Daisy Edgar-Jones's 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Daisy Edgar-Jones movies and TV shows highlight just how quickly the star of Twisters, Fresh, and Where the Crawdads Sing has carved out a reputation for playing complex and nuanced characters. Born in London in 1998, Daisy Edgar-Jones found her footing appearing in comedies in dramas in the UK such as Cold Feet, Outnumbered, and Silent Witness. This began to change in 2018 when she led the cast of the indie coming-of-age movie Pond Life – her feature film debut.

From there, Daisy Edgar-Jones found herself taking up central roles in her TV show projects, such as the 2019-2022 adaptation of War of the Worlds, and the 2020 comedy-drama Normal People (for which she was nominated for multiple awards). However, 2022 was the year that her career skyrocketed, with her name gaining significant attention thanks to breakout roles in Fresh and Where The Crawdads Sing. Currently, the actor looks poised to enjoy a highly successful career in the future, and the best Daisy Edgar-Jones movies and TV shows make it easy to see why.

10

Gentleman Jack (2019)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Delia Rawson

While she only appeared in two episodes of the HBO and BBC series Gentleman Jack, the quirky LGBTQ+ historical drama is still deserving of a place among the best Daisy Edgar-Jones TV shows. Her role of Delia Rawson in the Gentlamn Jack cast is a minor one, but still serves as an important stepping stone in Daisy Edgar Jones’ career.

In playing Delia Rawson, Daisy Edgar-Jones was able to display how much her presence can elevate a wider ensemble cast. She had several notable scenes and hilarious lines across the two episodes in which she appeared, and Gentleman Jack is also important due to it being her first appearance on the small screen following her feature-film debut in 2018’s Pond Life. Her handful of appearances in Gentleman Jack also led to her joining the main cast of War of the Worlds, adding to its significance among the best Daisy Edgar-Jones movies and TV shows.

9

Cold Feet (2016-2020)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Olivia Marsden

The UK comedy-drama Cold Feet was highly acclaimed during its original 1997-2003 run, so much so that it returned to screens from 2016-2020. Daisy Edgar-Jones appeared in the cast of the reboot as Olivia Marsden, the daughter of Hermione Norris’s Karen Marsden, one of the central characters during the show’s original run. The 2016-202 run rejoined the characters from the show’s first batch of seasons years later, with many of their children now adults.

Cold Feet is definitely a solid entry among the best Daisy Edgar-Jones TV shows, despite her not being one of the main cast members. However, the scenes in which she does appear are hilarious, and she’s featured in more than enough episodes to make the show worthwhile viewing for her fans. Of particular note is her chemistry not only with Hermione Norris but also with actress Ella Hunt, who plays Olivia’s twin sister, Ellie.

8

Pond Life (2018)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Cassie

2018’s Pond Life, from director Bill Buckhurst, was Daisy Edgar-Jones’ first movie appearance. She plays Cassie, one of several teens going on a fishing trip in the early 1990s. It’s a grounded coming-of-age movie, with the McGuffin of a legendary giant carp in a local fishing pond serving as the catalyst for the group of friends to embark on their life-changing adventure.

While not the most widely known Daisy Edgar-Jones movie out there (especially compared to the likes of Fresh and Twisters), it was an important career milestone for her as her first movie appearance. What’s more, critics responded to the indie drama well, and Pond Life still holds a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Edgar-Jones gave a solid performance as Cassie, especially considering that it was her movie debut, and in portraying the character she showed many of the skills that would come to define her later, more celebrated appearances.

7

War Of The Worlds (2019-2022)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Emily Gresham

The 2019-2021 series War of the Worlds is based on the H.G. Wells sci-fi novel of the same name. While the novel was written in 1898, the series Daisy-Edgar Jones appears in takes a leaf from the Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise movie by repositioning the story in the present day. Set between the UK and France, War of the Worlds is a gripping alien-invasion sci-fi show, and perfectly casts Daisy Edgar-Jones as Emily Gresham.

While the series itself is steeped in big-budget sci-fi spectacle, the role of Emily in War of the Worlds is one of many Daisy Edgar-Jones performances that lean into her ability to play characters with an above-average level of complexity. Not only is Emily blind, but she also has some kind of psychic connection to the invading Martians. These nuances allowed Edgar-Jones to give one of the most noteworthy performances in War of the Worlds – so much so that season 3 felt notably thinner for her absence.

6

On Swift Horses (2024)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Muriel

Daisy Edgar-Jones has built her career playing complex characters in thematically nuanced dramas, and in 2024 her skills were tapped into by director Daniel Minahan for On Swift Horses. Based on the novel of the same name by Shannon Pufahl, On Swift Horses stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Muriel, a woman attempting to rebuild her life with her husband, the Korean war veteran Lee (Will Poulter) following his return to the United States.

