Latest additions: Kung Fu Panda 4
Most divisive: Love Ranch
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The 50+ Best Bryan Cranston Movies
List of the best Bryan Cranston movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Bryan Cranston's highest grossing movies have received a lot of accolades over the years, earning millions upon millions around the world. The order of these top Bryan Cranston movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Bryan Cranston movies will be at the top of the list. Bryan Cranston has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Bryan Cranston movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Bryan Cranston films to end the squabble once and for all.
If you think the best Bryan Cranston role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest Bryan Cranston performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.
The list you're viewing contains films like Drive and Godzilla.
"This list answers the questions, "What are the best Bryan Cranston movies?" and "What are the greatest Bryan Cranston roles of all time?"Steven Spielberg and Steven Soderbergh have both worked with Bryan Cranston over the years, as have plenty of other well-known directors. Bryan Cranston has been in some really popular films, and is right up there with stars like Jon Hamm and Aaron Eckhart in terms of fame and success.
1In the movie Drive, a quiet, enigmatic man known only as Driver (Ryan Gosling) leads a double life in sun-soaked Los Angeles. By day, he's a hardworking mechanic and Hollywood stuntman, but as night falls, he transforms into a ruthless getaway driver for hire. The plot thickens when Driver becomes entangled with his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son Benicio (Kaden Leos), leading to unforeseen consequences. A neo-noir thriller directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive won him the Best Director award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The film expertly weaves high-stakes action with stirring human drama, all set against an atmospheric synth-pop soundtrack.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
- 2Phillip is a wealthy quadriplegic who needs a caretaker to help him with his day-to-day routine in his New York penthouse. He decides to hire Dell, a struggling parolee who's trying to reconnect with his ex and his young son. Despite coming from two different worlds, an unlikely friendship starts to blossom as Dell and Phillip rediscover the joy of living life to the fullest.
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Neil Burger
3When Beth Emhoff returns to Minnesota from a Hong Kong business trip, she attributes the malaise she feels to jet lag. However, two days later, Beth is dead, and doctors tell her shocked husband that they have no idea what killed her. Soon, many others start to exhibit the same symptoms, and a global pandemic explodes. Doctors try to contain the lethal microbe, but society begins to collapse as a blogger fans the flames of paranoia.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
27 Infectious Thriller Movies Like 'Contagion'See all
- 1Cargo10 Votes
- 2Outbreak20 Votes
- 3Children of Men12 Votes
4In the indie comedy-drama Little Miss Sunshine, the dysfunctional Hoover family embarks on an unpredictable road trip. Richard (Greg Kinnear), a motivational speaker, his wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette), their rebellious teenage son Dwayne (Paul Dano), and quirky 7-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) are joined by Edwin (Alan Arkin), a drug-addicted grandfather, and Frank (Steve Carell), Sheryl's suicidal brother. The ragtag group journey in their VW bus to California for Olive's chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant. This Academy Award-winning film is a poignant exploration of family dynamics and personal ambitions, each character grappling with their own dreams and disappointments.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
5Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Brad Furman
6On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 American hostages. Amid the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge with the Canadian ambassador. Knowing that it's just a matter of time before the refugees are found and likely executed, the U.S. government calls on extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to rescue them. Mendez's plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer scouting locations in Iran and train the refugees to act as his "film" crew.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Ben Affleck
7Ed (Jay Mohr) and Alice (Julianne Nicholson) are on the verge of getting married when she realizes that she wishes she'd had a more active love life while still single. The couple mutually decide to have an open relationship in the months before their wedding, and initially this seems to improve their connection, particularly in the bedroom. However, as Ed and Alice get more involved in their own flings, the experiment goes awry, resulting in emotional turmoil for both of them.- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Wallace Wolodarsky
8In That Thing You Do!, a spirited tale of music and dreams, Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) joins Jimmy Mattingly (Johnathon Schaech), Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn), and the shy bass player (Ethan Embry) to form The Wonders. This fledgling band, under the guidance of savvy Play-Tone Records executive Mr. White (Tom Hanks), catapults to unexpected fame with their catchy hit, 'That Thing You Do'. Set in the vibrant 60s, this comedic drama showcases their meteoric rise and subsequent challenges. Directed by Tom Hanks himself, it's an engaging exploration of fleeting stardom and youthful camaraderie. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Tom Hanks
9In 1947, successful screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) and other Hollywood figures get blacklisted for their political beliefs.- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Jay Roach
10Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Surrounded by the brutal realties of war, while searching for Ryan, each man embarks upon a personal journey and discovers their own strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
11When Civil War veteran John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) mysteriously awakes on the surface of Mars -- also called Barsoom -- he little expects the adventure that awaits him. Carter reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict among the red planet's inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). As Barsoom is poised on the brink of collapse, war-weary Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that everyone's fate is in his hands.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
12In this film of unconnected humor sketches, bad movies and late-night television are parodied extensively. A doctor (Griffin Dunne) has to help Brenda (Michelle Pfeiffer) give birth, with unexpected results. In "Son of the Invisible Man," Griffin (Ed Begley Jr.) is actually more naked than invisible. Among the many other segments, there is a spoof of alarmist 1950s hygiene instructional films featuring a woman (Carrie Fisher) being harshly advised about her new sexually transmitted disease.- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis, Robert K. Weiss
13During World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Authority selects 13 black cadets to become part of an experimental program at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The program aims at training "colored personnel" to become fighter pilots for the Army. However, discrimination, lack of institutional support and the racist belief that these men lacked the intelligence and aptitude for the job dog their every step. Despite this, the Tuskegee Airmen, as they become known, more than prove their worth.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Anthony Hemingway
14Animal pals Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer) and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) are still trying to make it back to New York's Central Park Zoo. They are forced to take a detour to Europe to find the penguins and chimps who broke the bank at a Monte Carlo casino. When French animal-control officer Capitaine Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) picks up their scent, Alex and company are forced to hide out in a traveling circus.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon
15Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie) fights his new nemesis, Catwoman (Eliza Dushku), while lawman James Gordon (Bryan Cranston) battles corruption in Gotham City.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery
16Dead Space is a 1991 science-fiction film involving the crew members of a space station orbiting Saturn when they face a killer virus. In 2010 Shout! Factory released the film on DVD, packaged as a double feature with The Terror Within as part of the Roger Corman Cult Classics collection.- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Fred T. Gallo
17Once well-respected at his company, Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) finds himself on the unemployment line after a wave of corporate downsizing. Drowning in debt and unsure of what to do with his life, Larry enrolls in college, where he becomes part of a community of misfits who are all trying to carve out a better future. The possibility of romance enters the picture when Larry meets Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts), an instructor who has lost her passion for both teaching and her marriage.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Tom Hanks
18The songs of Journey, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and other artists underscore a tale of big dreams in Hollywood. Soon after hopping off a bus from the Midwest, aspiring singer Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) immediately finds herself in trouble. Coming to her rescue is Drew (Diego Boneta), a bar-back at the legendary club the Bourbon Room. With stars in their eyes, the young lovers chase their dreams, but a misunderstanding involving rock god Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) threatens to tear them apart.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Adam Shankman
19In need of a vacation from his ordinary life, factory worker Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) visits Rekall, a company that can turn dreams into real memories. Thinking that memories of life as a superspy are just the ticket, Quaid undergoes the procedure -- but it goes horribly wrong. Suddenly, Quaid is a hunted man. He teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) on a search to find the head of the underground resistance and take down the leader (Bryan Cranston) of the free world.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Len Wiseman
20Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise is a 1987 Japanese animated science fiction film and the first film produced by Gainax and Bandai Visual. It was directed and written by Hiroyuki Yamaga. The film was released on March 14, 1987 and grossed only modestly in the box office. Since then, it has received very positive reviews. A sequel was intended to be released set 50 years later, but due to lack of funds, Gainax abandoned it part way through production; former president of Gainax, Toshio Okada cited a fundamental dissatisfaction with the script and plot. However, it was announced in March 2013 that the sequel is in production once again.- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Hiroyuki Yamaga
21Twas the Night
Bryan Cranston, Josh Zuckerman, Jefferson Mappin'Twas the Night is a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie released in December for the Christmas holiday. Disney Channel has aired the film every year sometime in December. This was the most recent Disney Channel Christmas themed movie, until Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! in 2011.- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Nick Castle
