A lot of people seem to forget that, before he launched his career as a multi-million-dollar pop star by joining NSYNC, Justin Timberlake was a main cast member on The Mickey Mouse Club. His prior experience explains how the “SexyBack” singer and SNL Five Timer’s Club member has managed to earn a reputation as one of the best musicians-turned-actors of all time. To celebrate his success on the screen, we have compiled our picks for the best Justin Timberlake movies so far, along with how to watch them, below.
Alpha Dog (2006)
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Starring: Emilie Hirsch, Anton Yelchin, Justin Timberlake
What it's about: A young California drug dealer and his friends abduct the teenage brother of a man who owes him money as part of a ransom scheme.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: One of Timberlake’s first major and acclaimed acting roles was Frankie Ballenbacher, who is tasked with minding the kidnapped Zach Mazursky in Alpha Dog, which is inspired by a true crime.
How to watch Alpha Dog
Blake Snake Moan (2006)
Director: Craig Brewer
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake
What it's about: A Tennessee bluesman finds a badly beaten young woman outside his home, takes her in, and vows to give her the spiritual guidance he believes she needs.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Tennessee native Timberlake stars in the compelling drama, Black Snake Moan, as Ronnie — the estranged boyfriend of Ricci’s character.
How to watch Black Snake Moan
- Stream Black Snake Moan on Paramount+
- Stream Black Snake Moan on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Black Snake Moan on Amazon
- Buy Black Snake Moan on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Open Road (2009)
Director: Michael Meredith
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Mary Steenburgen
What it's about: A former baseball player is forced to confront his flawed relationship with his son while driving together to visit his ailing ex-wife.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake has great chemistry with Academy Award winner Bridges in writer and director Michael Meredith’s underrated travel dramedy, The Open Road.
How to watch The Open Road
- Stream The Open Road on Amazon Prime
- Stream The Open Road on Tubi
- Stream The Open Road on Pluto TV
- Buy The Open Road on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Social Network (2010)
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer
What it's about: After his social networking site skyrockets in popularity, Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg faces legal action from his former best friend and business partner Eduardo Saverin and the Winklevoss Twins, who claim he stole their idea.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Arguably Timberlake’s best movie yet is co-writer Aaron Sorkin's sharp, biting, Oscar-winning dramatization (and indictment) of the rise of Facebook, The Social Network, in which he plays Napster co-founder Sean Parker.
How to watch The Social Network
- Stream The Social Network on Paramount+
- Rent or buy The Social Network on Amazon
- Buy The Social Network on Blu-ray on Amazon
Bad Teacher (2011)
Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel
What it's about: A middle school teacher decides to abandon her aimless, sleazy ways and become a more deserving role model and educator for her students.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: What motivates Diaz’s character to step up her game in the educational world in director the raunchy comedy, Bad Teacher, is the arrival of a new, committed school staff member whom she finds attractive, played by Timberlake.
How to watch Bad Teacher
Friends With Benefits (2011)
Director: Will Gluck
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis
What it's about: A friendship between a New York City headhunter and her new client, an LA-based art director, gets complicated when they decide to occasionally have sex.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Friends with Benefits is a romantic-comedy movie better than you might remember for how it cleverly acknowledges and mocks the clichés typically associated with stories about platonic relationships becoming more.
How to watch Friends with Benefits
- Stream Friends with Benefits on Netflix
- Rent or buy Friends with Benefits on Amazon
- Buy Friends with Benefits on Blu-ray on Amazon
In Time (2011)
Director: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried
What it's about: In a world where time is literally money, a poor man is forced to go on the run after being falsely accused of murdering a mysterious man who gave him all the time he had left.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake gave being an action hero a try as the lead of In Time — a dystopian sci-fi thriller with a unique and thought-provoking premise.
How to watch In Time
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake
What it's about: An in-depth look at the increasingly troubling life of a struggling musician in the early 1960s.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake puts his musical talents to great use for his brief but memorable role in Inside Llewyn Davis — a beautiful and hilarious love letter to the Greenwich folk scene — as a more successful artist named Jim.
How to watch Inside Llewyn Davis
- Stream Inside Llewyn Davis on Pluto TV
- Rent or buy Inside Llewyn Davis on Amazon
- Buy Inside Llewyn Davis on Blu-ray on Amazon
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
Director: Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Starring: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer
What it's about: A documentary crew follows the rise and fall of a boy band member-turned-solo rap artist.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake has utilized both his musical and comedic talents brilliantly in his collaborations with The Lonely Island, including in his uncredited role in the vastly underrated music mockumentary, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, as Conner4Real’s personal chef, Tyrus Quash.
How to watch Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
- Rent or buy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Amazon
- Buy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on Blu-ray on Amazon
The Trolls Movies (2016-2023)
Director: Walt Dohrn, Mike Mitchell; Walt Dohrn; David P. Smith; Tim Heitz
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
What it's about: The adventures of a happy troll and her more cynical companion.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Another role that sees Timberlake combining his musical and comedic talents is Branch, whom he originated in 2016’s Trolls (for which also wrote the Oscar-nominated song, “Can’t Stop the Feeling”) and reprised in 2020 for Trolls World Tour and in 2023’s Trolls Band Together, for which he cut a new single with NSYNC.
How to watch the Trolls movies
- Stream Trolls on Netflix
- Rent or buy Trolls World Tour on Amazon
- Stream Trolls Band Together on Netflix
- Buy the Trolls movies on Blu-ray on Amazon
Palmer (2021)
Director: Fisher Stevens
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Ryder Allen
What it's about: A recently released convict forms a close bond with a young child struggling with bullies and a troublesome life at home.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake gives a performance unlike any he has ever given in a role unlike any he has ever played in Palmer — an Apple TV+ original movie from director Fisher Stevens.
How to watch Palmer
Reptile (2023)
Director: Grant Singer
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Alicia Silverstone, Justin Timberlake
What it's about: A perplexing homicide case begins to take a personal toll on a veteran New England detective.
Why it is one of the best Justin Timberlake movies: Timberlake stars as the boyfriend of a brutally murdered woman who also becomes a suspect in the crime, in the Netflix original movie Reptile.
How to watch Reptile
Following his headlines-making DWI arrest, Justin Timberlake has been forced to cancel dates on his current world tour. For now, enjoy his movies!
