Written by (Photo Credit: Picturehouse)
Dan Stevens has had a long career in Hollywood, dating back almost 20 years since he began. Throughout his career, he’s starred in a number of high-profile films, as well as big-name TV projects like Downton Abbey, Legion, and more.
Stevens’ next project will come in the action horror film Onslaught, where he stars alongside Adria Arjona and Alex Pereira in Adam Wingard’s latest movie. In celebration of Onslaught, which releases this week, we’re taking a look at five of Stevens’ best roles throughout his career so far.
5 best Dan Stevens movies ranked
5) Cuckoo
If there’s one thing about Stevens that he’s proven throughout his career, it’s that he loves playing freaky little guys. In Cuckoo, he gets to do that again, as he takes on the role of Herr König, the owner of a new hotel that’s being built in a small town in the Balvarian Alps.
He offers up a job to Gretchan (Hunter Schafer), who is newly arrived in the resort town with her family, who is helping build the hotel. While most of Cuckoo centers around Gretchen’s slow spiral into chaos surrounding the mysterious town, Stevens does play a critical role here.
Without getting too much into spoilers, Cuckoo has some absolutely wild twists and turns, with Stevens’ König at the center of some of them. It’s a great watch, especially as we get closer to the Fall and scary movie season.
4) Colossal
Originally released in 2016, Colossal is a unique take on the kaiju genre. The film follows the story of Gloria (played by Anne Hathaway), a woman who moves back home after breaking up with her boyfriend. She soon finds that, when visiting a playground from her childhood, she somehow takes over and inhabits a giant creature that has been wreaking havoc all over South Korea.
What follows is Gloria trying to figure out her newfound abilities while navigating her new life. Admittedly, Stevens doesn’t really have the biggest role in Colossal, and is more or less relegated to just being Gloria’s crappy ex-boyfriend. Still, though, he plays the role well, and Colossal is such a fun ride that anyone who hasn’t seen it yet should definitely check it out.
3) Beauty and the Beast
Disney’s live-action remakes have a history for being…not the best. For whatever reason, the ability to capture the magic and charm of some of Disney’s original animations just hasn’t translated. There are some exceptions, though, including 2017’s Beauty and the Beast remake. Adapting one of the most beloved animated movies ever is tough, but Disney actually did a more-than-fine job here.
Led by Emma Watson as Belle, Stevens stars in the role as Beast, the seemingly terrifying creature that falls in love with Belle and eventually turns into a prince for her. The pair share a great chemistry on the screen, and Stevens does a great job performing as Beast in a full motion-capture role. To date, this is also probably Stevens’ biggest role of his career, so it’s nice to see it came in a rare, well-received Disney live-action remake.
2) Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Godzilla s Kong: The New Empire might not stand up to all-time great Godzilla movies, but as all fans of Godzilla know: even a bad Godzilla movie isn’t all that bad. The latest entry in Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise sees Godzilla and King Kong teaming up yet again to take on new foes that come from inside the Hollow Earth.
While most of the movie is centered around a tribe inside Hollow Earth and Jia, the adopted daughter of Rebecca Hall’s Dr. Ilene Andrews (played by the late Kaylee Hottle), Stevens still shines in the movie.
He plays the role of Trapper, a veterinarian at Monarch who’s job it is to keep King Kong healthy. His introduction to the movie is incredible, as he arrives in spectacular fashion in a helicopter to help Kong fix a broken tooth. It’s a cheesy movie that is full of laugh-out-loud moments, but it’s hard to beat King Kong wearing a Transformers-esque glove and fighting alongside Godzilla.
1) The Guest
Stevens’ best role is likely the ones fans of his know him best from, and is also the movie that put him on the map. 2014’s The Guest follows the story of a soldier (Stevens) showing up to a family’s home, claiming he knew and served with their son, who had just been killed in action.
After being invited to stay with them, things begin taking wild turns, and when deaths begin occurring in the town, the family believes their mysterious guest may have something to do with it.
The Guest is a wild ride from start to finish, and largely because of Stevens’ role in the movie. From the minute we meet him, he comes off as an uneasy man who clearly seems to be hiding something. His calm demeanor mixed with the creepiness of his time in the family’s house is the perfect combo, and it’s no wonder that all these years later, The Guest remains the movie Stevens’ fans point to as his best work.
Originally written by Anthony Nash at Coming Soon
