A lot of people seem to forget that, before he launched his career as a multimillion-dollar pop star by joining NSYNC, Justin Timberlake was a main cast member on The Mickey Mouse Club. His prior experience explains how the “SexyBack” singer and SNL Five Timer’s Club member has managed to earn a reputation as one of the best musicians-turned-actors of all time. To celebrate his success on the screen, we have compiled our picks for the best Justin Timberlake movies so far, along with how to watch them, below.
Alpha Dog (2006)
A young California drug dealer (Emilie Hirsch) and his friends abduct the teenage brother (Anton Yelchin) of a man who owes him money as part of a ransom scheme.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: One of Timberlake’s first major and acclaimed acting roles was Frankie Ballenbacher, who is tasked with minding the kidnapped Zach Mazursky in writer and director Nick Cassavetes’ Alpha Dog, which is inspired by a true crime.
Stream Alpha Dog on Starz.
Rent or buy Alpha Dog on Amazon.
Buy Alpha Dog on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Blake Snake Moan (2006)
A Tennessee bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson) finds a badly beaten young woman (Christina Ricci) outside his home, takes her in, and vows to give her the spiritual guidance he believes she needs.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Tennessee native Timberlake stars in writer and director Craig Brewer’s compelling drama, Black Snake Moan, as Ronnie — the estranged boyfriend of Ricci’s character.
Rent or buy Black Snake Moan on Amazon.
Buy Black Snake Moan on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Open Road (2009)
A former baseball player (Jeff Bridges) is forced to confront his flawed relationship with his son (Timberlake) while driving together to visit his ailing ex-wife (Mary Steenburgen).
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake has great chemistry with Academy Award winner Bridges in writer and director Michael Meredith’s underrated travel dramedy, The Open Road.
Stream The Open Road on Tubi.
Stream The Open Road on Pluto TV.
Stream The Open Road on Starz.
Rent or buy The Open Road on Amazon.
Buy The Open Road on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Social Network (2010)
After his social networking site skyrockets in popularity, Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg) faces legal action from his former best friend and business partner Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) and the Winklevoss Twins (Armie Hammer), who claim he stole their idea.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Arguably Timberlake’s best movie yet is co-writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher’s sharp, biting, Oscar-winning dramatization (and indictment) of the rise of Facebook, The Social Network, in which he plays Napster co-founder Sean Parker.
Stream The Social Network on Max.
Rent or buy The Social Network on Amazon.
Buy The Social Network on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Bad Teacher (2011)
A middle school teacher (Cameron Diaz) decides to abandon her aimless, sleazy ways and become a more deserving role model and educator for her students.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: What motivates Diaz’s character to step up her game in the educational world in director Jake Kasdan’s raunchy comedy, Bad Teacher, is the arrival of a new, committed school staff member whom she finds attractive, played by Timberlake.
Rent or buy Bad Teacher on Amazon.
Buy Bad Teacher on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Friends With Benefits (2011)
A friendship between a New York City head hunter (Mila Kunis) and her new client, an LA-based art director (Timberlake), gets complicated when they decide start occasionally have sex.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Co-writer and director Will Gluck’s Friends with Benefits is a romantic-comedy movie better than you might remember for how it cleverly acknowledges and mocks the clichés typically associated with stories about platonic relationships becoming more.
Rent or buy Friends with Benefits on Amazon.
Buy Friends with Benefits on Blu-ray on Amazon.
In Time (2011)
In a world where time is literally money, a poor man (Timberlake) is forced to go on the run after being falsely accused of murdering a mysterious man who gave him all the time he had left.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake gave being an action hero a try as the lead of In Time — a dystopian sci-fi thriller with a unique and thought-provoking premise from writer and director Andrew Niccol.
Rent or buy In Time on Amazon.
Buy In Time on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
An inside look at the increasingly troubling life of a struggling musician (Oscar Isaac) in the early 1960s.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake puts his musical talents to great use for his brief, but memorable, role in Inside Llewyn Davis — Joel and Ethan Coen’s beautiful and hilarious love letter to the Greenwich folk scene — as a more successful artist named Jim.
Stream Inside Llewyn Davis on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy Inside Llewyn Davis on Amazon.
Buy Inside Llewyn Davis on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
A documentary crew chronicles the rise and fall of a boy band member-turned-solo rap artist (played by co-writer Andy Samberg).
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake has utilized both his musical and comedic talents brilliantly in his collaborations with The Lonely Island, including in his uncredited role in the vastly underrated music mockumentary, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, as Conner4Real’s personal chef, Tyrus Quash.
Stream Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Amazon.
Buy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Trolls Movies (2016-2023)
The adventures of a happy troll (voiced by Anna Kendrick) and her more cynical companion (Timberlake).
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Another role that sees Timberlake combining his musical and comedic talents is Branch, whom he originated in 2016’s Trolls (for which also wrote the Oscar-nominated song, “Can’t Stop the Feeling”) and reprised in 2020 for Trolls World Tour and in 2023’s Trolls Band Together, for which he cut a new single with NSYNC.
Stream Trolls on Netflix.
Rent or buy Trolls World Tour on Amazon.
Stream Trolls Band Together on Peacock.
Buy the Trolls movies on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Palmer (2021)
A recently released convict (Timberlake) forms a close bond with a young child (Ryder Allen) struggling with bullies and a troublesome life at home.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake gives a performance unlike any he has ever given in a role unlike any he has ever played in Palmer — an Apple TV+ original movie from director Fisher Stevens.
Reptile (2023)
A perplexing homicide case begins to take a personal toll on a veteran New England detective (Academy Award winner Benicio del Toro).
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake stars as the boyfriend of a brutally murdered woman who also becomes a suspect of the crime, in Reptile — a Netflix original movie from director Grant Singer.
In 2024, Justin Timberlake released his sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was, and it was announced in 2021 that he will play Chuck Barris in a series inspired by the Gong Show host’s fictionalized memoir, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Until then, enjoy these flicks!
