Aaron Eckhart made his screen debut in the 1992 television thriller film Double Jeopardy, in which he played the role of Dwayne. In 1993, he made his silver screen debut in the thriller film Slaughter of the Innocents, directed by James Glickenhaus. Eckhart next starred as Chad in the 1997 black comedy film In the Company of Men directed by Neil LaBute. The film earned praise from critics and effectively put him on the map for his future career.
The year 2008 saw the release of the Christopher Nolan-directed superhero film The Dark Knight, where Eckhart famously portrayed Harvey Dent / Two-Face. The film opened to wild critical acclaim and came to be regarded as, per Den of Geek, the best superhero film ever made. This propelled Eckhart to an even bigger level of acclaim and success. From there, Eckhart starred in a handful of blockbuster movies, from Battle: Los Angeles to, more notably, the Has Fallen franchise, playing a fictional American President opposite Gerard Butler. Eckhart currently has a few films in the works, but until then, here’s a look at his six best performances, ranked.
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6 Olympus Has Fallen
Millennium Films
Olympus Has Fallen was released in 2013 and was directed by Antoine Fuqua, with a screenplay by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt. It serves as the first entry to the popular Has Fallen franchise, which became a successful series that includes London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen. Olympus Has Fallen features an ensemble cast including Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, and Rick Yune. The plot focuses on an assault on the White House and a disgraced Secret Service agent’s plan to save the US President. Eckhart plays the President, and it’s a brilliantly constructed film that is well worth watching.
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5 Thank You for Smoking
Room 9 Entertainment
Thank You For Smoking is based on the 1994 book of the same name by Christopher Buckley and was directed by Jason Reitman. The story follows the life of Nick Naylor (Eckhart), a pro-tobacco lobbyist who campaigns that smoking is actually beneficial to our health, denying any links between smoking and cancer. He is then kidnapped and forced to consume extremely high quantities of nicotine, which almost kills him and leaves him in a position where he cannot smoke again. Eckhart succeeds in making the audience sympathize with an unlikeable character, and his strong performance makes the film succeed even though it could benefit from leaning in further to a satirical style.
4 In The Company of Men
Alliance Atlantis
In The Company of Men is a film that centers on Chad (played by Eckhart) and Howard (Matt Molloy), who are two manager-type figures that are assigned to an office for six weeks to work on a project. They are misogynists and have a vendetta against the women in the work setting and hatch a plan to ruin their co-worker Christine’s (Stacy Edwards) life. The plan quickly goes wrong and the film explores themes of misogyny and workplace sexism through the vessel of a black comedy-style of film. The film is an example of the strong directing talents of Neil LaBute, who would win a Sundance trophy as well as an Independent Spirit Award. Of course, Eckhart’s strong performance should also be commended: he plays his character with an uncompromising certainty and brings LaBute’s vision to life.
3 Erin Brockovich
Universal Pictures
Julia Roberts experienced a huge turning point in her career when she starred in Erin Brockovich, which would see her win an Oscar and experience a career expansion that would take her to even further heights. The story is based on a real-life event and follows the titular Erin (played by Roberts), a struggling single mother who is given a job by her lawyer out of sympathy when she comes across crucial evidence that Pacific Gas and Electric have been poising the water supply of the town Hinkley, California. The film then depicts her fight against the corporation and all those who doubt her qualifications and ability to take on the case. Eckhart plays George, who has a close relationship with Erin and leaves when her case begins gaining traction. He holds our attention throughout and delivers an excellent performance even when he is not a main focus.
2 Sully
Village Roadshow Pictures
Sully is a 2016 film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Todd Komarnicki. Per Bustle, it is based on the real life story of Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, taking inspiration from his autobiography, Highest Duty. The titular role, Sully, is played by Tom Hanks, and the film also stars Laura Linney, Anna Gunn, Autumn Reeser, Holt McCallany, Jamey Sheridan, and Jerry Ferrara. The film depicts the emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549, where it had to land in an emergency on the Hudson River, with all 155 passengers and crew surviving the incident. Eckhart played Sully’s co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, who assisted with the landing and his performance is raw and moving.
1 The Dark Knight
Warner Bros.
The Dark Knight is an iconic film that will go down in history as one of the best superhero films that have ever been made. It’s the role that propelled Eckhart’s stardom to new levels, and Christopher Nolan was able to obtain an unforgettable performance from him through his direction. The movie stars Christian Bale as Batman, reprising his role after Batman Begins. Heath Ledger delivered an unforgettable performance as The Joker, which has been hailed as one of the best performances in history. Eckhart plays Harvey Dent, who is horribly disfigured and re-emerges with the guidance of The Joker as the villain known as Two-Face, who decides the fate of his victims by tossing a coin. He is just as strong as his counterparts in the film and made the character known on a worldwide scale.