22After receiving a head injury on a case, private eye Maurice Pogue (Dana Carvey) suffers from a form of amnesia in which his short-term memory is wiped clean every time he falls asleep. Besides experiencing some obvious problems in his profession, Pogue is also the key witness in an important case against a mobster (Michael Gambon) accused of murder. Now, relying only on a cassette recorder to fill him in on a daily basis, Pogue has to not only testify at the trial, but also crack a big case.- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Mick Jackson
23Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody) is a substitute teacher who shuns emotional connections, and never stays long enough in one district to bond with his students or colleagues. Troubled and lost, Henry lands at a public school where an apathetic student body and disinterested parents have created a frustrated, burned-out group of teachers and administrators. Inadvertently, Henry becomes a role model to his disaffected students and bonds with a teenage runaway who is just as lost as he is.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Tony Kaye
24Donald Baines (Kirk Douglas) is a legendary filmmaker in the twilight of his life. Slowly dying, he watches his life's work in a private screening room, but he is haunted by the sacrifices he made for his art, and especially by the rejection of Christopher (Michael Goorjian), his illegitimate son. One night, the ghost of a long-dead movie editor transports Donald to an old theater, where he sees three visions of his son's life and gets a final chance to make a change in that life.- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Michael A. Goorjian
25In 1986, federal agent Robert Mazur (Bryan Cranston) goes under cover to infiltrate the trafficking network of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Working with fellow agents Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) and Emir Abreu (John Leguizamo), Mazur poses as a slick, money-laundering businessman named Bob Musella. Gaining the confidence of Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt), Escobar's top lieutenant, Mazur must navigate a vicious criminal underworld where one wrong move could cost him everything.- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Brad Furman
26Buzz Aldrin described the lunar surface as "magnificent desolation." He is one of only 12 astronauts who have walked on the moon. This docudrama chronicles the historic flights and moonwalks of these men, using interviews, archival footage, celebrity voice-overs including Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, and simulations and re-enactments to create a virtually shared experience of having walked on the moon. The film also explores the state of the space program and its future.- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Mark Cowen
27Erotique is a 1994 fictional drama film written by Lizzie Borden, Susie Bright, Eloí Calage, Eddie Ling-Ching Fong, Ana Maria Magalhães and Monika Treut and directed by Lizzie Borden, Clara Law, Ana Maria Magalhães and Monika Treut.- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Monika Treut, Lizzie Borden, Clara Law, Ana Maria Magalhães
28Terror Tract is a 2000 anthology dark comedy/horror film featuring John Ritter as a real-estate agent trying to sell a variety of houses to a young couple; each with a horror story associated with it. The segment "Make Me an Offer" is the overall plot of the film with Ritter and the three segments dramatized are the different, horrifying stories behind each house. Ritter as the estate agent is desperately trying to close a deal with them to meet a sales target that afternoon, but is confounded each time by his honesty which compels him to tell the grisly stories associated with each house he shows the couple.- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Clint Hutchison, Lance W. Dreesen
29During the holidays, loving but overprotective Ned (Bryan Cranston) travels to California to visit his daughter Stephanie (Zoey Deutch) at Stanford University. While there, he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). Even though Laird is a multimillionaire, Ned disapproves of his freewheeling attitude and unfiltered language. His panic level escalates even further when he learns that Laird plans to ask for Stephanie's hand in marriage.- Released: 2017
- Directed by: John Hamburg
30Corporate Affairs
Bryan Cranston, Mary Crosby, Peter ScolariCorporate Affairs is a 1990 Comedy film written by Terence H. Winkless and Geoffrey Baere and directed by Terence H. Winkless.- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Terence H. Winkless
- 31
I Know My First Name Is Steven
Bryan CranstonI Know My First Name Is Steven is a 1989 television movie directed by Larry Elikann.- Directed by: Larry Elikann
32Dead Silence
Renee Estevez, Lisanne Falk, Carrie MitchumA spring break of fun and frolic ends on a tragic note for three college co-eds (Renee Estevez, Lisanne Falk, Carrie Mitchum) after a drunken night of partying ends with the girls behind the wheel. When they accidentally hit and kill a drifter on a lonely stretch of desert road, they conceal the crime and talk each other into a vow of silence. But their tenuous pact soon comes under strain when the body is discovered, and loyalties are put to the test.- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Peter O'Fallon
33Set in a futuristic world, interdimensional conflicts unfold between humans and an alternate race, forcing characters to fight for survival and peace.
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Fumihiko Takayama
34The Big Thing
Bryan Cranston, Lee Garlington, Jay Arlen JonesA group of strangers inadvertently gets involved in a convoluted and comedic series of events as they try to navigate personal challenges and unexpected detours.
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Aleks Horvat
35Street Corner Justice
Bryan Cranston, Clint Howard, Tommy ListerStreet Corner Justice is a movie directed by Charles Bail that was released on October 2, 1996.- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Charles Bail
36The Companion
Bryan CranstonIn a dystopian future, a lonely woman turns to a robotic companion for solace and finds herself questioning the boundaries between artificial and human connections.
