The silver screen is a faithful and loyal servant to a good biographical film; the genre is undisputedly the darling of both the Academy Awards and Tinsel Town, with over a dozen biographical dramas winning Best Picture and numerous actors winning for their portrayals of real-life historical figures. Biopics are a tried and true style of movie-making that are more often than not slam dunks with both the box office and critics alike. Despite the genre being brought to the big screen more frequently in recent years, their effectiveness and impact remains consistent.
Update August 8, 2023: In honor of the release of Oppenheimer, this list has been updated by Callum Jones with even more great biopics.
Whether depicting the life of an esteemed physicist, Wild West outlaws, or even United States President Abraham Lincoln himself, biopics are the cream of the crop in Hollywood cinema. Many of these films helped skyrocket the careers of both their directors and their actors, serving as stepping stones in their lucrative and successful careers. These are some of the best biopics ever made.
15 Chaplin
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Depicting the fascinating life of worldwide film icon Charlie Chaplin, 1992’s Richard Attenborough biopic Chaplin stars Robert Downey Jr. as “The Little Tramp” in a searing performance. The film features an elderly Chaplin as he recollects his incredible life journey for his autobiography, from his poverty-stricken roots to worldwide success. With a talented supporting cast including Dan Aykroyd, Marissa Tomei, and even Chaplin’s real life daughter Geraldine Chaplin, the movie was released on the fifteenth anniversary of the beloved star’s death.
Despite mixed reviews for the biopic itself, Downey Jr.’s performance was lauded and garnered critical acclaim. It is arguably his finest role to date and won him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor, along with an Academy Award nomination. The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Downey becomes Chaplin, re-creating his character and his chilly soul so precisely that even the comedian’s daughter Geraldine, a featured player here, was both impressed and unnerved.”
14 The Theory of Everything
2014’s critically acclaimed biopic The Theory of Everything is a poignant portrayal of the relationship between renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife, Jane. The film was adapted from Jane Hawking’s 2007 memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, and she provided input and insight for the script. The Theory of Everything stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as the famous couple, with the former spending six months researching Hawking’s life and mastering his accent and speech patterns. The biopic was a massive hit both commercially and critically, with Redmayne specifically receiving immense praise and winning the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Leading Actor.
13 Walk the Line
Telling the story of famous American country musician Johnny Cash, James Mangold's 2005 biopic, Walk the Line, sees Joaquin Phoenix take on the role of the "Ring of Fire" singer. The film uses two of Cash's autobiographies as the basis for the script - 1975's Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words and 1997's Cash: The Autobiography - and details the late singer-songwriter's rise to fame, his two marriages, and his addiction to drugs.
Co-starring Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Robert Patrick, the movie was a box office hit and gained rave reviews from critics. It also earned five Academy Award nominations, with Phoenix taking home the award for Best Actor. Indeed, though the film, in general, is solid, like many biopics, it's the performance of the leading man that makes Walk the Line truly great. Phoenix completely transforms into Cash, even managing to expertly imitate the singer's infamous voice. It is a subtle yet charismatic performance that stands out as among the best of the Phoenix's career.
12 The Elephant Man
1980's The Elephant Man tells the real-life story of an English man, Joseph Merrick, who adopted the cruel nickname "The Elephant Man" owing to his severe facial deformities as a result of a rare genetic disease. Set in Victorian London, the film portrays the friendship between Merrick (played by John Hurt) and Frederick Treves, a surgeon who rescues Merrick from a freak show and who sees the disfigured man for the kind-hearted and intelligent person he truly is.
Directed by David Lynch, the film garnered critical acclaim upon its release and went on to receive eight Academy Award nominations at the 53rd annual ceremony. Hurt's performance, in particular, was lauded by critics, with Vincent Canby of The New York Timescalling his portrayal "Truly remarkable". The Elephant Man ahaunting yet beautifully moving tale of compassion, acceptance, and seeing beyond another's appearance.
