10 Best Joey King Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

At just 25 years old (as of writing), Joey King has been featured in over 70 films and television shows dating as far back as 2006. Given the sheer volume of work she takes on, it's not shock that many of these have been critical and commercial duds you've either never heard of or wish you'd never heard of, like the "Final Destination" riff-off "Wish Upon," the middling ghost romance "The In Between," and the irredeemably pandering sci-fi thriller "Uglies."

At the same time, King has consistently turned high-quality performances in some memorable projects. Fans of "The Dark Knight Rises," "Crazy Stupid Love," and "The Conjuring" are proof that she's been ready for almost any acting challenge since she first appeared on a screen. From her extensive resume, we picked out our favorite roles and ranked them based on quality and how well they showcase King as an actor. 

These are the 10 best Joey King movies and TV shows, ranked.

In 2017, Joey King played a supporting role in the Zach Braff remake of "Going in Style." The comedy (written by "Hidden Figures" scribe Theodore Melfi) follows an elderly pensioner (Michael Caine) who partners with his two closest friends (played by Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin) to rob a bank. All three are financially devastated by a corporation's decision to halt their pension payments, with Caine's Joe now at risk of losing his daughter Rachel (Maria Dizzia) and his granddaughter Brooklyn (King).

One would be forgiven for trying to sell "Going in Style" as a feel-good riff on "Breaking Bad" — after all, a story about someone doing exciting things to provide for the people they love should only be more enjoyable when you remove the bleak moral quandaries and swap the abrasive Walter White for three of the most charming senior actors in Hollywood, right? Unfortunately, in trying to keep things even lighter than the usually breezy genre requires, the film feels like it goes a little too much according to plan.

But what it lacks in danger, it somewhat makes up for in what it gives a younger Joey King. It was her third film working with Braff, and her comfort with him is obvious in her confident portrayal of Brooklyn Harding. Acting opposite Caine, she provides the perfect supporting character to make audiences invested in his journey above all others.

A year after the release of "Going in Style" (and, less auspiciously, that of her horror movie "Wish Upon"), Joey King was given one of her first major leading roles in the historical fiction drama "Radium Girls." She stars as Bessie Cavallo, a New Jersey factory worker employed by the American Radium company in the 1910s. Alongside her sister Jo (Abby Quinn of "Knock at the Cabin"), she paints watch dials with radioluminescent paint, and, unaware of the dangers of handling this radioactive material, she does so without protection or concern for how direct oral contact with the paint might harm her. The factory workers — all women — wet their irradiated paint brushes with their tongues. Once her co-workers begin falling ill, Bessie works alongside pioneers in the scientific and medical community to take down American Radium and protect other women trying to earn a living wage in such conditions.

Though the titular "Radium Girls" represent real dial painters who were effectively poisoned by a corporation that depended upon them as a cheap and powerless labor force, the film itself is largely a work of fiction. Some reviewers took issue with the lack of attention paid to the finer details of both the true story and the time period at large, either one of which could have added more texture to a movie that often has the foggy stylistic and thematic framework of a made-for-TV movie. As far as King's performance goes, however, the actor is swinging for the fences and mostly hitting it out of the park, giving Bessie the liveliness missing from the script and direction.

As the romantic comedy subgenre continues to revive itself in the wake of several recent surprise hits, Netflix smartly partnered once more with Joey King for another sweet and silly rom-com. Produced by RK Films (the company behind one such surprise hit, the Sydney Sweeney-Glen Powell feature "Anyone But You") and directed by Richard LaGravenese ("The Bridges of Madison County," "P.S. I Love You," and the Anna Kendrick musical "The Last Five Years"), "A Family Affair" features a tight, star-studded ensemble of King, Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, and Kathy Bates. King plays Zara Ford, a personal assistant and aspiring filmmaker working in the entertainment industry for A-List actor Chris Cole (Efron). The two have a tumultuous relationship, as Chris' demanding and egotistical attitude alienates the thoughtful and opinionated Zara. Things get even worse when a chance encounter sparks a passionate "affair" between Chris and Zara's mother Brooke (Nicole Kidman).

On the surface, the plot from then on is pretty much exactly what you'd imagine: Zara abhors the existence of this relationship, and hijinks ensue during her attempts to dissolve it. Underneath all that, however, is a surprisingly insightful exploration about what it takes to accept a parent's personhood as you both age into independence, which honestly confronts the natural but deeply uncomfortable experiences that this acceptance might require in an imperfect relationship.

King specifically embraces the comedic immaturity of her role, using her character's understandable gripes with Kidman's and Efron's as a way to keep an amusing balance of power between the three of them dramatically. "A Family Affair" doesn't rewrite the book of love, but it's worth giving a look nonetheless.

