Jeffrey Dean Morganbecame a household name with epic roles as Denny Duquette inGrey’s Anatomyand as the ultimate villain Negan inThe Walking Dead.The down-to-earth and charismatic performer has been a staple in Hollywood since the mid-2000s, having also famously appeared as John Winchester in the smash hit fantasy seriesSupernaturaland later on the big screen in films likeP.S. I Love You,The Losers, andWatchmen.
He experienced a massive resurgence in popularity when he took on the role of the violent baseball bat-wielding villain Negan in thefan-favorite zombie seriesThe Walking Dead; he would portray the character for six phenomenal seasons and currently stars in his own spin-offThe Walking Dead: Dead City.Morgan’s next project will be in the satirical superhero showThe Boys,though information on his character is currently kept under wraps.
Let’s take a look back at Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s enduring career and check out his best movies, as ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.
10The Losers - 48%
Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book series of the same name, the 2010 action flickThe Loserstouts a sensational cast led by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldaña, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans, and centers on a former elite black ops team who is double-crossed by their organization and are forced to fake their deaths after a mission goes horribly awry and leaves innocent people dead.
Related:Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Best Performances, Ranked
Morgan appears as Clay, the de facto leader of the motley crew who sets out to get revenge on those responsible for the botched hit after being approached by a mysterious woman (Saldaña) who also wants to seek vengeance for her own personal reasons. Despite its top-tier ensemble,The Losersfailed to make a splash at the box office and was heavily compared toThe A-Team, which was released shortly after and shared a similar premise.
9Rampage - 51%
Loosely inspired by the iconic ‘80svideo game series, the 2018 sci-fi action extravaganzaRampagestars Dwayne Johnson as primatologist and former Special Forces soldier Davis Okoye as he fights to protect a gorilla he helped save from poachers after the animal experiences a terrifying mutation after being exposed to a pathogen that causes him to get bigger and bigger and more violent.
Okoye teams up with a disgraced genetic engineer (Naomie Harris) and a determined government agent (Morgan) to safely capture the gorilla and two other mutant animals from causing widespread destruction. Despite earning mixed reviews from critics,Rampagedid garner praise for its exhilarating action sequences, exciting special effects, and charismatic performances, with both Johnson and Morgan being singled out for their portrayals. The blockbuster also raked in an impressive $428 million and was given an A- CinemaScore by audiences.
In the 2004 musical zombie comedyDead & Breakfast, a group of longtime friends winds up lost in the small Texas town of Lovelock while en route to a wedding and end up having to stay at a bed and breakfast run by a weird and unsettling owner. After bodies start dropping like flies, the group finds themselves questioned by the local town sheriff (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and during the extensive interrogation, one of the friends unleashes a demonic presence that causes the townspeople to turn into zombies.
Dead & Breakfasthad its worldwide premiere at the SXSW Film Festival where it attracted praise for its over-the-top campiness and humor but was criticized for its screenplay and overall corniness. Regardless, the comedy won Best Film at Shriekfest and received a Saturn Award nomination for Best DVD Release.
7Desierto - 63%
Gael García Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan headlined the 2015 thrillerDesierto, finding themselves on opposite sides of good and evil as a group of Mexican migrant workers trying to cross the border find themselves ruthlessly pursued by a racist, gun-toting vigilante determined to keep them out of his country. Moises (Bernal) desperately tries to outwit the psychotic hunter Sam (Morgan) as he begins to pick off the vulnerable migrants one by one in a profound act of violence.
Desiertois a taut picture that showcased Morgan’s fantastic ability to play a truly despicable antagonist (an art he has gotten great at), and the gripping thriller went on to win the Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics for Special Presentations. It was also heavily considered as a contender for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
6Watchmen - 65%
Zack Snyder directedthe big screen adaptation of the eponymous DC Comics series with 2009’sWatchmen, set during a dystopian 1985 and centering on a group of retired superheroes who are brought back together after years apart to investigate the grisly murder of one of their members and inadvertently finds themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy.
Featuring a stacked ensemble cast including Malin Åkerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Billy Crudup, and Patrick Wilson, the exciting flick stars Morgan as Edward Blake also known as The Comedian, a cigar-smoking, gun-toting who was a former member of the Minutemen.
