Killers of the Flower Moonis an epic Western dramadirected by Martin Scorsese. The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023 and ended with a standing ovation from the crowd. It’s based on the nonfiction book of the same name by David Grann and is expected to be afront-runner at the Academy Awardsthis February. Even at a whopping 206 minutes,Killers of the Flower Moonis one of Scorsese’s most sweeping and exciting movies.
The story of how the movie was made goes back to 2016, when Imperative Entertainment scored the right to adapt Grann’s book. Like many films,Killers of the Flower Moonwas pushed back multiple times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, Apple TV+ and Paramount Pictures picked up the tab to finish and distribute the movie. It hits theaters on July 26, 2025, and features some of the best actors in the business. It has already won a Golden Globe Award and was named Best Film by the National Board of Review. Here are some of their previous films that are worth checking out.
Update July 30, 2025: In honor ofKillers of the Flower Moon,now arriving on AppleTV+, this article has been updated with even more great films from the cast as well as where each title is streaming.
10Sturgill Simpson - Queen & Slim
Music fans knowSturgill Simpsonas the alt-country crooner who writes creative songs and knows how to play some mean licks on guitar. He’s also an accomplished actor, with a handful of major motion picture cameos under his belt. InKillers of the Flower Moon,Simpson plays Henry Grammer, a man who was accused of being involved in the conspiracy of the Osage murders. In real life, Grammer’s involvement was not proven at the time of his death in 1923.
Simpson Showcases His Range
Simpson’s best role was in the heist filmQueen & Slimin 2019. After an awkward Tinder date, “Queen” (Jodie Turner-Smith) and “Slim” (Daniel Kaluuya) drive home together. Simpson played Police Officer Reed, a racist cop who pulls the couple over for no reason. The situation escalates and Slim ends up shooting the officer. Simpson plays the part well, leaving the viewer infuriated that an overzealous cop once again comes out looking like the victim.Rent/Buy onPrime Video
Queen & Slim
9Lily Gladstone - First Cow
Lily Gladstoneis an American actress who was born in Montana and grew up on the reservation of the Blackfeet Nation.Killers of the Flower Moonis her first big-budget motion picture and her first time working with Scorsese. In the film, she plays Mollie Burkhart, a woman in the Osage tribe who is being rocked by mysterious murders. Her performance has been hailed by critics as the true star of the film and she has already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama and is now the frontrunner for the Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards.
Gladstone’s Compelling Performance
Gladstone’s most memorable movie to date is 2020’sFirst Cow.It’s about a group of dairy farmers in Oregon in the early 1800s who are trying to survive on the only cow they have. Gladstone plays the wife of Chief Factor, a wealthy English trader, with the thought-provoking drama marking her second collaboration with director Kelly Reichardt (having also appeared inCertain Women).First Cowearned rave reviews and is considered one ofthe best movies of 2020.Stream onPrime Video
8Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant
Leonardo DiCapriois one ofHollywood’s most accomplished actors. He’s appeared in countless Academy Award-nominated films, such asTitanic,The Aviator, andThe Wolf of Wall Street, to name a few. InKillers of the Flower Moon, he stars as Ernest Burkhart, the man who conspires to kill members of the Osage tribe to inherit the oil rights for their land.
DiCaprio Finally Wins The Elusive Oscar
It’s almost impossible to pick one DiCaprio movie as his best. Everyone has their favorites, but the one movie that stands out isThe Revenant. It’s about a man who is attacked by a bear and left to die by his comrades, with the illustrious actor appearing alongside Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter in the harrowing picture. DiCaprio finally won an Oscar for Best Actor for the role after many nominations, ending the debate once and for all about whether he was one of the best actors of his generation or not.Rent onApple TV+
Related:Best Leonardo DiCaprio Movies, Ranked
The Revenant
7Scott Shepherd - Bridge of Spies
Scott Shepherdis a character actor who a lot of people have probably seen but don’t recognize. Like many actors, he got his start in theater and appeared in productions by The Wooster Group in New York City. Shepherd has since been in TV shows likeThe Last of UsandThe Young Pope,bringing a sense of realism and intensity to the limited roles he’s had thus far. He plays Bryan Burkhart, brother of accused murderer Ernest Burkhart, inKillers of the Flower Moon.
Spielberg’s Sensational Drama
In 2015, Shepherd nabbed a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s engrossing spy dramaBridge of Spies, portraying CIA operative Hoffman and sharing the screen with Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance. The film follows Hanks' James B. Donovan as he attempts to negotiate the release of captured American pilot Francis Gary Powers during the Cold War; the acclaimed picture went on to win an Academy Award and was named one of the Top Ten Films of the Year by the American Film Institute.Stream onParamount+
Bridge of Spies
6Jason Isbell - Deadwood: The Movie
Jason Isbellis another alt-country musician who will be appearing inKillers of the Flower Moon. Isbell is an established star in the folk scene, having released nine studio albums, including six with his backing band, the 400 Unit. In the movie, Isbell plays Bill Smith, an ally of the Osage tribe who is murdered when a bomb planted underneath his house goes off.
