Latest additions: Hold Your Breath
Most divisive: After-School Special
Over 100 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Sarah Paulson Movies
List of the best Sarah Paulson movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. Sarah Paulson'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 Sarah Paulson movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated Sarah Paulson movies will be at the top of the list. Sarah Paulson has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest Sarah Paulson movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining Sarah Paulson films to end the squabble once and for all.
If you think the best Sarah Paulson role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest Sarah Paulson performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.
List features The Long Way Home, Griffin & Phoenix and more.
"This list answers the questions, "What are the best Sarah Paulson movies?" and "What are the greatest Sarah Paulson roles of all time?"Is Sarah Paulson your favorite person to watch on the big screen? You might also want to vote on our best Lily Rabe and Jessica Lange films lists too.
- 1David Dunn tries to stay one step ahead of the law while delivering vigilante justice on the streets of Philadelphia. His special talents soon put him on a collision course with the Beast -- the psychotic madman who has superhuman strength and 23 distinct personalities. Their epic showdown leads them to an encounter with the mysterious Elijah Price, the criminal mastermind who holds critical secrets for both men.
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
2In the years before the Civil War, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Subjected to the cruelty of one malevolent owner (Michael Fassbender), he also finds unexpected kindness from another, as he struggles continually to survive and maintain some of his dignity. Then in the 12th year of the disheartening ordeal, a chance meeting with an abolitionist from Canada changes Solomon's life forever.- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Steve McQueen
3After several years of living with a cult, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy), but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader (John Hawkes).- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Sean Durkin
4Gov. Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore) of Alaska becomes Sen. John McCain's (Ed Harris) running mate in the 2008 presidential election.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Jay Roach
5The Long Way Home
Jack Lemmon, Sarah Paulson, Betty GarrettAfter his wife's death, 75-year-old retiree Thomas Gerrin (Jack Lemmon) has moved in with his son (Garwin Sanford) and daughter-in-law (Kristin Griffith), who treat him as a politely suffered imposition. When he meets outgoing grad student Leanne (Sarah Paulson) on her way to Northern California, he impetuously decides to join her and visit his old girlfriend, Veronica (Betty Garrett), in Monterey. As the mismatched pair traverse the country, Thomas' worried kids attempt to locate their father.- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Glenn Jordan
6It's 1962, and feminist Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) pens a best-selling book that details the drawbacks of love. She encourages women to forgo serious relationships with men in favor of independence, workplace achievements and satisfying sex. Despite her success, many men are taken aback by her progressive views, including slick writer Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), who decides to expose Barbara as a fraud by making her fall in love with him. However, his plan has unexpected consequences.- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Peyton Reed
7The Time Being
Sarah Paulson, Frank Langella, Wes BentleyThe Time Being is a 2012 mystery film written by Richard N. Gladstein and Nenad Cicin-Sain and directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Nenad Cicin-Sain
8Following a failed marriage and a gang rape, Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol) arrives in New York City and soon begins a career as a model and an aspiring actress. She becomes a celebrated pinup girl but experiences a series of missed opportunities and failed relationships.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Mary Harron
- 9After discovering a Yeti on the roof of her apartment building, teenage Yi and her two friends embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family. But to do so, they must stay one step ahead of a wealthy financier and a determined zoologist who want to capture the beast for their own gain.
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Jill Culton
10A Christmas Wedding is a 2006 Lifetime Television film directed by Michael Zinberg and starring Dean Cain, Sarah Paulson, and Eric Mabius.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Michael Zinberg
11Swimmers
Tara Devon Gallagher, Shawn Hatosy, Cherry JonesEmma (Tara Devon Gallagher), 11, comes from fishing folk in the Chesapeake Bay area. She loves the water, but a swimming accident leaves her needing expensive surgery to save her hearing. Her financially strapped parents cannot afford the procedure, and tensions at home drive young Emma to find companionship with a troubled stranger (Sarah Paulson).- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Doug Sadler
12Nick Marshall (Mel Gibson) gets a whole new outlook on life when a fluke accident gives him the ability to read women's minds. At first, this "gift" provides Nick with way too much information, but he begins to realize that he can use it to good effect, especially when it comes to outwitting his new boss, Darcy Maguire (Helen Hunt).- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Nancy Meyers
13Bug is a 2002 American comedy film, directed by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It was released on February 28, 2002.- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Matt Manfredi, Phil Hay
- 14Theodore Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day -- a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch.