The story of On Swift Horses is incredibly emotional and has plenty of tragic undertones, which of course cater well to Daisy-Edgar Jones as a performer. It’s also a story exploring many complex themes of LGBTQ+ romance during one of the most prejudiced periods of modern history for same-sex couples. While critical responses to On Swift Horses were somewhat mixed due to the perceived over-complexity of the narrative, Daisy Edgar-Jones’s performance as Muriel received consistent praise.

5

Twisters (2024)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Kate Carter

2024’s Twisters is the long-awaited sequel to Twister, the 1996 disaster movie that proved just how exhilarating storm chasing can be on the big screen. In her most prominent role in a Hollywood blockbuster to date, Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Kate Carter in the Twisters cast, leading the ensemble alongside the likes of Glen Powell.

While Twisters is certainly the biggest project Daisy Edgar-Jones has been involved in to date, it’s not quite her best movie (though it is a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience). Edgar-Jones delivers a solid performance as the meteorologist Kate Carter, and director Lee Isaac Chung certainly knew how to bring out the strengths of the Fresh and Normal People star. However, Carter was a relatively straightforward character among the roles Daisy Edgar-Jones has taken on, and many of her other movie appearances are better showcases for how wide her range as an actor truly is.

4

Under The Banner Of Heaven (2022)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Brenda Wright Lafferty

Daisy Edgar-Jones may not have led the cast of director Dustin Lance Black’s true-crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, though this doesn’t stop it from being one of her best TV shows. She earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nomination from the Hollywood Critics Association for her performance as Brenda, managing to stand out in an ensemble cast that included Andrew Garfield, Gil Birmingham, Wyatt Russell, and Sam Worthington.

Under the Banner of Heaven is another example among the best Daisy Edgar-Jones TV shows and movies which which saw her play an incredibly nuanced character. The miniseries is based on the true story of how the real-life Brenda Lafferty was murdered. Much like many of her career highlights, Daisy Edgar-Jones captured the complexities of the role with ease, once again highlighting her strength and skills as a performer in roles that are far from straightforward.

3

Where The Crawdads Sing (2022)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Kya

2022’s Where The Crawdads Sing was a somewhat divisive movie, though not because of the quality. Rather, it was the true story of Where The Crawdads Sing that caused many to question the moral message of the film. However, one thing that critics and audiences all agreed on was that Daisy Edgar-Jones gave an exceptional performance as Kya – one that easily cements Where The Crawdads Sing as one of her best movies so far.

Where The Crawdads Sing deals with many complex themes, such as social alienation, domestic abuse, and the impact of humanity on the natural world. Since Kya is the central lens through which many of these ideas are explored, Daisy Edgar-Jones had a difficult task filling the character’s shoes. However, she more than rose to the occasion, and her nuanced performance ensured that audiences fell in love with the film (as evidenced by its 96% Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes), even if critics weren’t as enthralled with the story.

2

Normal People (2020)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Marianne Sheridan

A co-production between Hulu and the UK network BBC Three, the psychological romantic drama Normal People is Daisy Edgar-Jones’ most acclaimed role to date. The actor won a total of six award nominations for her performance as Marianne Sheridan, including a Golden Globe for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film, and a Critics Choice award and BAFTA in the same category. Edgar-Jones’ character, Marianne, is an outsider and quite eccentric, and the actor portrays these qualities with an exceptional authenticity.

Daisy Edgar-Jones co-leads the cast of Normal People alongside Paul Mescal. The show chronicles the ups and downs of the relationship Edgar-Jones’ Marianne and Mescal’s Connell Waldron share. However, while her performance during the show’s romantic moments is incredibly strong, it’s the tense interactions between Marianne and her mother, Denise (Aislin McGuckin) in which Daisy Edgar-Jones’ talent truly shines.

1

Fresh (2022)

Daisy Edgar-Jones Plays Noa

The 2022 horror-thriller Fresh, directed by Mimi Cave, was not only a career-defining role, but also still stands as the best Daisy Edgar-Jones movie. Starring alongside Sebastian Stan, Fresh is an intriguing commentary on the perils facing young women in the world of modern dating. Daisy Edgar-Jones’ character, Noa, is the vehicle through which many of these themes are portrayed, with the message made incredibly clear thanks to her strong performance.

Daisy Edgar-Jones was nominated for Best Actress by the Hollywood Critics Association during their midseason awards thanks to her performance in the cast of Fresh. She also received a Best Actress in a Streaming LImited or Anthology Series or Movie nomination from them the same year. What’s more, given it was only her second appearance on the big screen after 2018’s Pond Life, Fresh stands as not only the best Daisy Edgar-Jones movie, but also an early indicator that she has a successful feature-film career ahead of her.