A Blossoming Film Career
Isbell’s film and TV credits are few and far between, but the one movie he’s been in that has earned considerable attention isDeadwood: The Movie. Based on the HBO show of the same name, the film sees the characters reuniting after ten years apart to celebrate South Dakota’s statehood. Isbell has a small cameo in the movie as a wedding guest, which makesKillers of the Flower Moonhis first big role in a feature film.Stream onMax
Deadwood: The Movie
5Brendan Fraser - The Whale
Read Our Review
Brendan Fraserhas been experiencing a career resurgence as of late. After starring in a string of popular 1990s movies, includingThe Mummy,George of the Jungle, andEncino Man,Fraser faded into obscurity and didn’t have a hit movie for quite some time. Fraser appears in Killers of the Flower Moon as W. S. Hamilton, William King Hale’s attorney and his introduction is one of the best in any film of 2023. Killers of the Flower Moon is Fraser’s first big role following Darren Aronofsky’sThe Whalewith a performance that had audiences talking.
The Brenaissance Is Born
The Whaleis the film that won Fraser the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the film he played the role as Charlie, a reclusive teacher who doesn’t like to leave his house because of his weight. He wants to reconnect with his daughter (Sadie Sink) but finds it hard due to the tensions that have been building up between them over the years. The critically lauded picture helped breathe new life into the actor’s career and also birthed thefan-driven Brenaiassance;his next project will be in the upcoming comedyBrothers, starring Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage.Stream onParamount+
Related:8 Quintessential Brendan Fraser Movies You Should See at Least Once
A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser.
4Tantoo Cardinal - Dances with Wolves
Tantoo Cardinalis a veteran Canadian actor who is of Cree and Metis heritage. She’s appeared in several major motion pictures, includingDances with Wolves,Legends of the Fall, andWind River.In 2011, she was made a member of the Order of Canada, Canada’s second-highest order, for her contributions towards advancing Aboriginal performing arts in that country. She can also be seen on the Marvel seriesEcho, airing on Disney+ and Hulu.
Cardinal & Costner Team-Up
Cardinal’s best movie is the 1990 movieDances with Wolves. The film was directed by, and stars Kevin Costner and was largely filmed in Cardinal’s native province of Alberta. She plays Black Shawl in the movie, the wife of a tribe person and medicine man Kicking Bird (Graham Greene). Cardinal stars as Lizzie Q, Mollie Burkhart’s mother, inKillers of the Flower Moon. She is certainly one of the most accomplished Native-American actors working in Hollywood and it is great to see her getting such a big spotlight performance in a Martin Scorsese movie.Rent/Buy onPrime Video
Dances With Wolves
3Jesse Plemons - The Power of the Dog
If you’re a pop culture buff, chances are you’ve seenJesse Plemonson screen a lot lately. The Texan actor has appeared in a ton of movies and shows over the last few years, including TV series likeBreaking Bad,Fargo, andBlack Mirror, and movies likeThe Master,Jungle Cruise,Game NightandJudas and the Black Messiah, to name a few. InKillers of the Flower Moon, Plemons plays Tom White, an FBI agent called in to investigate William Hale’s (Rober DeNiro) involvement in the Osage tribe murders.
An Oscar-Winning Knockout
Plemons is also married to Kirsten Dunst, with whom he shares the screen within Jane Campion’s 2021 Western filmThe Power of the Dog. Campion won Best Director for the movie at the Academy Awards. With strong acting, beautiful cinematography, and tense dialogue,The Power of the Dogis Plemons' best movie, as he rightfully earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.Stream onNetflix
The Power of the Dog
2John Lithgow - Beatriz at Dinner
John Lithgowis a legend of the stage and screen. He started acting way back in 1972 and broke through in Brian De Palma’s thrillerObsessionin 1976. He’s appeared in countless movies and TV shows since. Kids know Lithgow as the voice of the evil Lord Farquaad inShrek,while adults will recognize him as the father figure Dick Solomon in3rd Rock from the Sun. He also won Emmys for his role in series likeDexterandThe Crown.
Big & Small Screen Takeover
With such a strong filmography, it’s difficult to pick one John Lithgow movie as his best. One of the best might beBeatriz at Dinner, a 2017 film starring Salma Hayek. The movie focuses on a Los Angeles massage therapist and holistic healer named Beatriz (Hayek), who ends up needing to stay at a party one of her clients is holding. In it, she ends up getting many political debates with Doug Strutt, a conservative businessman who at times is a very thinly veiled Donald Trump. While Lithgow has played villains before, something about his role in this is particularly despicable as his casual racism, misogyny, and cruelty go unchallenged by so many except Beatriz. It is a shocking performance that goes so far against Lithgow’s very nice persona so it is a standout one worth checking out. Rent onPrime Video.
Beatriz at Dinner
1Robert De Niro - Raging Bull
Speaking of legends, there’s no bigger acting legend alive thanRobert De Niro. The sheer number of amazing movies he’s starred in is too exhaustive to list, but his most memorable films includeTaxi Driver,Goodfellas,The Irishman,The Deerhunter,Heat,and more. De Niro brings his signature accent and swagger to everything he does. InKillers of the Flower Moon, he’s William Hale, a cattleman who’s accused of being involved in the conspiracy to murder members of the Osage tribe.
A Cinematic Legend
The debate about thebest Robert De Niro moviescould go on forever, but the one movie that takes the cake isRaging Bull. De Niro plays middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta, a tough but insecure guy from the Bronx who can’t control his anger management issues. De Niro gained 70 pounds to play LaMotta later in life and won an Oscar for Best Actor for his efforts. It is also fitting that the movie be a collaboration between DeNiro and Scorsese, just likeKillers of the Flower Moon.Stream onPrime Video
Raging Bull
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull is a 1980 sports drama based on the rise and fall of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta as he strives for success while dealing with his inner demons and his violent temper. Robert De Niro stars as the middleweight champion, with Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, and Nicholas Colasanto in supporting roles.
