(Photo by MGM / Everett Collection. THE ACCOUNTANT 2.)
Jon Bernthal’s best Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer
In an age where toxic masculinity rages online, young boys are being influenced by the wrong people, and blatant sexism and bigotry will land someone in a position of power rather than shunned from society, Jon Bernthal is pushing back. This talented actor, known for playing best friends with an axe to grind, brooding and conflicted assassins, and argumentative and dangerous siblings, has an impressive and effective resume. But perhaps equally important as Bernthal’s acting roles might be his podcast.
Another actor with a podcast, you say? “Real Ones” with Jon Bernthal is different, and a welcome bastion against the forces of darkness from an actor who has long supported positive role models. This podcast has open and heartbreaking discussions with interesting people, without any particular agenda in mind. Bernthal also a strong ally to the LGBTQ+ community and a frequent critic of those who misuse the Punisher symbol for their own ends.
Interested in perusing some of Bernthal’s many roles? Here’s an overview of his career, followed by a ranking of his movies and TV shows by Tomatometer.
THE WALKING DEAD: Seasons 1 & 2 (2010-11): The first place most of us saw Bernthal’s work was in AMC’s The Walking Dead, based on the long-running comic book series created by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. In the first two seasons, Bernthal plays Shane, the best friend of main character Rick Grimes. Right away, fans and critics latched on to Bernthal’s simmering performance, especially since Shane enters into a secret relationship with Rick’s wife Lori while Rick is in a coma at the start of the series. Shane ultimately isn’t thrilled with Rick’s reemergence following the zombie apocalypse, and is the first of many to try and kill Rick with fatal results for Shane. Indeed, reviewers early in Season 2 (and readers of the comic book) were starting to catch on to Shane’s deception.
Salon’s Matt Zoller Seitz on The Walking Dead: “For some reason, Jon Bernthal’s performance exudes untrustworthiness; I keeping hoping he’ll turn out to be a conniving and selfish character, the kind of guy that the young Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas might have played back in the day.”
DAREDEVIL (2015-2018), THE PUNISHER (2017-19), DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN (2025-): We next saw Bernthal in an example of perfect casting: his co-starring role in Marvel’s Netflix series Daredevil Season 2 as the gun-toting, single-minded assassin, The Punisher. Bernthal injects this comic book character with loads of internal conflict and pathos. Bernthal’s performance was so effective that he graduated to his own show, The Punisher, which lasted for two seasons toward the end of Marvel’s run on Netflix. As mentioned below, Bernthal is back again, and even more compelling, in 2025’s Daredevil: Born Again.
/Film’s Jacob Hall on Daredevil Season 2: “In a season with many new highlights, Bernthal shines the brightest. It takes an actor of great skill to make ‘vengeful soldier sets out for revenge’ interesting, but he finds an angle. Even when his face isn’t a mask of bruises, his Frank Castle looks like he’s in constant pain, a twitchy mess looking for someone, anything, that will bring order to his broken world. And in his case, that anything happens to be violence. There’s a dark nobility to his performance, a single-mindedness that lets us know (long before the characters onscreen know) that the Punisher may be the sanest guy in Hell’s Kitchen. And that makes him all the more frightening.”
In Daredevil: Born Again, Bernthal’s Punisher returns, 10 years after he originated the role, and the two very different crime fighters trade philosophies about their approaches: Daredevil prefers to beat up the bad guys, but never kill, and Punisher simply takes out his opponents as quickly, and permanently, as possible.
San Francisco Chronicle’s Zaki Hasan on Daredevil: Born Again: “That moral conflict is woven throughout the series, even bringing back Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, Marvel’s gun-toting vigilante who debuted in the previous show and starred in his own series for two seasons. The Punisher’s brutal methods starkly contrast with Murdock’s own struggles. Their philosophical debates on the nature of violence provide some of the season’s most engrossing moments.”
BABY DRIVER & WIND RIVER (2017): In between Marvel seasons, Bernthal scored a couple of highly memorable roles in two highly rated crime movies (both Certified Fresh) from two first-rate filmmakers: Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River.
In Baby Driver, Bernthal plays Griff, a security man in the heist crew, someone who takes his work extremely seriously, and a criminal who is perpetually annoyed to a humorous degree by the music-obsessed title character, Baby (Ansel Elgort).
The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern on Baby Driver: “The gang has its own claims to distinction. Jon Hamm is Buddy, formerly a stockbroker on Wall Street. Eiza González is Darling, Buddy’s volcanic—i.e. crazy—girlfriend. Jon Bernthal is Griff, a hard case and a funny one.”
