Erin Moriarty got her start in the industry when she was just 11 years old, and her best movies and TV shows run her entire timeline from her work as a teenager up to now. Because Moriarity was born and raised in New York, she is trained in theater as well as on-screen, but her professional work has all been for TV and film. Though one of her earliest roles was in the soap opera One Life To Live, the soap does not make it into her best work.

Soap operas, however, are notorious for being like bootcamp for actors just starting out in the industry since work on a soap is incredibly fast-paced and takes place nearly every day. Moriarty likely got a television crash course that has served her well. Most of her roles have been of a supporting nature in her career so far, but she has demonstrated a knack for taking on a wide range of projects that allow her to show off her skills in drama, comedy, and action. Her best movie and TV roles show just how much talent she possesses.

10Law And Order: SVU (2011)

As Dru

Erin Moriarity, like a lot of up-and-coming actors who might have had a few auditions in New York, appears in the Law & Order franchise. She only appears in a single episode of Law & Order: SVU – Season 12, Episode 15 “Flight.” While her part is incredibly small for the long-running drama, it is a quick peek into the talent that would emerge over the next few years.

The SVU episode follows a case in which a French girl on a flight says that the man next to her assaulted her. While it is eventually deemed impossible, what the detectives discover is that the little girl has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a very real assault, and as a result, believed he was the same man. The case tracks to a wealthy man in New York who has assaulted many young women who were paid for “massages,” and slowly, survivors begin to come forward.

Moriarty plays one of those survivors. As often happens in episodes like this one, she is one of several young actors who only show up to briefly speak to the police about her experience, but that brief scene helps to showcase how polished her dramatic chops already are at a young age.

Katherine McNamara, who would go on to star in Shadowhunters, Arrow, and Walker: Independence, also plays one of the survivors.

9Captain Fantastic (2016)

As Claire

Moriarty has a ton of supporting parts in her career that are technically better, but this movie makes it into her best simply because of how great the entire ensemble is.

Captain Fantastic’s story really belongs to Viggo Mortensen. He plays the father of a group of children who have largely been raised off the grid. While they are incredibly intelligent thanks to the education provided by their parents, they are also incredibly socially awkward, which they discover after the death of their mother and their journey to her funeral.

Moriarty stars as a young woman who connects with one of the sons in the movie. She is who helps to introduce him to much of the outside world that has been hidden from him because of his upbringing. Moriarty’s role is a small one, and one of many supporting roles she has played in her career.

Though Captain Fantastic might be one of the most critically lauded of Erin Moriarty’s movies, making a splash at film festivals and in critical circles all over the world, it is not her best supporting role. Moriarty has a ton of supporting parts in her career that are technically better, but this movie makes it into her best simply because of how great the entire ensemble is.

8The Miracle Season (2018)

As Kelly

Prior to The Miracle Season, Moriarty was largely playing small roles in larger ensembles. This sports movie about perseverance is one of the first chances she gets to show what she can do in a leading role.

Inspired by a true story, The Miracle Season follows a high school volleyball team that has to find a way to rally when the young woman who led them dies. Moriarty plays the young woman’s best friend, and it is her character who has to step up and fill the void left behind despite her own grief.

Moriarty is the emotional heart of the movie. Though she is grounded by performances from Helen Hunt and William Hurt, it is Moriarty who gets to show the bulk of the grief, anger, and feelings of being utterly lost. It is also Moriarty who has to make the audience believe and inspire them, as well as the team, that they can win without their star player and despite their pain. She is fantastic in the role.

7Red Widow (2013)

As Natalie

Red Widow premiered on television five years before The Miracle Season hit theaters, and it could be considered Moriarty’s breakout role. It was the first time she was a series regular in a television series. It also, however, was not seen by very many people since it was canceled after its initial eight episodes.

The series followed a widowed woman who attempted to pick up where her deceased husband’s criminal activities left off to keep her family afloat. Moriarty played the daughter of those characters. While her character was mostly relegated to typical teen drama in the middle of the larger arc, she was able to show that she had what it takes to be a star.

If Red Widow had debuted in the 2020s as a streaming series instead of on network television, it might have had a better chance for success with a bigger budget. It just did not find its audience, and Moriarty had to move on to new auditions.

6Blood Father (2016)

As Lydia

Just a few years later, Moriarty got to appear in another crime story, but this time, it was an action-thriller. Blood Father stars the controversial actor Mel Gibson as Moriarty’s father, whom she is estranged from. The two end up on the run together when things sour with her drug-dealing boyfriend.

