There’s no good reason why Aaron Eckhart shouldn’t have become a massive movie star by this point in his career. Despite working alongside some of the industry’s finest filmmakers and appearing in some of the most culturally significant films of the 21st century, Eckhart has had to settle for mostly leading independent genre films, with a few supporting turns in major blockbusters.
The quality of a film should not determine an actor’s value, and Eckhart is one of the most consistently underrated actors working today. Here are the top eight best Aaron Eckhart movies, ranked.
8 'Olympus Has Fallen' (2013)
Of the two “Die Hard in The White House” movies that were released in 2013, Olympus Has Fallen was certainly the more entertaining. If Roland Emmerich’s White House Down opted to go down the route of CGI overload, Olympus Has Fallen served as a great two-hander between Eckhart and Gerard Butler as President Benjamin Archer and Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, respectively.
The genuinely great chemistry between Eckhart and Butler and old-fashioned stylism of director Antoine Fuqua made Olympus Has Fallen feel like it was lifted right from the heights of 1990s action glory.
7 'Sully' (2016)
Some critics have taken aim at Clint Eastwood’s 21st century work as a director as overtly political and inflammatory, but his 2016 biopic Sully is simply a genuine tribute to a group of real men who performed a heroic task under extraordinary circumstances.
Based on the shocking true story, Sully follows the US Airways pilots Captain Sully Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) and First Officer Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) in the aftermath of landing a packed passenger flight on the Hudson river. Eckhart’s riveting depiction of post traumatic stress disorder made him worthy of sharing the screen with Hanks.
6 'Bleed For This' (2016)
While Bleed for This does adhere to many of the cliches that come with typical biopics, it’s worth seeking out for the incredible performances at its center. It may have been Miles Teller who nabbed the most attention for his transformative physical performance as the former world champion boxer Vinny Pazienza, but it's Eckhart’s role as Vinny’s trainer Kevin Rooney that gives the film its inspirational quality.
Rooney begrudgingly agrees to help Vinny train for another competition after a serious car accident leaves him critically injured with little hope of recovering fully anytime soon.
5 'Erin Brockovich' (2000)
Julia Roberts won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as the titular single mom turned lawyer in Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brokovich. The story of a modest woman who took down a major corrupt corporation institution would be inspiring in its own right, but its even more empowering thanks to Roberts’ down-to-Earth qualities.
Among the reasons why Erin’s story felt so unique were the many supposedly “ordinary” people in her life who ended up performing “extraordinary” tasks in extreme circumstances; chief among them is her quirky motorcyclist boyfriend, George (Eckhart).
4 'Rabbit Hole' (2010)
There aren’t many modern films that have tackled the grief that comes with losing a child as unflinchingly as Rabbit Hole, and it is by no means an easy watch. That being said, those that can stomach the intensely emotional material should make it a priority to check out John Cameron Mitchell’s criminally underrated 2010 drama.
While Nicole Kidman earned an Oscar nomination for her devastating performance as the grieving mother Becca Corbett, Eckhart was sadly left out of the award season conversation for his equally gripping work as her husband, Howie.
3 'Thank You For Smoking' (2005)
Thank You For Smoking isn’t just the funniest (and darkest) film of director Jason Reitman’s career, but also the most politically relevant to today’s headlines. Eckhart stars as the Big Tobacco salesman Nick Naylor, who seemingly takes no personal issue with the fact that he’s selling dangerous products and spreading them like wildfire.
Naylor is a character that’s not dissimilar to The Wolf of Wall Street’s Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio); he would be so easy to hate for all that he represents and the danger he poses to society if it wasn’t for the charismatic performance by Eckhart at the center of the film.
2 'In the Company of Men' (1997)
Eckhart collaborated with the playwright turned filmmaker Neil LaBute on several films, but 1997’s In the Company of Men easily stands as the best of their collaborative efforts. The social drama follows the story of two disgruntled office workers, Chad (Eckhart) and Howard (Matt Malloy), who upon their recent breakups decide to take revenge on all women by tormenting one of their female coworkers with a cruel game.
The performance that Eckhart gives is far more terrifying than anything else he’s ever done; his depiction of toxic masculinity is spookily reminiscent of the Internet trolls of today.
1 'The Dark Knight' (2008)
The Dark Knight is rightfully regarded as the greatest superhero movie of all-time, but of all the performances in the film, Eckhart’s stunning work as the Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent tends to get overlooked in comparison to Heath Ledger’s culturally resetting performance as the Joker and Christian Bale’s most emotional depiction of Bruce Wayne.
However, it’s Eckahrt who is most essential to the message of Christopher Nolan’s masterful epic. Dent’s fall from grace begs the most important question of the story; what is every good man’s breaking point?