Thanks to Aaron Pierre’s increasing roles in movies and TV shows, the actor’s Hollywood profile has been on the rise. Pierre made his screen debut in the 2016 short film 18 Latimer Road. Since then, he has stayed consistent, from playing supporting characters to leading roles.
Aaron Pierre, who is of Jamaican, Sierra Leonean, and Curaçaoan descent, was born in Brixton, Greater London, England, on June 7, 1994. With his muscular physique, Aaron Pierre has a profound screen presence. In the last eight years, these have been Aaron Pierre’s best roles in movies and TV shows.
1. Krypton
Aaron Pierre studied and graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 2016. However, his first major project was in 2018, joining the main cast of Syfy’s science fiction series Krypton. Pierre was cast as the DC Comics superhero character Dev-Em.
With the show set about 200 years before the birth of Superman, Krypton centered around Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather. Aaron Pierre’s Dev-Em is a former Sagitari soldier who becomes a fugitive. He joined the rebellion against Kandor after Dru-Zod took control. He was also previously betrothed to Lyta-Zod (Georgina Campbell). With Krypton airing from March 21, 2018, to August 14, 2019, Aaron Pierre was 23 years old at the start of the series.
2. The Underground Railroad
The next project television audiences may recognize Aaron Pierre is the Barry Jenkins-created historical fiction drama miniseries The Underground Railroad. The 10-episode limited series was based on Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel. Aaron Pierre joined the talented cast in a recurring role as Caesar Garner. The character is an enslaved man who invites Cora Randall (Thuso Mbedu) to escape with him to freedom.
Although they succeed, Arnold Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton) and his assistant, Homer (Chase W. Dillon), hunt them down. They are eventually found in South Carolina, where Caesar and Cora are living in disguise. Although Cora escapes, the show only shows Caesar being caught by Ridgeway and Homer in the dormitory. The Underground Railroad was a critical success, receiving praise from critics and audiences.
Watch The Underground Railroad on Amazon Prime Video
3. Old
Despite his success and rising profile on television, it wasn’t until 2021 that Aaron Pierre made his film debut. Pierre’s big screen debut was in M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Old. Aaron Pierre was cast in a supporting role as Mid-Sized Sedan/Brendan. His character is introduced at the secluded beach. As a rapper, Brendan’s stage name is Mid-Sized Sedan, and he has hemophilia.
After Brendan’s female companion is found missing, he’s initially the prime suspect. As the party tries to figure out what is wrong and their inability to leave the island, Charles’ (Rufus Sewell) paranoia and schizophrenia grow worse. Charles eventually kills Brendan. Like several other M. Night Shyamalan’s movies, Old was a box-office success. It grossed $90.2 million against an $18 million production budget.
4. Brother
Although Brother didn’t receive a theatrical release, it premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 9, 2022. Brother was a critical success, winning 12 Canadian Screen Awards. Aaron Pierre, cast as Francis, won his nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Film.
Brother is a Canadian drama movie set in the early 1990s Scarborough district of Toronto, Canada. The movie, portrayed in a non-linear structure, shifts between the past and present. It centers around the bond and friendship between two brothers, Francis and Michael (Lamar Johnson).
5. Foe
Another masterpiece movie in which Aaron Pierre was featured was the 2023 indie Foe. Directed by Australian director Garth Davis, Pierre was part of the three-person cast in the science fiction psychological thriller. Pierre co-starred alongside four-time Academy Award-nominated American-born Irish actress Saoirse Ronan and Academy-nominated Irish actor Paul Mescal.
Foe centered around a couple, Hen and Junior, whose seemingly peaceful lives are intruded on by a stranger, Terrance (Aaron Pierre). Terrance, an OuterMore employee, arrives to recruit and offer Junior a job on the Installation, a space station orbiting Earth. Although he promises to send an identical biomechanical duplicate and replacement for Junior, Terraces’ continued presence soon causes a strain on the once-loving couple.
6. Genius: MLK/X
Aaron Pierre’s last television project is the National Geographic biographical anthology drama series Genius: MLK/X. Pierre joined the series in season 4, with the season focusing on Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. With Kelvin Harrison Jr. portraying MLK, Aaron Pierre portrayed Malcolm X. Besides season 1, Genius season 4 has had the second-best critical rating, with Pierre receiving praise for his performance.
7. Rebel Ridge
Aaron Pierre leads the cast of the 2024 crime action thriller Rebel Ridge. Released on September 6, 2024, Rebel Ridge has generally received positive reviews. It has also been an audience delight, becoming one of Netflix’s top original films in the last decade. Aaron Pierre’s Terry Richmond character is at the center of Rebel Ridge’s revenge plot.
Aaron Pierre plays a former Marine who arrives in Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin. However, after his legitimate $36,000 is seized by two police officers through civil forfeiture, he races against time to redeem it and post bail. Terry soon unravels the corruption and conspiracies in the town’s law enforcement. If you recognized Aaron Pierre from these movies and TV shows, here are other things you probably didn’t know about the Rebel Ridge actor.
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