While Gibson has always been praised for his acting abilities, controversies behind the scenes might have meant that some viewers skipped out on this movie, missing Moriarty’s great performance. Here, she is not only a teenage runaway who has to find a way to connect with her father, but also a woman on the run in a dangerous situation, an addict, and an alcoholic. All of those aspects combine to make a complex young woman for Moriarty to bring to the screen.

The movie might not have won any awards, but it showed that Moriarty could hold her own in an action project which would end up serving her well later in her career.

5The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir (2018)

As Marie

The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir was a box office failure at the time of its release but found an audience on streaming much later, and proved fairly popular with European audiences. The movie earned awards at the Norwegian International Film Festival and the Barcelona Sant-Jordi International Film Festival, despite not gaining much critical traction elsewhere.

It follows a man who is a street magician and makes his life swindling his audience out of their money. While he initially swindles Moriarty’s Marie, he also finds himself falling for her. Their paths cross multiple times throughout his journey as he works to find his estranged father. Because the main character is telling the story, he is an unreliable narrator, but it is full of rom-com and action elements, making for a fairly whimsical tale considering all of the trouble he gets into.

The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is actually one of Moriarty’s lighter projects, proving she could excel in romantic comedies as well if she wanted to.

The movie was initially released in eight languages so that it could be released in theaters in France, India, the United States, and more at the same time.

4The Kings Of Summer (2013)

As Kelly

The Kings of Summer actually helped to put Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, and Moises Arias on the map after their respective supporting roles in other projects. It also, however, offered a great supporting role for Erin Moriarty early in her career.

The coming-of-age movie follows a trio of young men who leave their families to build a home together in the woods, longing for freedom they do not have because of their parents’ rules. Moriarty plays the crush of Robinson’s character who eventually ends up in a relationship with Basso’s instead. Her character is the thread that unravels the harmony of the group, though she does not understand why.

Moriarty plays an innocent and empathic character who genuinely cares for the boys and works to get them back to their respective families. It is not her most dramatic role, but instead, she plays a grounding force amid the high emotions of the movie.

Moriarty, Robinson, and Arias reunited for an uncredited cameo in Kong: Skull Island as patrons in a bar. Both movies were directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.

3True Detective (2014)

As Audrey

Moriarty has a history of supporting roles in critically acclaimed projects. The many small and diverse parts she has played over the years will likely lead to her developing into a great character actor instead of ending up typecast like so many young actors. One of her chameleon-like roles is as Audrey in the first season of True Detective.

Because the first season takes place over a significant amount of time, multiple actors play Audrey, one of the daughters of Woody Harrelson’s character. Moriarty takes on the role in the character’s teen years. She is the epitome of teenage rebellion, spitting out sarcastic lines, blowing up at her father, and nursing rage that is always just below the surface.

So many of Moriarty’s early roles are girl-next-door types or athletes with a deep drive, but here, she gets to play against her “type” at the time and show off her dramatic chops yet again.

2Marvel’s Jessica Jones (2015)

As Hope

For those who did not already know of Erin Moriarty, a role in a Marvel Cinematic Universe project put her on the map. She played a supporting role in the first season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones.

The first season followed the titular character, played by Krysten Ritter, as she fought to combat her own PTSD, confront the villain who held her captive, and help Moriarty’s Hope when she is kidnapped by the same man. Moriarty’s character ends up controlled by the villain, played to perfection by David Tennant. Moriarty’s role in the series is completely heartbreaking as she is emotionally destroyed by her experience with the villain.

The series was critically lauded and picked up a slew of technical nominations from award shows. It also won a Peabody Award and was nominated for three Saturn Awards.

1The Boys (2019-)

As Starlight

The Boys is easily Erin Moriarty’s best TV show, though it’s clear she has a bright future ahead of her.

Erin Moriarty’s best known role has got to be as Starlight in The Boys. The Amazon Prime series launched her into the spotlight in a way none of her previous projects had, and it’s the project she has been able to sink her teeth into the most since the series has multiple seasons.

The Boys is a satirical superhero series that pushes the envelope by making the superheroes unlikeable and irresponsible but also steps away from the glitzy facade that other superhero stories might present. Moriarty’s Starlight is one of the few heroes in the show who is completely sincere, out to protect people and change the world.

Of course, Moriarty also gets to play another character in the series when a shapeshifter takes on the guise of Starlight. She expertly flips the switch in the middle of the screen to show she can take on a completely different character without missing a beat.

The Boys is easily Erin Moriarty’s best TV show, though it’s clear she has a bright future ahead of her.