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: John Crowley
15During the 1970s as corporate fisheries begin snatching up water rights around the Hamptons, independent clammers Hunt (Paul Rudd) and his friends can do little else but watch their way of life slip away. While members of the group look for ways to cope, Hunt begins a summer romance with a young vacationer (Lauren Ambrose).- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Katherine Dieckmann
- 16While exploring a Mississippi River island, Arkansas boys Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) encounter Mud (Matthew McConaughey),a fugitive who needs their help. Though Mud killed a man in Texas and has bounty hunters on his trail, he is most concerned about reuniting with Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), the love of his life. Ellis, who is suffering the pangs of his first crush, agrees to help Mud. He and Neckbone do all they can to protect Mud and help him reunite with Juniper.
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Jeff Nichols
17Shaughnessy: The Iron Marshal is a 1996 western film written by William Blinn and directed by Michael Ray Rhodes.- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Michael Ray Rhodes
18Griffin & Phoenix is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Ed Stone.- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Ed Stone
19Levitation
Sarah Paulson, Ernie Hudson, Jeremy LondonLevitation is a Scott D. Goldstein film. The motion picture starred the Golden Globe-nominated American actress Sarah Paulson, Ernie Hudson, and Benjamin Heflin.- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Scott D. Goldstein
20Carla Tate (Juliette Lewis) has never been like her sisters. Sent at a young age to a school for children with intellectual impairments, a maturing Carla returns to her family home in San Francisco. Her overbearing mother, Elizabeth (Diane Keaton), and patient father, Radley (Tom Skerritt), struggle to come to terms with Carla's growing independence as she embarks on her dream of attending college and pursues a romance with Danny (Giovanni Ribisi), a young man with a similar disability.- Released: 1999
- Directed by: Garry Marshall
21Apparently murdered cop Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) returns as the Spirit, dedicated to protecting Central City from crime. His archenemy, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), is a ruthless killer who will destroy the Spirit's well-loved city to find the secret of immortality. As the Spirit pursues his quarry, he meets many beautiful women who would be happy to either kiss or kill him.- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Frank Miller
22This film is a dramatization of the decision-making behind the Johnson administration's escalation of the Vietnam War in the mid 1960s. As Lyndon Johnson (Michael Gambon) agonizes over sending more troops to Southeast Asia, he is given contradictory advice from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Alec Baldwin) and Secretary of State Dean Rusk (John Aylward). The president also attempts to build his Great Society at home, while balancing the war's increasing drain on the nation's resources.- Released: 2002
- Directed by: John Frankenheimer
23After-School Special
Sarah Paulson, Wes Bentley, Sam CohenAfter-School Special is a 2010 short comedy film written by Neil LaBute and directed by Jacob Chase. "It seems like just another trip to the mall to grab some pizza for mom and junior, until things turn out to be not quite as simple as they appear." Quoting the description from the 2011 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films site.- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Jacob Chase
24Fairhaven
Sarah Paulson, Chris Messina, Alexie GilmoreFairhaven is a 2012 drama/comedy film directed by Tom O'Brien.- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Tom O'Brien
25Foxx portrays Michael Dawson, a successful Chicago businessman whose life falls apart while he's driving to the Grand Canyon with his gorgeous fiance, Rae. When Rae discovers that he has used their savings to buy the car, she cuts off the engagement and leaves him behind. Intent on driving back to Chicago to win Rae back, Michael instead finds himself stuck in a hillbilly town.- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Steve Rash
- 26In 1930s Oklahoma amid the region's horrific dust storms, a woman is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family.
- Released: 2024
- Directed by: Karrie Crouse, Will Joines