In Wind River, Bernthal’s small role is a riveting one, as he delivers an extended heart-rending speech about loss. Sheridan’s projects are known for incisive monologues, and this is no exception.
THE BEAR (2022-): Remarkably, Bernthal’s performance as Mikey in The Bear, the brother who ended his own life, kicking off main character and younger brother Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) ascent to head chef at the family restaurant, is notable for his absence and effect on the other characters throughout the series. Bernthal appears very sparingly but sharply in flashbacks, as Mikey’s happy-go-lucky (with a drinking problem) personality contrasts fully with Carmy’s intensity and Mikey’s best friend Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) loud brashness. This is never more apparent than the infamous Christmas flashback episode “Fishes” in Season 2, where a seething and utensil-throwing Mikey nearly comes to blows with his Uncle Lee, played by a very angry Bob Odenkirk. This brief but pointed presence throughout the series landed Bernthal an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Financial Times’ Joe Einav on The Bear Season 2: “Before Richie’s moment of tenderness comes a bruising hour-long episode that flashes back to a nightmarish Berzatto family Christmas. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Jon Bernthal as Carmy’s volatile mother and late brother (Bob Odenkirk and Sarah Paulson also appear), it is an extraordinary piece of tragicomedy — at once a hysterical farce and a raw, soul-draining domestic drama. You wish more TV could be this intense while feeling relieved that it isn’t.”
THE ACCOUNTANT & THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (2016 & 2025): One of Bernthal’s major breaks in movies came through in Ben Affleck’s The Accountant, where he plays a familiar role as a grumpy but talented assassin and foil to Affleck’s autistic thinking-person’s killer. As revealed, Bernthal’s and Affleck’s characters are brothers, and in Certified Fresh sequel The Accountant 2 the two very different siblings play off each other effectively in between killings.
The Wrap’s Matt Donato on The Accountant 2: “Bernthal and Affleck share beers, push buttons and liberate guarded encampments as brotherly mercenaries who are fine apart — although Bernthal does no wrong all film — but captivatingly hilarious together. There’s a buddy comedy vibe that sustains when no one’s dying, which is lucky because action sequences are front and back-loaded.”
Bernthal has two new interesting roles: a quasi-ally to Rami Malek’s CIA revenge quest in The Amateur, and in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an adaptation of the epic poem, out in 2026. As Bernthal’s roles have become meatier over time, he’s revealed many facets to his acting talent, focusing on masculine characters who aren’t afraid to show dimension and emotion. At the same time, he’s been willing to return to morally conflicted assassin characters that kicked off his career. It’ll be fascinating to see what intense role he takes on next, and what deep and involved conversations he has next, and with whom, on “Real Ones.”
In the meantime, catch up on Bernthal’s roles with this list in order of Tomatometer ranking, with Certified Fresh films and shows first. (Steve Horton)
Critics Consensus: A feelgood adventure brought to life by outstanding performances, The Peanut Butter Falcon finds rich modern resonance in classic American fiction.
Synopsis: After running away from a residential nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a pro wrestler, a man who [More]
Critics Consensus: A spiritual successor to The Wire with an even more pessimistic outlook on law enforcement, We Own This City deftly explores compromised individuals to paint an overall picture of systemic corruption.
Critics Consensus: Stylish, exciting, and fueled by a killer soundtrack, Baby Driver hits the road and it's gone -- proving fast-paced action movies can be smartly written without sacrificing thrills.
Synopsis: Talented getaway driver Baby relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. After [More]
Critics Consensus:Ford v Ferrari delivers all the polished auto action audiences will expect -- and balances it with enough gripping human drama to satisfy non-racing enthusiasts.
Synopsis: American automotive designer Carroll Shelby and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics [More]
Critics Consensus: Led by outstanding work from Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro, Sicario is a taut, tightly wound thriller with much more on its mind than attention-getting set pieces.
Synopsis: After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer receives a top assignment. Recruited by [More]
Critics Consensus:Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message - and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen.
Synopsis: A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows -- Veronica, Linda, [More]
Critics Consensus:King Richard transcends sport biopic formulas with refreshingly nuanced storytelling -- and a towering performance from Will Smith in the title role.
Synopsis: Armed with a clear vision and a brazen 78-page plan, Richard Williams is determined to write his daughters, Venus and [More]
Critics Consensus: An honest, albeit horrifying, exploration of World War II, The Pacific is a visually stunning miniseries not for the faint of heart.
Critics Consensus:Wind River lures viewers into a character-driven mystery with smart writing, a strong cast, and a skillfully rendered setting that delivers the bitter chill promised by its title.