For as many films and television shows Joey King lends her time to, she doesn't get enough credit for how much of herself she pours into each one. Her hard work is best exemplified by films like the 2022 Hulu film "The Princess," a fantasy action flick best summed up as "Rapunzel meets 'The Raid.'" King stars as the titular royal who kills her way through a castle of baddies to subvert the vile plots of a despotic usurper (played by Dominic Cooper).

/Film spoke to King in 2022 about what it was like to not only star in "The Princess" but serve as one of its executive producers. Though she had previously been on the production teams for some of her projects at Netflix, she described this experience as unique for her in that she felt more integral to the decision-making processes than she had before. The increased responsibility made "The Princess" the ultimate challenge for the actor, as it would require 100% of her capabilities creatively and physically. King said:

"I had never fought like this before. I'd never done this kind of training before. So to be able to feel nervous, but also feel like I'm in a safe space because I have a say in how things will turn out in the end, was really amazing. And I'm just so proud of how it turned out. I loved being able to have that other hat of executive producer on this one, because I feel like I got to get to know my character in this story in a deeper way than I maybe would've ever gotten the opportunity to." 

When we later caught up with director Le-Van Kiet, he praised King's dedication to the project, saying the film was lucky to have a star and producer so committed to what "The Princess" aspired to be.

"The Princess" being just one of many successful collaborations between Joey King and Hulu, she returned to the streamer in 2024 as part of the ensemble for the historical drama "We Were the Lucky Ones." The series was developed by Erica Lipez with an all-star team of executive producers including Thomas Kail of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" and Matt Damon. King stars alongside Lior Ashkenazi, Logan Lerman, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Amit Rahav, Robin Weigert, and Hadas Yaron, all of whom play members of the fictional Kurc family.

"We Were the Lucky Ones" follows the Kurcs — an upper-class family of Polish Jews living in the city of Radom in the 1930s — before, during, and immediately after the Holocaust, as the Nazi occupation of Poland quickly decimates everything they hold dear and forces some of them to flee to disparate corners of the world. Some were critical of the series' perceived inability to add new meaningful context to horrific historical events that are undeniably painful to experience, even in a dramatized capacity. But critics also generally found it to be well-written, directed, and acted, and found that it could serve as a worthy point of discovery for younger viewers (who have yet to see earlier works that may tackle the same subject matter and themes more effectively).

King stands out among the cast as the scientifically industrious Halina Kurc, further proving the dramatic range she possesses. She so fully embodies her character that she never feels like a flat historical caricature, but rather a real woman whose life was shaped in part by courage, survival, and her own fight for justice.

Whether she likes it or not, there's a solid chance that Joey King is still best known as the star of the Netflix romantic teen comedy "The Kissing Booth." Released in 2018, the film was quickly written off by critics as the low-budget schlock fest it may well be. At the same time, they seemingly missed qualities which would see it become a massive hit for the streamer, as well as one of their most famous rom-coms of all time.

King leads the effort as Elle Evans, a stock awkward high school girl whose adolescence has essentially been defined by her quasi-fraternal friendship with the equally goofy Lee Flynn ("Super 8" star Joel Courtney). Their relationship — largely held up by school projects, pool hangs, and "Dance Dance Revolution" — is threatened when Elle begins to catch the attention of Lee's older brother Noah (Jacob Elordi, in a role that would help establish him as Hollywood's go-to quintessential charismatic ingénu, as seen in subsequent projects like "Euphoria" and "Saltburn"). Things spiral further out of control as Elle tries to involve Noah in a kissing booth fundraiser for their school (which seems like a totally normal thing a school would definitely approve of).

We're not here to convince you that "The Kissing Booth" or its two sequels are secretly Oscar-worthy dramas. but they are exactly what you hope they'll be, whether you want to enjoy them sincerely or ironically. King, Courtney, and Elordi all seemingly understand the assignment perfectly and tailor their performances to create the most entertaining story possible under these circumstances. One could describe their work as strangely selfless. King may not have gotten critical acclaim for her work here, but still helped carry one of the most universally entertaining movies available on streamers right now.

Just now approaching her mid-20s, it's impressive that Joey King already has such a varied career spanning three decades. This surely required persistence from a young age, as well as consistent, quality performances early on. One such performance can be seen in the 2010 drama "Ramona and Beezus," in which a 10-year-old King stars opposite fellow child star Selena Gomez.

The pair play the titular Quimby sisters Ramona and Beatrice (called "Beezus" by her younger sister). As Beatrice grows older and attempts to understand for herself what it means to be a "normal" teenager, she is sidetracked by the chaotic but well-meaning Ramona. The film — based on a series of novels written by children's author Beverly Cleary — has a surprisingly even and confidently patient pace given its target audience, as well as a looser plot structure that allows the characters to take center stage (rather than the expected hyper-focused, single-goal plot of your average child star vehicle). King and Gomez deliver fine performances within this environment, elevating the entire film as a dramedy that can be taken seriously.