37Armitage III is a 1995 cyberpunk original video animation series. It centers on Naomi Armitage, a highly advanced "Type-III" android. In 1997 the series was then edited into a film called Armitage III: Poly-Matrix. It was redubbed into English. The series was followed up in 2002 with a sequel, Armitage III: Dual-Matrix set some years after the original story.- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Takuya Satō, Satoshi Saga, Hiroyuki Ochi, Yukio Okamoto
38Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe (Bryan Cranston). Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating crisis when Godzilla, King of the Monsters, arises from the sea to combat malevolent adversaries that threaten the survival of humanity. The creatures leave colossal destruction in their wake, as they make their way toward their final battleground: San Francisco.- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Gareth Edwards
39In the late 1970s, Grace and Charlie Bontempo open Nevada's first legal brothel. Their lives take a sudden turn when a boxer from South America comes to the brothel to train, causing a deadly love triangle to form.- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Taylor Hackford
40Living large and loving life, Po (Jack Black) realizes that he has a lot to learn if he's going to fulfill the next challenge from his beloved instructor (Dustin Hoffman). After reuniting with his long-lost father (Bryan Cranston), Po must transition from student to teacher and train a group of fun-loving, clumsy pandas to become martial-arts fighters. Together, the kung-fu brethren unite to take on the evil Kai (J.K. Simmons), a supernatural warrior who becomes stronger with each battle.- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni
41London Fog is a 2011 comedy fantasy romance film written by Tasha Hardy, Indy Feige and directed by Stuart Orme.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Stuart Orme
- 42
The Disappearance of Nora
Bryan Cranston, Veronica Hamel, Dennis FarinaThe Disappearance of Nora is a 1993 thriller television movie, starring Veronica Hamel and directed by Joyce Chopra.- Released: 1993
43Hard Four is a comedy film written and directed by Charles Dennis.- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Charles Dennis
44An extroverted jet fighter gets an assignment as a test pilot in a secret project.- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Shoji Kawamori, Shinichirô Watanabe
45National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion
Bryan Cranston, Meghan Ory, Penelope Ann MillerNational Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion is a 2003 TV movie about a Thanksgiving family reunion of the Sniders, starring Bryan Cranston as Woodrow Snider, Judge Reinhold as Dr. Mitch Snider and Penelope Ann Miller as Jill Snider. The film was released as National Lampoon's Holiday Reunion in some regions.- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Neal Israel
46Time Under Fire
Bryan Cranston, Jack Coleman, Jeff FaheyTime Under Fire, released in the United States as Beneath the Bermuda Triangle is a 1997 action sci-fi B-movie directed by Scott P. Levy and executive produced by Roger Corman. Released by Royal Oaks Entertainment, Time Under Fire stars Jeff Fahey as Alan Deakins, a submarine commander whose ship enters a time portal in the Bermuda Triangle and travels 80 years in the future to a dystopian America.- Released: 1997
- Directed by: Tripp Reed, Scott P. Levy
47Leave
Bryan CranstonLeave is a 2010 thriller film directed by Robert Celestino.- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Robert Celestino
48Moldiver
Bryan CranstonMoldiver is a 6-episode 1993 OVA anime series. It is a parody of magical girl and superhero anime series.
49Five ordinary teens must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove - and the world - is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it's too late, band together as the Power Rangers.- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Dean Israelite
50Intellectual Property
Lyndsy Fonseca, Bryan Cranston, Richard RiehleIntellectual Property is a 2006 film starring Christopher Masterson and Lyndsy Fonseca with Bryan Cranston. It was written, produced and directed by Nicholas Peterson.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Nicholas Peterson
51Bryan Cranston, Martin Landau, Lee MajorsTwo bionic heroes team up to thwart a high-stakes international conspiracy while grappling with personal reconnections and past challenges.
- 52
The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime
Bryan CranstonThe Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime is a 1996 action drama film directed by David Chase.- Released: 1996
- Directed by: David Chase
53Last Chance
Bryan Cranston, Nobu McCarthy, Tim ThomersonResidents of a small town confront unresolved conflicts, old regrets, and opportunities for redemption when an unexpected event stirs up the community.
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Bryan Cranston
54In Dubious Battle
Nat Wolff, James Franco, Selena GomezIn California apple country, 900 migratory workers rise up against the landowners. The group takes on a life of its own, stronger than its individual members and more frightening. Led by the doomed Jim Nolan (Nat Wolff), the strike is founded on his tragic idealism and the philosophy to never submit or yield.- Released: 2016
- Directed by: James Franco
- 55Po must train a new warrior when he's chosen to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. However, when a powerful shape-shifting sorceress sets her eyes on his Staff of Wisdom, he suddenly realizes he's going to need some help. Teaming up with a quick-witted corsac fox, Po soon discovers that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places.
- Released: 2024
- Directed by: Mike Mitchell
- 56Reclusive author Elly Conway writes best-selling espionage novels about a secret agent named Argylle who's on a mission to unravel a global spy syndicate. However, when the plots of her books start to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, the line between fiction and reality begin to blur.
- Released: 2024
- Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