Synopsis: Cory Lambert is a wildlife officer who finds the body of an 18-year-old woman on an American Indian reservation in [More]
Critics Consensus: Resurrecting Charlie Cox's Daredevil with his virtues intact -- namely Vincent D'Onofrio as his terrifying adversary -- Born Again is an ambitious and at times ungainly crime saga that marks a mature tonal shift for the MCU.
Critics Consensus: Blood-spattered, emotionally resonant, and white-knuckle intense, The Walking Dead puts an intelligent spin on the overcrowded zombie subgenre.
Critics Consensus: A moving drama that's unafraid to ask big questions, Origin honors its source material with powerful performances in service of a deeply emotional story.
Synopsis: While grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, Isabel sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery. Despite the colossal [More]
Critics Consensus: Bolstered by some impressive action, Daredevil keeps its footing in season two, even if its new adversaries can't quite fill the void left by Wilson Fisk.
Critics Consensus: The second season of The Walking Dead fleshes out the characters while maintaining the grueling tension and gore that made the show a hit.
Critics Consensus: Funny, self-referential, and irreverent to a fault, The Wolf of Wall Street finds Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at their most infectiously dynamic.
Synopsis: In 1987, Jordan Belfort takes an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still [More]
Critics Consensus: Smart and well-acted, Sweet Virginia delivers a tense, atmospheric thriller that transcends genre conventions even as it embraces them.
Synopsis: An ex-rodeo rider strikes up a friendship with a young man who may be behind the violence occurring in their [More]
Critics Consensus: Overall, Fury is a well-acted, suitably raw depiction of the horrors of war that offers visceral battle scenes but doesn't quite live up to its larger ambitions.
Synopsis: In April 1945, the Allies are making their final push in the European theater. A battle-hardened Army sergeant named Don [More]
Critics Consensus: Improving on the original by leaning into Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal's buddy comedy chemistry, The Accountant 2 can safely be filed under a good time at the movies.
Synopsis: Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) has a talent for solving complex problems. When an old acquaintance is murdered, leaving behind a [More]
Critics Consensus:Rampart sends viewers plummeting into a nihilistic hell of its protagonist's creation, yet Woody Harrelson's performance in the central role is too magnetic to dismiss.
Synopsis: In 1999, Officer Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson), a 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, tends to follow his [More]
Critics Consensus: Even as its storytelling chafes at the edges of its cinematic constraints, The Many Saints of Newark proves The Sopranos' allure is still powerful.
Synopsis: Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark's history, becoming a man just [More]
Critics Consensus: A rocky start can't keep The Punisher from pushing the boundaries of Marvel's TV universe with a fresh take on the comics-derived action thriller.
Critics Consensus: Rami Malek is a compellingly unconventional action hero in the otherwise formulaic The Amateur, which dispenses justice with solid execution but a curious lack of emotional stakes.
Synopsis: Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) is a brilliant, but deeply introverted decoder for the CIA working out of a basement office [More]
Critics Consensus:The Punisher's second season leaves fans torn between the undeniably action-packed fun and the underwhelming portrayal of the charismatic Frank Castle.
Critics Consensus: Though it features one of Dwayne Johnson's more thoughtful performances, the presentation of Snitch's underlying message is muddled by lackluster storytelling and some tonal inconsistencies.
Synopsis: At 18 years old, Jason receives a mandatory 10-year prison sentence after being caught with a package that contained illegal [More]
Critics Consensus:The Accountant writes off a committed performance from Ben Affleck, leaving viewers with a scattershot action thriller beset by an array of ill-advised deductions.
Synopsis: Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a mathematics savant with more affinity for numbers than people. Using a small-town CPA office [More]
Critics Consensus: A series of promising ideas lost in scattershot execution, Sharp Stick stands as a disappointing setback for writer-director Lena Dunham.
Synopsis: Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth) is a sensitive and naïve 26-year-old living on the fringes of Hollywood with her disillusioned mother [More]
Critics Consensus:Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian is busy enough to keep the kids interested but the slapstick goes overboard and the special effects (however well executed) throw the production into mania.
Synopsis: Once the night guard at the Museum of Natural History, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is now a successful purveyor of [More]
Critics Consensus:We Are Your Friends boasts magnetic stars and glimmers of insight, but they're lost in a clichéd coming-of-age story as programmed as the soundtrack's beats.
Synopsis: Young Cole Carter (Zac Efron) dreams of hitting the big time as a Hollywood disc jockey, spending his days and [More]
Critics Consensus:The Unforgivable proves Sandra Bullock is more than capable of playing against type, but her performance is wasted on a contrived and unrelentingly grim story.
Synopsis: Released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime, Ruth Slater (Sandra Bullock) re-enters a society that refuses [More]
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