Who else is pumped for Captain Marvel 2? Its titular heroine, Oscar-winner Brie Larson, has filled leading roles in independent films and blockbusters for years now. She has received various other accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2019, Time magazine ranked her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Larson began her professional acting career at age nine in 1998 with a comedy sketch on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She briefly dabbled with a music career, releasing the album Finally Out of P.E. in 2005. Larson’s breakthrough leading role was in the acclaimed independent drama Short Term 12 (2013). The 2017 adventure film Kong: Skull Island marked her first big-budget release. And, of course, there’s Captain Marvel, the beloved MCU hero getting a highly anticipated sequel which Larson herself has been teasing. And could that be her as the mysterious person fighting Wanda in the latest Doctor Strange 2 trailer? As we count down the days until both movies hit the big screen, here’s a closer look at Brie Larson’s best movies to date.
5 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
Universal Pictures
Critics raved, but no one came to Edgar Wright’s 2010 feature, unfortunately. Based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley, the adventure thrill ride stars Michael Cera as Scott, a slacker musician who tries to win a competition to get a record deal while also battling the seven evil exes of his newest girlfriend Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). The film premiered at San Diego’s Comic-Con in July 2010 and was re-released for its 10th anniversary in the U.S. in 2021.
It’s too bad that the box-office bomb failed to recoup its $85 million production budget, but critics praised its visual style and humor. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has made several top ten lists and was even shortlisted for the Best Visual Effects category at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Larson plays Envy Adams, one of Scott’s evil exes who apparently skyrocketed to fame after dumping him. Larson displays a rare gift for comedic timing in this scene-stealing role, which she doesn’t always get to showcase. “You are corrigible,” she tells her new boyfriend Todd (Brandon Routh) in the film. “I don’t know the meaning of the word,” he replies, hilariously highlighting one of the many funny beats involving Larson.
4 The Spectacular Now (2013)
A24
Sutter Keely lives in the now. A high school senior and budding alcoholic, he’s never far from his supersized, whiskey-fortified thirst-master cup. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finecky hovering over him. She’s different: the “nice girl” who reads science fiction and doesn’t have a boyfriend. While Aimee has dreams of a future, Sutter lives in the impressive delusion of a spectacular now, yet somehow, they’re drawn together.
The 2013 American coming-of-age film The Spectacular Now is based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Tharp. It stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, with Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bob Odenkirk, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler rounding out the all-star cast. The film garnered critical acclaim and even received two nominations at the 29th Independent Spirit Awards.
Larson plays Sutter’s ex, and her teen-years chemistry with Teller showed signs of a true future A-lister. Her instant chemistry with other A-listers at a young age was also highlighted in 21 Jump Street.
3 Captain Marvel (2019)
It’s hard to believe that Captain Marvel was already the 21st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Set in 1995, the story follows Danvers as she becomes Captain Marvel after Earth is caught in the center of a galactic conflict between two alien civilizations. Several actors reprise their roles from previous MCU films in Captain Marvel, including Samuel L. Jackson, who were digitally de-aged in post-production to reflect the film’s 1990s setting. It set the record as the first woman-led superhero film to pass the billion-dollar mark, despite some of the film’s mixed reviews.
Brie Larson plays the titular role with a leading confidence that matches, if not surpasses, the male superhero turns as of late. It’s no surprise, then, that a sequel, The Marvels, is in the works. Its scheduled release is February 17, 2023.
2 Short Term 12 (2013)
Cinedigm
A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend. Short Term 12 is adapted from Destin Daniel Cretton’s short film of the same name. He reportedly based Short Term 12 on his own experience working in a group facility for teenagers. Critics praised the feature film’s realism and intimacy, and the film is considered one of the best of 2013, appearing on several critics’ year-end lists.
Brie Larson plays supervising staff member in her debut lead turn in a feature film. It’s a star-making performance, with powerful nuances such as her character’s recurring tick in the film where she nervously digs at her thumb cuticle. Some of us can certainly relate to bad habits like this.
1 Room (2015)
Held captive for seven years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time. Room was written by Emma Donoghue, based on her captivating 2010 novel of the same name. The film also stars Joan Allen, Sean Bridgers, and William H. Macy.
Brie Larson plays the mom in an emotionally powerful performance that solidified her A-lister status in Hollywood. She reportedly researched trauma and nutrition for her part, and deservedly won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress.
“The moments that I feel a huge sense of accomplishment are actually the smaller moments, not really the bigger ones, the televised ones,” Larson once told Deadline. “The times that I’ve gotten to speak with people after the screening, and seeing people’s reaction and hearing how the movie has moved them and being reminded how important something is and what a power it holds, and how incredible it is to be part of a film that’s getting people in touch with another part of themselves.”
