after moving into a Rhode Island farmhouse. The film went on to kickstart the Conjuring franchise, a series of supernatural horror films.
Director James Wan Release Date July 19, 2013 Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Writers Chad Hayes , Carey W. Hayes Cast Joey King , Vera Farmiga , Lili Taylor , Patrick Wilson , Ron Livingston Runtime 112 minutes Franchise(s) The Conjuring Sequel(s) The Conjuring 2 , The Conjuring 3 Budget $20 million Expand
Three years after her breakout role in Ramona and Beezus, Joey King shifts from a lovable scamp to a tormented child in The Conjuring. In one of the most recognizable moments of her career so far, King steals the spotlight with a terror-induced, blood-freezing scream that is scary to watch, even with the lights on.
Because of her commitment to the role of Christine, King has reaped acclaim and a career as an actor. It's safe to say that no single role - and no single moment - has been as pivotal to her career as The Cojuring. It's easy to forget that, as a child actor, the negative mental impacts of a film like The Conjuring have the potential to leave legitimate, damaging effects, long-term. Joey King, however, has been in five horror films in her young career, so she clearly has a knack for it.
Joey King's horror films not featured in this list include Wish Upon , Quarantine , and The Lie