Related:Movies That Would Have Made Better Miniseries
Despite initially being hesitant to take on the role because of his earlier demise in the picture, Morgan understood the importance of the character and delivered a scene-stealing performance. On casting the actor,Snyder once commented, “It’s hard to find a man’s man in Hollywood. It just is. And Jeffrey came in and was grumpy and cool and grizzled, and I was, like, ‘OK, Jeffrey is perfect!'”
5The Salvation - 72%
Jeffrey Dean Morgan once again embraced his villainous ways when he appeared in the Danish WesternThe Salvation, sharing the screen with Mads Mikkelson and portraying a cruel and barbaric land baron in 1870s America who ruthlessly targets the man responsible for his brother’s death. After his wife and son are brutally murdered by two criminals, Danish settler Jon (Mikkelson) finds himself in an all-out frontier war with gang leader Henry Delarue (Morgan) after retaliating and killing his violent sibling.
The Salvationattracted rave reviews for its homage to the traditional Wild West genre, explosive action, and dynamite performances by Mikkelson and Morgan. In their glowing review of the exciting flick,The Observer commendedMorgan’s portrayal and declared, “Best reason to seeThe Salvation: its chief varmint, played with ornery glint and bristling whiskers by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who has the sleepy-eyed malignity of vintage western heavy Jack Elam.”
4Fall - 80%
In the 2022 anxiety-inducing survival thrillerFall, best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner) set out for an adrenaline-fueled adventure and make it their mission to climb to the top of an abandoned 2,000-foot-tall radio tower in an effort to conquer their fears.
After they find themselves stranded on the remote tower, the young women mustfight to survivethe elements and figure out how to help themselves as their time begins to run out. Jeffrey Dean Morgan appears as Becky’s estranged father James, who tries to help locate his daughter and rescue her after she manages to communicate with him.
Fallwas both a critical and commercial hit, garnering rave reviews for its stunning (and equally nerve-wracking) cinematography), uneasy suspense, and commanding performances by Currey and Gardner. Due to its overwhelming success at the box office and its popularity on Netflix,a sequel was announcedto be in the works in March 2023.
3Kabluey - 84%
Scott Prendergast wrote, directed, and starred in the 2007 comedyKabluey, telling the entertaining story of down-on-her-luck mother Leslie Miniver (Lisa Kudrow) as she is forced to return to work to make ends meet after her husband is sent back to Iraq and her slacker brother-in-law Salman (Prendergast) moves in to help take care of her two young sons. Morgan portrays Leslie’s boss Brad, whom she is having a secret affair with to cope with her stress and anxiety but does not truly care for romantically.
Kablueyhighlights Salman as he attempts to find some direction and purpose in life after constantly feeling like a loser, stepping up to help out his brother’s family in an effort to turn a new leaf. The independent flick earned positive praise for its wacky screenplay and heartfelt message, with Kudrow earning a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
2The Integrity of Joseph Chambers - 90%
Clayne Crawford stars as the titular character in the 2022 dramaThe Integrity of Joseph Chambers, following the devoted family man and insurance salesman as he sets out to prove he could provide for his loved ones if an apocalypse ever occurred, heading out to the woods to go dear hunting in an effort to prove his worth as a survivalist.
While on his ill-conceived excursion, Joseph becomes caught upin a traumatic nightmareinvolving a stranger in the woods (Michael Raymond-James) that swiftly puts him on the radar of the suspicious local police chief (Morgan) and causes him to face an unimaginable decision.
The Integrity of Joseph Chambershad its worldwide premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, where audiences were taken on an unsettling and nerve-wracking ride alongside the irresponsible protagonist, with Crawford garnering widespread acclaim for his layered and compelling performance.
1Days of Wrath - 100%
Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrayed a man on a mission to avenge the murder of his former girlfriend in the 2008 dramaDays of Wrath, which chronicles the aftermath of a carjacking gone wrong in the streets of Los Angeles that resulted in the death of an innocent woman caught up in the gang violence.
After ruthless gangster Danny Boy (Wilmer Valderrama) sends his crew out to commit the robbery, he becomes public enemy number one for both the authorities, a local TV news crew including its manager Bryan Gordon (Morgan), and fellow gangs determined to get revenge for the act.
Days of Wrathexperienced numerous release delays but when it finally hit theaters achieved phenomenal reviews for its complex storyline and sensational performances. The gritty drama brilliantly intertwined the conflicting characters and stories and its dynamite ensemble cast was fantastic in chronicling the profound aftermathof gang violenceand how it affects people of all walks of life.