11 Straight Outta Compton
When it was released in cinemas in 2015, F. Gary Gray's Straight Outta Compton almost instantly became a financial success and a modern-day classic. Set in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, the film revolves around the formation and break-up of hip hop group N.W.A, whose members consisted of rappers Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Titled after the group's debut album, it depicts their early success in the music industry, their rise to mainstream popularity, and the feuds, disputes, violence, and deaths that surronded the group.
Straight Outta Compton is different from your average musical biopic. In fact, it's better. With N.W.A members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre serving as producers, along with Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, the film is raw, honest, and provocative, and doesn't shy away from the more unpleasant aspects of hip-hop culture. Ultimately, though, it is acted and superbly directed celebration of the genre.
10 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Starring two of Hollywood’s most talented and revered actors, Paul Newman and Robert Redford, 1969’s American western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was initially met with a mixed response but, over time has become a distinguished classic. Loosely based on Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) and Harry Longabaugh (the “Sundance Kid”), it features the infamous duo on the run from a crack US posse after an extensive string of train robberies. Numerous A-list actors were initially tied to the picture, such as Jack Lemmon, Warren Beatty, and Steve McQueen, but it was Newman and Redford who nabbed the roles and dished up iconic performances as the American legends.
9 Oppenheimer
Acclaimed director, Christopher Nolan, is no stranger to taking on films that deal with real-life figures or events. After all, he previously directed 2017's Dunkirk, which told the story of the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II, as well as 2006's The Prestige that, although largely a fictional story, featured real-life inventor Nikola Tesla, among its main characters. 2023's Oppenheimer, however, can be classed as Nolan's first true biopic.
Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film depicts the life and career of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy) - the inventor of the nuclear bomb. Told across several different timeframes in a non-linear style, it follows the titular character's early life in academia, his recruitment to the Manhattan Project and the development of the nuclear bomb, the bomb's use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and subsequent hearings that see Oppenheimer accused of communist sympathies.
A three-hour R-rated biopic about the father of the nuclear bomb should've been alienating to a general audience. However, with Nolan's attachment, an all-star cast, rave reviews, and its link to the social media phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer," Oppenheimer has become one of the highest-grossing biopics ever. Fortunately, it lives up to the hype.
8 Gandhi
Detailing the life of the lawyer who would go on to become the famed leader of the nonviolent revolts against British rule, 1982’s Gandhi stars Ben Kingsley in the titular role. The biopic focuses on Mahatma Gandhi’s life from a defining moment in 1893, in which he was thrown off a South African train for being in a whites-only compartment. The film concludes with his tragic assassination and subsequent funeral in 1948.
The stunning picture was praised for its historical accuracy upon its release, as was Kingsley's outstanding performance and production values. It received 11 Academy Award nominations and won eight, including Best Actor (for Kingsley), Best Picture, and Best Director. Gandhi is a deeply moving and enlightening epic that features an emotionally driven performance by Ben Kingsley and beautifully depicts the civil rights leader’s riveting life.
7 The Social Network
When David Fincher's The Social Network was released in 2010, the social media platform, Facebook, had only been around for six years. In that time, the website had amassed an impressive 500 million global users and had become the third-largest web company in the US. A film that documented the company's meteoric rise was, therefore, a no-brainer. With a script by Aaron Sorkin, the movie depicts Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), who initially develops a website called "Facemash" that allows users to rate the attractiveness of female students on campus. This soon grows in popularity, spreading to other colleges and attracting the attention of wealthy investors.
The Social Network is a gripping story that is surprisingly small and contained, given the scale of its subject matter. Though a few artistic liberties were clearly taken, Fincher's direction, Sorkin's script, and Eisenberg's lead performance ensure the film is an expertly crafted and entertaining one, even if it's not always historically accurate. And with an Academy Award-winning score by Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network is undoubtedly one of the best biopics of the twenty-first century that still has a lot of relevance today.
6 Malcolm X
Spike Lee’s epic biography Malcolm X portrays the life of the controversial and highly influential Black Nationalist leader, from his beginnings as a small-time gangster to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam. The dynamic Denzel Washington stars as the infamous African-American activist and features the additional talent of Hollywood greats Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, and Al Freeman Jr.
