Benny Safdie | |
---|---|
Born | Benjamin Safdie February 24, 1986 New York City, U.S. |
Education | Boston University |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, actor, film editor |
Years active | 2007–present |
Spouse | Ava Francis (m. 2013) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives |
|
Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) [1] is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and film editor best known for working with his older brother Josh as a filmmaker. His directorial works include Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). Transitioning towards acting, Safdie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his role in Good Time and has since taken on roles in films such as Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Oppenheimer (both 2023). He co-created, co-wrote and starred in the television show The Curse (2023).
Safdie was born to Amy and Alberto Safdie; of Syrian Jewish descent and was raised in New York. [2] He and brother Josh divided their childhood living between their father in Queens and their mother and stepfather in Manhattan upon their parents' divorce. [2] He attended Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School [2] and graduated from the Boston University College of Communication in 2008.
The Safdies' first feature was the 2009 film Daddy Longlegs , which they also wrote the screenplay and edited together. [3] The film was showcased in the Directors' Fortnight at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. [4] In 2013, they debuted the documentary film Lenny Cooke at the Tribeca Film Festival, [5] a documentary they became attached to after Cooke approached them to review the footage. [6] In 2014, the pair premiered their next film Heaven Knows What at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. [7] In February 2016, the brothers began filming their crime thriller film Good Time . which Benny starred in alongside Robert Pattinson, in New York City. [8] It premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. [9] Benny, for his performance, was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. [10]
Uncut Gems , Josh and Benny's next film, starred Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield and Julia Fox and was executive produced by Martin Scorsese. [11] The brothers won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, and Benny shared the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing with Ronald Bronstein, with whom he co-edited with on all the Safdie brother films. [12]
Safdie and Nathan Fielder co-created the Showtime series The Curse , which premiered in November 2023. [13]
In 2017, Safdie began taking on performances not directed by himself or Josh, appearing in a role in the film Person to Person . [14] In 2020, he appeared in Pieces of a Woman , [15] and in 2021 had a large supporting role in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza . [16]
In 2022, Safdie appeared in Claire Denis' romantic thriller Stars at Noon , [17] and as Nari in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi . [18] In 2023, he starred in the film adaptation Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. , [19] and appears as Edward Teller in Oppenheimer , directed by Christopher Nolan. [20]
Safdie is Jewish. His father is of Sephardic-Jewish and Syrian-Jewish descent, [2] [21] [22] [23] and his mother is of Russian-Jewish descent. [24] His uncle is architect Moshe Safdie. His cousin is playwright Oren Safdie. [25]
He is married to Ava Safdie ( née Rawski), with whom he has two sons, Cosmo and Murray James. [26]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | If You See Something, Say Something | No | Yes | No | short film |
The Ralph Handel Story | Yes | No | Yes | short film | |
Life with Zach Mulden | Yes | Yes | Yes | short film | |
2008 | The Pleasure of Being Robbed | No | No | Yes | |
There's Nothing You Can Do | Yes | Yes | Yes | short film | |
John's Lonely Trip to Coney Island | Yes | No | Yes | short film | |
2009 | Daddy Longlegs | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2010 | John's Gone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film; also producer |
2013 | Lenny Cooke | Yes | No | Yes | |
2014 | Heaven Knows What | Yes | No | Yes | |
2017 | Good Time | Yes | No | Yes | |
2019 | Uncut Gems | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2020 | Goldman v Silverman | Yes | Yes | No | short film |
Question & Answer | Yes | Yes | Yes | short film | |
2022 | Funny Pages | No | No | No | producer |
Benny Safdie only
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | What To Do When Choking | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
2008 | The Story of Charles Riverbank | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film |
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film; also producer | |
TBA | The Smashing Machine | Yes | Yes | TBA | [27] |
Film
Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Person to Person | Eugene | Dustin Guy Defa | |
Good Time | Nick Nikas | Safdie brothers | ||
2020 | Pieces of a Woman | Chris | Kornél Mundruczó | |
2021 | Licorice Pizza | Joel Wachs | Paul Thomas Anderson | |
2022 | Stars at Noon | CIA Man | Claire Denis | |
2023 | Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. | Herb Simon | Kelly Fremon Craig | |
Oppenheimer | Edward Teller | Christopher Nolan |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Togetherness | Craddock Brother #2 | 1 episode |
2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Nari | Miniseries, 1 episode |
2023 | The Curse | Dougie Schecter | Main role; also co-creator and writer |
Joshua Daniel Hartnett is an American actor. He began his career playing Michael Fitzgerald on ABC's Cracker (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol through starring parts in films such as Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, The Faculty, The Virgin Suicides (1999), Pearl Harbor, O, Black Hawk Down, and 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002).
