From Junebug and Enchanted to Doubt and Arrival, Here Are Amy Adams' 15 Best Roles in Movies and TV
Amy Adams has graced the screen in a number of productions, from The Office to the upcoming Netflix thriller The Woman in the Window. Here’s a sampling of some of the most memorable characters Adams has played in her two-decade movie career.
Related: Amy Adams on Anxiety, Finding Contentment and Her New Netflix Thriller, The Woman in the Window
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
This crime caper based on a true story landed Adams on the map playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio’s con-artist leading man, as his wide-eyed Southern-nurse girlfriend Brenda Strong.
Junebug (2005)
She earned her first Academy Award nomination for her supporting role as delightfully naïve small-town girl Ashley, navigating her pregnancy and marriage.
Enchanted (2007)
The live-action/animated Disney musical features Adams as Giselle, an innocent animated fairy-tale princess-to-be, seeking her prince (Patrick Dempsey) in New York City.
Doubt (2008)
This drama based on the Tony-winning Broadway play starred Adams and Meryl Streep as nuns who confront their parish priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman), whom they believe may have engaged in sexual misconduct. Adams, Streep, Seymour Hoffman and fellow actor Viola Davis were all nominated for Oscars.
Sunshine Cleaning (2008)
Adams and Emily Blunt were on the cusp of stardom when they starred in this charming indie as sisters who start a crime-scene cleanup company.
Julie & Julia (2009)
Sony Pictures Releasing
This popular hit written and directed by Nora Ephron features Adams playing real-life blogger Julie Powell, who set out to cook every one of Julia Child’s 524 cookbook recipes in 365 days; Meryl Streep plays the famous chef.
The Fighter (2010)
Adams was nominated for an Academy Award her role opposite Mark Wahlberg in this fight drama based on a true story.
The Master (2012)
In another Oscar-nominated role, she played the wife of a charismatic religious movement portrayed by leader Philip Seymour Hoffman in this psychological drama.
Man of Steel (2013)
Entering the DC comic book universe, she was honored to play the iconic comic book character Lois Lane, a newspaper reporter for The Daily Planet and Superman’s earthly girlfriend—a role she reprised in two more films.
American Hustle (2013)
Adams struggled on the set of this true-crime black comedy with famously temperamental director David O. Russell while filming the part of Sydney Prosser, the con-artist girlfriend of Christian Bale’s character. But it led to her fifth Academy Award nomination.
Arrival (2016)
When alien space vehicles arrive on Earth, linguistics expert Louise Banks (Adams) is hired by the military to decipher their messages in this gripping sci-fi mind-scrambler that earned eight Oscar nominations.
NocturnalAnimals (2016)
Focus Features
In one of her darkest, twistiest roles to date, she stars in as Susan Morrow, a rich art gallery owner who is haunted by the eerie crime novel written by her ex-husband, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
Sharp Objects (2018)
This edgy HBO miniseries features Adams as a self-mutilating newspaper reporter who returns to her hometown to track down the story behind the murder of two young girls.
Vice (2018)
Adams was nominated for an Oscar for her role as the vice president’s wife, Lynne Cheney.
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Adams plays the lead character’s complicated mother Bev, who struggles with drug addiction and a difficult relationship with her mother Mamaw (Glenn Close) in the film adaptation of the J.D. Vance memoir covering three generations of an Appalachian family.
