Benny Safdie
Birthday: Born in 1986-02-24 in New York City, New York, USA
Deathday: Alive
Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) is an American filmmaker, actor, and editor best known for his collaborations with his older brother, Josh Safdie. Together, the Safdie brothers have established themselves as leading voices in contemporary independent cinema with acclaimed films such as Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). In addition to directing, Benny has pursued a parallel career as an actor. His performance in Good Time earned him a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He has since appeared in high-profile films including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza (2021), Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023), and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023). On television, he co-created, co-wrote, and starred alongside Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in the Showtime series The Curse (2023).
TV Credits
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Character: Nari
During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, embarks on a crucial mission to confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire....
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Character: Self
After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York....
Togetherness
Character: Craddock Brother #2
Four adults nearing 40, living under the same roof, struggle to keep their relationships and their individual dreams alive....
The Neistat Brothers
Character: Self
Following Casey and Van Neistat, The Neistat Brothers is a autobiographical documentary following the lives and adventures of the two brothers. The series follows their travels around the world and New York as they tell their stories about six week chunks of their lives in their signature vlog-like style...
The Curse
Character: Dougie Schecter
An alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show....
The Daily Show
Character: Self
The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture....
Mr. Scorsese
Character: Self
Explore the many lives of Martin Scorsese through intimate interviews with the man himself, access to his private archives, plus conversations with Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Daniel Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg, and more....
Movie Credits
John's Gone
Character: John
John sells things online, cheats off dollar stores, needs friends but settles for strangers, has roaches. He is punch drunk, not with love but something far more strange and lost. One can only say John's gone....
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John
Character: John
John is a lonely man who wanders through the city, encountering various acquaintances of differing temperaments. Though he crosses paths with many people, some simply prefer not to be bothered with him....
Stars at Noon
Character: CIA Man
In present-day Nicaragua, a headstrong American journalist and a mysterious English businessman strike up a romance as they become embroiled in a dangerous labyrinth of lies and conspiracies and are forced to try and escape the country....
Oppenheimer
Character: Edward Teller
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II....
The Story of Charles Riverbank
Character: Charles Riverbank
This is the story of a man named Charles Riverbank, who, upon losing his home, wanders into various adventures (and a lot of dirty looks)....
There's Nothing You Can Do
Character:
The Safdie brothers repurpose reality television’s vocabulary of confrontation and cramped cinematography for a miniature study of urban maladies....
Second Stop from Jupiter: The Making of Daddy Longlegs
Character: Himself
A documentary chronicling the production of Daddy Longlegs....
Happy Gilmore 2
Character: Frank Manatee
Happy Gilmore isn't done with golf — not by a long shot. Since his retirement after his first Tour Championship win, Gilmore returns to finance his daughter's ballet classes....
Good Time
Character: Nick Nikas
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail....
Person to Person
Character: Eugene
Follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day....
Yeast
Character: Riverguy 2
A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships....
The Universe Is Out There: Josh and Benny Safdie
Character: Self
Get to know the siblings whose films have captured the skittering pulse of New York’s city streets. An original documentary featuring footage from the making of their new thriller, Good Time, along with several of the brothers’ early features and shorts. Produced by the Criterion Channel for their "Meet the Filmmakers" series....
I Think I'm Missing Parts
Character:
When her station wagon conks out by a secluded house in the woods, a woman peers from the window and watches a string of peculiar goings-on next door. Josh Safdie’s 11-minute short turns a simple breakdown into a quietly absurd, deadpan set-piece....
The Ralph Handel Story
Character: Ralph Handel
Co-directed by Benny and Josh Safdie, this deadpan mock-documentary follows Ralph Handel, a buttoned-down office worker who spends his nights bombing on the open-mic circuit. Staged as cinéma vérité that edges into performance art—Safdie performed the disastrous sets in real clubs—the film channels Andy Kaufman’s anti-comedy and the self-reflexive diary mode of David Holzman’s Diary to sketch a sly portrait of a life quietly coming undone....
John's Lonely Trip to Coney Island
Character:
John embarks on a trip to Coney Island for a day of fun and happiness. Things don't quite work out as planned....
What To Do When Choking
Character:
A 3-minute short film directed and edited by Benny Safdie, featuring Cassie Seale, Daniel S. Callahan, and Safdie himself....
If You See Something, Say Something
Character: Business Man 2
An early short film by Josh Safdie, co-written with Benny Safdie and featuring frequent collaborators including Sam Lisenco and Ariel Schulman. Running just over three minutes, it premiered at the 2006 New York Underground Film Festival....
Into the Woods with Mark
Character:
A short film directed by Benny Safdie, with cinematography by Josh Safdie and produced under the Red Bucket Films collective....
Goldman v Silverman
Character: Al Silverman
Rod Goldman and Al Silverman are street performers who work the tourist scene of Times Square. Goldman gets no respect and Silverman is the first one to make sure of that....
Solid Gold
Character: Goldman
A short observational piece by Josh and Benny Safdie, Solid Gold follows a gold-painted “living statue” (performed by Benny Safdie) working the streets and subways of New York—a compact study of street performance and the struggle to be seen, featured online via NoBudge in 2013....
Pieces of a Woman
Character: Chris
When a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss....
Licorice Pizza
Character: Joel Wachs
The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973....
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Character: Herbert Simon
When her family moves from New York City to New Jersey, an 11-year-old girl navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence....
A Hot Two Weeks: The Making of Heaven Knows What
Character:
The story behind the acclaimed film, "Heaven Knows What," directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, and inspired by the life of Arielle Holmes....
Question & Answer
Character: Self
The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS....
The Odyssey
Character:
Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War, chronicling his encounters with mythical beings such as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and the witch-goddess Circe....
The Adventures of Slater's Friend
Character: 1st Cameraman
A film crew trails Philbert Powell through his morning, from the supermarket to his job at a video store. Along the way, he crosses paths with several individuals all named “Slater.” His interactions with them raise the central question: who, among those Slaters, is his friend? The narrative unfolds across a single morning, blending encounters and identity as Philbert’s journey reveals the shifting dynamics of connection....
Alberto Live in a Bathroom
Character: Benny the Salesman
A man lives in a bathtub. He goes out for the day, then returns....