Benny Safdie

Directing

Benny Safdie

Born 1986-02-24 · New York City, New York, USA

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).

Acting credits

The Odyssey poster
8.0

Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.

The Odyssey

2026

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie poster
8.2

Having thwarted Bowser's previous plot to marry Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi now face a fresh threat in Bowser Jr., who is determined to liberate his father from captivity and restore the family legacy. Alongside companions new and old, the brothers travel across the stars to stop the young heir's crusade.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

2026

Oppenheimer poster
8.0

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Oppenheimer

2023

Good Time poster
7.2

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.

Good Time

2017

Licorice Pizza poster
6.9

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.

Licorice Pizza

2021

Happy Gilmore 2 poster
6.5

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.

Happy Gilmore 2

2025

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. poster
7.1

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.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

2023

The Odyssey: The Making of an Epic poster
6.4

Go behind the scenes of Christopher Nolan's mythic action epic, The Odyssey. This special documentary explores the monumental undertaking of adapting Homer’s foundational saga for the big screen, charting a grueling 91-day principal photography schedule across six countries. From the revolutionary use of brand-new IMAX film technology to the massive coordination of over 5,300 custom-designed costumes, discover how a star-studded cast led by Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway brought the dangerous, timeless world of ancient Greek gods and monsters to life.

The Odyssey: The Making of an Epic

2026

Pieces of a Woman poster
7.0

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.

Pieces of a Woman

2020

Stars at Noon poster
5.8

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.

Stars at Noon

2022

Grown Ups 3 poster
NR

The group & their respective partners travel to Europe to spread their close friend's ashes & prove that they can still be fun — even in their 60s.

Grown Ups 3

Question & Answer poster
8.0

The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.

Question & Answer

2020

Yeast poster
5.6

A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships.

Yeast

2008

Meet the Filmmakers: Josh and Benny Safdie poster
7.0

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.

Meet the Filmmakers: Josh and Benny Safdie

2017

Person to Person poster
5.2

Follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day.

Person to Person

2017

Solid Gold poster
6.5

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.

Solid Gold

2013

Money on the Street: The Making of Uncut Gems poster
6.0

A behind the scenes look at Uncut Gems (2019) by the Safdie Brothers with interviews from the cast and more.

Money on the Street: The Making of Uncut Gems

2020

The Adventures of Slater's Friend poster
10.0

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.

The Adventures of Slater's Friend

2005

What To Do When Choking poster
NR

A 3-minute short film directed and edited by Benny Safdie, featuring Cassie Seale, Daniel S. Callahan, and Safdie himself.

What To Do When Choking

2007

The Story of Charles Riverbank poster
NR

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).

The Story of Charles Riverbank

2008

A Hot Two Weeks: The Making of Heaven Knows What poster
NR

The story behind the acclaimed film, "Heaven Knows What," directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, and inspired by the life of Arielle Holmes.

A Hot Two Weeks: The Making of Heaven Knows What

2015

The Ralph Handel Story poster
NR

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.

The Ralph Handel Story

2006

Goldman v Silverman poster
6.2

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.

Goldman v Silverman

2020

There's Nothing You Can Do poster
6.0

The Safdie brothers repurpose reality television’s vocabulary of confrontation and cramped cinematography for a miniature study of urban maladies.

There's Nothing You Can Do

2008

Behind the camera

Uncut Gems poster
7.2

A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.

Uncut Gems

2019

Uncut Gems poster
7.2

A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.

Uncut Gems

2019

Good Time poster
7.2

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.

Good Time

2017

The Smashing Machine poster
6.4

In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.

The Smashing Machine

2025

The Smashing Machine poster
6.4

In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.

The Smashing Machine

2025

Heaven Knows What poster
6.5

A young heroin addict roams the streets of New York to panhandle and get her next fix, while her unstable boyfriend drifts in and out of her life at random.

Heaven Knows What

2015

Daddy Longlegs poster
6.6

After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.

Daddy Longlegs

2010

Daddy Longlegs poster
6.6

After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.

Daddy Longlegs

2010

Question & Answer poster
8.0

The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.

Question & Answer

2020

Question & Answer poster
8.0

The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS.

Question & Answer

2020

Funny Pages poster
5.7

A teenage cartoonist rejects the comforts of his suburban life in a misguided quest for soul.

Funny Pages

2022

Trophy Hunter poster
6.0

Trophy Hunter (2012) is a short mock-documentary created by Josh and Benny Safdie for the Turtle Conservancy. It explores the illegal wildlife trade through a satirical lens, featuring the late New York cultural icon Glenn O’Brien as he visits an eccentric Chinese collector.

Trophy Hunter

2012

Trophy Hunter poster
6.0

Trophy Hunter (2012) is a short mock-documentary created by Josh and Benny Safdie for the Turtle Conservancy. It explores the illegal wildlife trade through a satirical lens, featuring the late New York cultural icon Glenn O’Brien as he visits an eccentric Chinese collector.

Trophy Hunter

2012

No artwork available
NR

When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.

Lizard Music

No artwork available
NR

When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.

Lizard Music

No artwork available
NR

When a boy left to his own devices stumbles upon a secret late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music, a hidden door to the extraordinary swings open. His search for answers leads him to the eccentric and whimsical Chicken Man and his beloved companion, a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia—two kindred spirits who have also glimpsed the impossible. United by this shared vision, they set off on an adventure that begins as a hunt for a hidden society but blossoms into something far greater: a voyage through invisible worlds, unexpected harmonies, and the unbreakable bond between lost souls who discover magic not only in what they find, but in each other.

Lizard Music

Heartland poster
6.0

Commissioned by fashion label Vena Cava, Josh Safdie’s short replaces a runway show with an eerie, late-1970s Los Angeles-inspired tale about a women’s cult; it premiered online in November 2012.

Heartland

2012

Straight Hustle poster
NR

Commissioned by Northwest Film Forum’s One-Shot program, this Safdie short trails two street hustlers working a “cold” con in downtown Seattle, observing the quick pitch, misdirection, and payoff with lean, street-level immediacy.

Straight Hustle

2011

Straight Hustle poster
NR

Commissioned by Northwest Film Forum’s One-Shot program, this Safdie short trails two street hustlers working a “cold” con in downtown Seattle, observing the quick pitch, misdirection, and payoff with lean, street-level immediacy.

Straight Hustle

2011

Gone Tomorrow poster
NR

A short film by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, & Alex Kalman.

Gone Tomorrow

2015

Solid Gold poster
6.5

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.

Solid Gold

2013

Buttons poster
NR

Josh & Benny Safdie, Alex Kalman, and Factory 25 present this feature-length program of found moments from the everyday—films that showcase the wonder, beauty, sadness, love, aggression and magic that goes unnoticed on the hectic streets of NYC and elsewhere.

Buttons

2011

Lenny Cooke poster
6.8

In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

Lenny Cooke

2013

The Adventures of Slater's Friend poster
10.0

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.

The Adventures of Slater's Friend

2005