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Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. His accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a British Academy Film Award.
Plemons began his career as a child actor and had his breakthrough with the role of Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights (2006–2011). He subsequently portrayed Todd Alquist in the fifth and final season of the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2012–2013) and its sequel film (2019). He received Emmy nominations for his roles as Ed Blumquist in the second season of the FX anthology series Fargo (2015), the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror (20172025), and the HBO Max miniseries Love & Death (2023).
Plemons received further recognition with Supporting actor in the films The Master (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015), Game Night (2018), The Irishman (2019), Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). He starred in Other People (2016) and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). For playing a rancher in The Power of the Dog (2021), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and for playing three roles in the anthology film Kinds of Kindness (2024), he received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and his first Golden Globe nomination.
Plemons is known for being typecasting as quiet and unnerving characters in his most prominent roles, such as Breaking Bad, Kinds of Kindness, and Game Night (2018). His acting style is characterized by his Texan English, cowboy culture-inspired persona, and dramatic pauses in his speech.
In 2007, Plemons graduated from the Texas Tech University Independent School District, a distance learning program, which allowed him to earn his high school diploma. He attended schools in Mart, playing football in middle school, junior high, and at Mart High School, until he received more acting jobs and shifted to the online program.
Landry joined the Panthers football team in the second season, and Plemons, having played high school football, told director Jeffrey Reiner that he would do his own stunts. In his first football scene, Landry had to "get the crap beat out of him over and over and over again". When hit by co-star Taylor Kitsch (playing Tim Riggins) Plemons' chin split open, requiring eleven stitches. The show, a fan and critic favorite, ended after five seasons after shifting to DirecTV in 2011.
In 2012, Plemons reunited with Kitsch and Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg in the film Battleship. Berg, who directed the film, explained that he knew how comfortable Kitsch was with Plemons: "I know that he's really good for Taylor and he makes Taylor better. So, I wrote that whole part for Jesse. I never thought of it as a Friday Night Lights reunion. I thought of it as protection, bringing a trusted family member in."
In 2012, Plemons also had a supporting role in the Paul Thomas Anderson drama The Master as the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, an actor to whom his physical appearance has been compared. In January 2014, Plemons was in consideration to be one of the new stars of Star Wars Episode VII ( ). In March 2014, Plemons, along with four other actors, were being considered for the lead role of Finn in Episode VII. The role, however, went to British actor John Boyega. Plemons played mobster Kevin Weeks in the Boston-set mob film Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp, which opened in theaters in September 2015. Also that year, he appeared in the Stephen Frears film about Lance Armstrong, The Program, and the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies.
In late-2015, Plemons co-starred in the second season of the TV show Fargo. He portrayed Ed Blumquist, a butcher and the husband of Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst). For his performance, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2016, Plemons starred in the film Other People. In 2017, he appeared in the Doug Liman thriller film American Made, the Scott Cooper western Hostiles, and Steven Spielberg's historical drama The Post.
In December 2017, Plemons appeared in "USS Callister", an episode in the fourth series of the anthology show Black Mirror. Plemons played Robert Daly, the episode's main character and a sadistic introvert, and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2018, Plemons had supporting roles in two films, the comedy Game Night and Adam McKay's Dick Cheney biopic Vice, which he narrated. In 2019 he had a supporting role in the Martin Scorsese crime drama The Irishman, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 27, 2019. He also reprised his role as Todd Alquist in .
In 2023, Plemons starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen in the HBO Max true crime series Love & Death and reunited with Martin Scorsese for a supporting role in his western-thriller Killers of the Flower Moon, which he starred in alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. In September 2022, Plemons was announced to be starring alongside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley in Yorgos Lanthimos's film Kinds of Kindness, which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where Plemons won the Best Actor award.
In 2025, Plemons played a supporting role in the Robert De Niro-led Netflix political thriller series Zero Day, which will reunite him with Love and Death director Lesli Linka Glatter, and a leading role in the science fiction comedy film Bugonia, which will reunite him with Lanthimos. He also reprised his role as Robert Daly in the seventh series of Black Mirror, in the episode "". In 2026, Plemons will play Plutarch Heavensbee, in The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping.
2011–2019: Character work
From 2012 to 2013, Plemons portrayed Todd Alquist during the final season of the AMC drama series Breaking Bad. He was a recurring cast member in Season 5A and was promoted to series regular for Season 5B. Fans of Breaking Bad nicknamed him "Meth Damon", due to Plemons' resemblance to actor Matt Damon. One of his first film roles, at age 12, was playing the younger version of Damon's character in the film All the Pretty Horses (2000).