Joshua Michael Peck is an American actor and comedian. Peck began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s and had an early role on the Nickelodeon sitcom The Amanda Show from 2000 to 2002. Peck rose to prominence for his role as Josh Nichols alongside Drake Bell's character on Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh from 2004 to 2007 and in its two television films, Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006) and Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008).
The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director is an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle, honoring the finest achievements in filmmaking.
The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award is presented to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $1,000,000 by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after actor/screenwriter/director John Cassavetes, a pioneer of American independent film. The award is given to the directors, writers and producers of a film.
Nathan Joseph Fielder is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer. He is known for his awkward persona and involvement in works that blur reality and fiction. His accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a WGA Award, as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award. In 2023, he was featured on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Daddy Longlegs is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie. It stars Ronald Bronstein, Sage Ranaldo, and Frey Ranaldo. It tells the story of a divorced projectionist and his two sons. The film had its world premiere under the title Go Get Some Rosemary in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2009. It was released in the United States on May 14, 2010.
Joshua Safdie and Benjamin Safdie are independent American filmmakers and actors based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best known for writing and directing the crime thriller films Good Time (2017), starring Robert Pattinson, and Uncut Gems (2019), starring Adam Sandler.
Good Time is a 2017 American crime-thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and written by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein. It stars Robert Pattinson as a small-time criminal who tries to free his developmentally disabled brother, played by Benny Safdie, from police custody, while attempting to avoid his own arrest; Buddy Duress, Taliah Lennice Webster, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Barkhad Abdi co-star. Electronic musician Oneohtrix Point Never composed the film's score.
Noah Jupe is a British actor. He is known for his roles in the television series The Night Manager (2016); the dark comedy film Suburbicon (2017); the drama film Wonder (2017); the horror film A Quiet Place (2018) and its sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2021); the sports drama film Ford v Ferrari (2019); the drama film Honey Boy (2019), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male; and the miniseries The Undoing (2020).
Uncut Gems is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein. It stars Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian. The film tells the story of Howard Ratner (Sandler), a Jewish-American jeweler and gambling addict in New York City's Diamond District, who must retrieve an expensive gem he purchased in order to pay off his debts. Filming took place from September to November 2018. The original score was composed by Daniel Lopatin. Uncut Gems is the last film directed by the Safdie brothers before dissolving their partnership in 2024.
Lenny Cooke is a 2013 American sports documentary film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie. It tells the life of the former high school basketball player Lenny Cooke. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2013. It was released in the United States in limited theaters on December 6, 2013.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a 2023 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Judy Blume. The film stars Abby Ryder Fortson as the title character, along with Rachel McAdams, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, and Kathy Bates.
Stars at Noon is a 2022 English-language French romantic thriller film directed by Claire Denis, based on the 1986 novel The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson, starring Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, Danny Ramirez, and John C. Reilly. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix.
Elara Pictures is an American independent film production and television production company founded by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein and Sebastian Bear-McClard.
Ferrari is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Michael Mann and written by Troy Kennedy Martin. Based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by motorsport journalist Brock Yates, the film follows the personal and professional struggles of Enzo Ferrari, the Italian founder of the car manufacturer Ferrari, during the summer of 1957 as Scuderia Ferrari prepares to compete in the 1957 Mille Miglia. Adam Driver portrays the titular subject, and Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O'Connell, and Patrick Dempsey co-star.
The Curse is an American satirical black comedy thriller television series created and written by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, and starring Emma Stone, Fielder, and Safdie. It was filmed from June to October 2022 and premiered on streaming and on-demand for all Showtime and Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers on November 10, 2023, before making its on-air debut on Showtime on November 12. Its first three episodes premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 12, 2023. The first season concluded on January 12, 2024, receiving critical acclaim.
Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical thriller film written, directed, and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. It follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles Oppenheimer's studies, his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory, and his fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing. Cillian Murphy stars as Oppenheimer, alongside Robert Downey Jr. as the United States Atomic Energy Commission member Lewis Strauss. The ensemble supporting cast includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.