"Ramona and Beezus" was largely drowned out at the box office by "Inception" and had to fight for attention in an unusually stacked slate of family films of all genres (including "Despicable Me," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," "The Karate Kid," "The Last Airbender," and "Toy Story 3"). Critics nevertheless found it to be a solid feature, bolstered by an effective performance from King.

"Bullet Train" packs in all the stylistic action you'd hope for in a David Leitch film with heaps of surprises for those unfamiliar with its story — and, more importantly, its cast. Brad Pitt stars as an ex-assassin named Ladybug who is given a courier mission aboard one of Japan's speeding bullet trains. Along the way, he encounters a number of assassins, contractors, and nefarious power players who all hope to steal the briefcase he's after, and each of them is played by an actor more baffling than the last. As a tiny spoiler, Joey King plays a passenger on the train with ties to the bloodstained mystery at the story's center.

Without spoiling anything else, King's role is perfectly suited to her talents, and it allows her to be featured prominently in a delightfully crowded ensemble of personalities (and she's also doing some of the better accent work in the film as well). Overall, the film is right down the middle in terms of quality. "Bullet Train" is a slick, glib, and moderately entertaining adventure that makes up for its lack of interior logic and depth with a fun, unserious tone meant to carry you from one electric action sequence to the next. (Kind of like a, y'know...) Fans of King's will be very pleased with her presence in the film, and it certainly stands out as one of her glossiest films to date.

A spin-off of the classic Coen Brothers film of the same name, FX's "Fargo" is a compelling and distinct crime anthology series that quietly tells some of the best stories on TV. Joey King plays a supporting role in its landmark first season as Greta Grimly, the daughter of Colin Hanks' Gus Grimly. Gus is a single father and widower who works as a hapless, low-level police officer in Duluth, Minnesota. By chance, he becomes obsessed with a darkly enigmatic out-of-towner (Billy Bob Thornton's Lorne Malvo), whom he suspects may be connected to a series of seemingly random murders in nearby Bemidji. As he teams up with their Deputy Sheriff Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), his thoughts are regularly with Greta and her safety in a world that grows darker with every discovery.

As an ensemble piece (that also features Martin Freeman, Keith Carradine, Kate Walsh, Oliver Platt, and Glenn Howerton among many others), "Fargo" amazes with how well its able to balance so many different types of actors while giving them each room to shine. Not a single performance falls flat or feels sidelined, King's included. Though Greta isn't central to the action of "Fargo," she is given plenty to do as a centering force in Gus' life. Most of her work thus far had been in projects aimed at younger audiences that required larger-than-life performances, so the fact that she was still able find something so subtle and natural here shows the level of technical skill she possesses.

Given that each season of "Fargo" takes place in the same universe — and that King has only become a stronger actor in the decade since season 1 — it would be thrilling to see her return to the series in a more prominent role as an older Greta Grimly. For now, "Fargo" season 1 remains one of the greatest seasons of television ever produced, thanks in no small part to King.

It should be no surprise to longtime fans of Joey King that "The Act" is taking the #1 spot on this list. The series features her in her most prominent and critically lauded role to date, as she takes on the unimaginably complex real world figure Gypsy Rose Blanchard. In 2015, Blanchard and her boyfriend Nicholas Godejon killed her mother Dee Dee Blanchard, motivated by Dee Dee's horrific treatment of Gypsy Rose. The elder Blanchard kept Gypsy Rose largely isolated from the outside world as she subjected her to a litany of medical abuses with the aim of convincing the world — Gypsy Rose included — that her daughter was terminally ill and unable to live on her own.

The slaying of Dee Dee Blanchard and the events leading up to it are dramatized in the series, with Patricia Arquette playing the role of Dee Dee and Disney Channel alum Calum Worthy playing Godejon. They are joined by AnnaSophia Robb and Chloë Sevigny, as well as a supporting ensemble that includes the likes of Margo Martindale, Dean Norris, Juliette Lewis, and Rhea Seehorn. But make no mistake, this is no ensemble drama — the weight of this deeply complicated story rests almost entirely on the shoulders of King, aided by Arquette.

King meets this task head-on, delivering a transformative performance that manages to provoke empathy for the protagonist without undermining the series' responsibly nuanced approach. She never plays Gypsy Rose as a silent victim but rather a young girl who might have had a shot at escaping her life without violence had her mind and sense of reality not been warped by her mother. King's work was hailed at the time, earning her nominations for a Critics Choice award, a Golden Globe, and an Emmy. It's fitting, seeing as "The Act" gives her the space to showcase everything that makes her special as an actor.