2020–present: Career expansion
In 2020, Plemons received critical praise and a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Best Actor for his lead performance in Charlie Kaufman's psychological drama I'm Thinking of Ending Things. Jesse Plemons in Talks to Star in Charlie Kaufman's 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' (EXCLUSIVE) In 2021, Plemons gave supporting performances in Judas and the Black Messiah, a film about civil rights activist Fred Hampton and the Disney adventure film Jungle Cruise. In the same year, Plemons starred in the supernatural horror film Antlers, again collaborating with director Scott Cooper, and starred once again alongside his real life partner and Fargo co-star Kirsten Dunst in Jane Campion's western drama The Power of the Dog, for which he has received praise and a number of accolades, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2022, Plemons starred in Charlie McDowell's noir thriller Windfall, which also marked his first credit as a producer. It was about this time Plemons noted that the number of people referring to him by his nickname "Meth Damon" had started to decline.
Personal life
Plemons has been married to fellow actor Kirsten Dunst since 2022. He began a relationship with his Fargo co-star in March 2016, and the two got engaged a year later. The couple welcomed their first son born in 2018 and their second son born in 2021. In February 2022, Plemons and Dunst were both nominated for Academy Awards for their roles in The Power of the Dog. They were officially married in July of that year.
Health
In 2015, Plemons deliberately gained 45 pounds to portray Kevin Weeks in Black Mass. In 2024, he announced he had lost over 50 pounds through intermittent fasting and a diet focused on whole foods, while also later expressing regret for his deliberate transformation. He later denied the use of Ozempic to further his weight loss.
Filmography
Film
1998 Finding North Hobo 1999 Varsity Blues Tommy Harbor 2000 All the Pretty Horses Young John Grady Cole 2002 Children on Their Birthdays Preacher Star Like Mike Ox 2003 When Zachary Beaver Came to Town Jay The Failures Boe 2008 The Flyboys Bully No. 1 2009 Observe and Report Charles Shrink Jesus 2010 Happiness Runs Chad Meeting Spencer Spencer West 2011 Paul Jake 2012 The Master Val Dodd Battleship Jimmy "Ordy" Ord 2014 The Homesman Garn Sours Flutter David 2015 Black Mass Kevin Weeks The Program Floyd Landis Bridge of Spies Joe Murphy 2016 Other People David Mulcahey 2017 The Discovery Toby Harbor American Made Sheriff Joe Downing Hostiles Lieutenant Rudy Kidder The Post Roger Clark 2018 Game Night Gary Kingsbury Vice Kurt 2019 The Irishman Chuckie O'Brien Todd Alquist 2020 Short film I'm Thinking of Ending Things Jake 2021 Judas and the Black Messiah Roy Mitchell Jungle Cruise Prince Joachim The Power of the Dog George Burbank Antlers Sheriff Paul Meadows 2022 Windfall CEO Also producer 2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Tom White 2024 Civil War Militiaman Uncredited cameo Kinds of Kindness Robert / Daniel / Andrew 2025 Bugonia Teddy 2026 Post-production Plutarch Heavensbee Filming
Television
2000 Walker, Texas Ranger Russell, Jr. Episode: "The General's Return" 2001 The Guardian Lawrence Neal Episode: "Paternity" Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Bigger Kid Episode: "Really Big Season Opener" 2003 The Lyon's Den Ray Ferris Episode: "The Other Side of Caution" Judging Amy James Franklin Episode: "Marry, Marry Quite Contrary" 2004 Huff Dawson James Episode: "Cold Day in Shanghai" Owen Durbin Episode: "Down the Drain" 2006 Grey's Anatomy Jake Burton Episode: "Yesterday" NCIS Jason Geckler Episode: "Deception" 2006–2011 Friday Night Lights Landry Clarke 59 episodes 2008 Fear Itself Lemmon Episode: "The Sacrifice" 2009 Cold Case Ryan Stewart Episode: "Into the Blue/The Long Blue Line" 2011 Childrens Hospital Jesse Episode: "Father's Day" 2012 Bent Gary 6 episodes 2012–2013 Breaking Bad Todd Alquist 13 episodes 2014, 2016,
2018Drunk History Various roles 3 episodes 2014 Olive Kitteridge Jerry McCarthy Miniseries, 2 episodes 2015 Fargo Ed Blumquist 10 episodes 2017 No Activity Angus 8 episodes 2017,
2025Black Mirror Captain Robert Daly Episode: "USS Callister" & "" 2023 Love & Death Allan Gore Miniseries, 7 episodes 2025 Zero Day Roger Carlson Miniseries, 5 episodes
Accolades
External links
Categories: 21st-century American Male Actors, American Male Child Actors, American Male Film Actors, American Male Television Actors, Living People, Male Actors From Dallas, People From Mart, Texas, Rice University People, Texas Tech University Alumni, 1988 Births, Cannes Film Festival Award For Best Actor Winners
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