Spike Lee told The New York Times that he never envisioned any other actor in the lead role, saying that Denzel “really captured Malcolm” in his Off-Broadway portrayal of him. Largely based on the 1965 book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, the film earned rave reviews, with famed critic Roger Ebert raving that the biopic was “one of the great screen biographies, celebrating the sweep of an American life that bottomed out in prison before its hero reinvented himself.”
5 Lincoln
Heavily regarded as one of the most diverse and gifted actors of all time, Daniel Day-Lewis added another feather to his impressive cap when he starred as United States President Abraham Lincoln. Known famously for his method acting approach, Day-Lewis spent a year preparing for the role, reading over 100 books on Lincoln and speaking in his voice throughout the entire shoot. The dynamic star teamed up with renowned director Stephen Spielberg for Lincoln,which was lauded upon its release, with Day-Lewis and Field garnering particular praise. The actor’s dignified and regal portrayal of the 16th president was impressive and inspiring, and he would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
4 Goodfellas
Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece biographical crime film Goodfellas narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill, covering his relationship to wife Karen Hill and his ill-fated ties with mob partners Tommy DeVito and Jimmy Conway. Some of the silver screen’s finest stars headline the film, with Ray Liotta portraying Henry Hill, Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito, and Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway.
Depicting 25 years of the mobster’s life from 1955 to 1980, Goodfellas is jam-packed full of suspense, degradation, and intense violence that is critical to the authenticity of the biopic. The powerful performances of its talented cast and Scorsese’s masterful storytelling and directing were celebrated, and Goodfellas is heavily regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.
3 Raging Bull
The biographical sports drama Raging Bull is another Martin Scorsese knockout that is considered the gifted director’s magnum opus. The classic film depicts the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, an Italian-American middleweight whose temper and violence led him to extreme success in the ring but destroyed his life outside it. Robert De Niro iconically leads the drama as LaMotta, and trained extensively with the real-life boxer in preparation for the role.
Frequent future Scorsese collaborator Joe Pesci co-stars as Jake’s younger brother and manager Joey LaMotta; Pesci, at the time, was a struggling actor and was scouted by De Niro himself. Raging Bull debuted to an initial lukewarm response, mostly due to its violent content. Despite such a reception, De Niro’s performance garnered widespread acclaim, and he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
2 Schindler’s List
Steven Spielberg’s heart-wrenching 1993 historical drama Schindler’s List is based on the Thomas Keneally novel Schindler’s Ark and follows German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who helped save more than a thousand manly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust. Spielberg approached Schindler’s List as a documentary and shot the film in black and white, despite his reservations on whether he was mature enough to create such a picture. The esteemed director famously forwent a salary for the project, declaring it “blood money.” Liam Neeson took on the lead role of Oskar Schindler and was cast in part because he was a relative unknown; Spielberg did not want an actor’s star quality to overpower the character.
Schindler’s List received universal critical acclaim with its atmosphere, directing, performances and tone heralded. It was the recipient of seven Academy Awards and is considered one of the best films in cinema history, with The New Yorker calling it a picture that “will take its place in cultural history and remain there.”
1 Lawrence of Arabia
The 1962 epic British historical drama Lawrence of Arabia details the life of T.E. Lawrence, an English officer who triumphantly united and led the often tumultuous Arab tribes during World War I. Acting great Peter O’Toole stars as Lawrence, and the film stunningly depicts his emotional struggles with the violence of war and his conflicted allegiance with his home of Britain and his Arabian comrades. Lawrence of Arabia was an adored phenomenon among critics and viewers alike, with its screenplay, visuals, and performance by O’Toole all lauded.
The groundbreaking biopic is considered a cinematic masterpiece and rightfully won seven Academy Awards. It is regarded as one of the most influential films ever crafted, with O’Toole’s portrayal touted as one of the finest in all cinema history, perfectly tapping into what makes a biographical performance great.
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