Liev Schreiber’sbest movies and TV shows highlight a career filled with diverse projects and stellar performances. Born August 16, 2025, in San Francisco, California, Schreiber started his career on the stage in the early 1990s before making his movie debut in the Steve Martin comedyMixed Nuts. From there, Schreiber continued to find exciting roles in notable projects, working alongside some big-name talents while also making a name for himself as a character actor.
Schreiber found his status in Hollywood rising with his acclaimed lead role in the seriesRay Donovanas well as blockbusters likeX-Men Origins: Wolverine. Schreiber continues to work in high-profile projects, collaborating with filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Darren Aronofsky while also starring in Oscar-winning movies. With such a strong career, it is not hard to find a number of gems among Liev Schreiber’s best movies and TV shows.
Liev Schreiber starred alongside Daniel Craig in this overlooked but solid war movie.Defiancestars Craig and Schreiber as the Bielski brothers, real-life heroes of World War II who have been largely overlooked in history. As the Nazis invaded Belarus during the war, the Polish Jewish brothers organized a resistance army, saving countless Jewish lives while fighting back against their oppressors.
While Craig is the lead of the film, coming off his star-making role asJames Bond inCasino Royale, Schreiber delivers the best performance of the movie.As Zus Bielski, he plays the more aggressive of the brotherswhose anger at the atrocities of the Nazis puts him in conflict with his brother and how they should confront their enemies.Defianceis an intense and hard-hitting war movie that highlights the heroes of the resistance who are sometimes forgotten.
Liev Schreiber joined the star-studded cast of the limited Netflix series that made for another gripping murder mystery story.The Perfect CouplestarsNicole Kidman and Schreiber as an affluent couple living in Nantucket while hosting a lavish wedding for their son and his new wife. However, the beautiful weekend turns deadly when one of the guests is murdered and the powerful family members become suspects.
Schreiber won a Critic’s Choice Award for her performance as Tag Winbury, a man who presents himself as a laid back and loving family man, but who keeps his family on their toes and harbors some dark secrets as well. LikeBig Little Lies, the series takes a look at an idyllic world of rich people where the perfect façade is shattered, and a mystery surrounds all of the flawed characters. It makes for a terrific bingeworthy show.
Fans might have forgotten that Liev Schreiber was a part oftheScreamfranchisefrom its very beginning. The actor appeared in brief footage in a non-speaking role in the originalScreamas Cotton Weary, the man who was wrongfully suspected of killing Sidney Prescott’s mother. As his star began to rise around the same time as that cameo, it set the stage for Cotton and Schreiber to return inScream 2.
Schreiber makes for a fun addition to the story as this new exonerated man who is hoping to make the most of the media attention surrounding him.
The sequel follows Neve Campbell’s Sidney to college as she and her friends are targeted by a copycat Ghostface killer. Schreiber makes for a fun addition to the story as this new exonerated man who is hoping to make the most of the media attention surrounding him. While the movie doesn’t reach the heights of the inventive first installment, it is a fun slasher with some iconic set pieces.
Liev Schreiber shared the screen with two of thegreatest actors of all timein this political thriller remake and proved himself by holding his own. Denzel Washington stars inThe Manchurian Candidateas a former soldier dealing with memory loss following a mission gone wrong. While he and the rest of his platoon insist they were all saved by fellow soldier Raymond Shaw (Schreiber), he begins to suspect they have been brainwashed in order to secure Shaw’s political future under the control of dangerous enemies.
Along with playing opposite Washington, Schreiber also appears with Meryl Streep as Shaw’s controlling mother.He excels in the role of the haunted man who is only vaguely aware that he is a puppet being controlled. Though the original movie is a classic, director Jonathan Demme creates an intense and riveting retelling of the story that is further elevated by its amazing cast.
Many people might recognize Liev Schreiber’s voice as the narrator of several sports documentaries. However, he has the chance to star in a sports film, which also happens to be one of thebest hockey movies of all time.Goonis a Canadian comedy that stars Seann William Scott as Doug Glatt, a friendly amateur hockey player who happens to have a talent for fighting. Recognized as one of the best enforcers in the game, he is pulled up to the professional league while struggling with his violent role.
Schreiber has a hilarious and memorable supporting role as Ross “The Boss” Rhea,the legendary enforcer who Doug will inevitably face off with. The film is a brutal and bloody sports story, showing the roughness of hockey and the kind of men who become enforcers. However, it is also a movie with a lot of heart as Scott’s Doug is a hugely likable protagonist.
In one of Liev Schreiber’s earliest leading man roles, he took on a famed filmmaker in the retelling of one of thegreatest movies of all time.RKO 281stars Schreiber as Orson Welles with the made-for-television movie taking a look at the making ofCitizen Kane. Specifically, the film focuses on the behind-the-scenes fight to have the movie shut down by powerful businessman William Randolph Hearst, who was long rumored to have been the inspiration for the character of Kane.
The movie helped to launch Schreiber as a star, earning him an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination.
Taking on such an iconic figure as Welles is certainly a daunting task, but Schreiber proved himself up to the task. He carries the movie with a powerful performance as a passionate and determined filmmaker who sees his entire vision threatened. The movie helped to launch Schreiber as a star, earning him an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination.
Liev Schreiber has lately found himself a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson, appearing in his last three movies. However, it is their first movie together that remains the best so far.Isle of Dogsis a stop-motion animated film that is set in a fictional Japanese city where dogs become outlawed by the cruel government and sent to live on an island of trash off the coast of the city. The story follows a group of scavenger dogs who come together to help a young boy who has ventured to the island to find his beloved pet.
Schreiber lends his voice to the role of Spots, the heroic dog that the boy is looking for. Schreiber brings an emotional performance to the movie and joins a star-studded voice cast that also includes Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, and Greta Gerwig.
WhileX-Men Origins: Wolverinefeatured a standout performance from Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, the movie was a letdown. However, Schreiber managed to redeem himself in the superhero genre by lending his voice to one of the best movies in the genre.Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Versetells the story of Miles Morales, who gains the powers of Spider-Man while also discovering that he is not the only Spider-Man out in the multiverse.
Schreiber lends his intimidating voice to the role of Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin, the chief villain of the movie. Given how iconicVincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin fromDaredevilhas become, it is impressive that Schreiber is able to make the role his own.Into the Spider-Verseis a beautifully animated visual feast for the eyes while also being a superhero movie filled with humor, heart, and interesting things to say about the legacy of Spider-Man.
While Liev Schreiber had already proven himself a movie star by the time he starred in his first television show, Ray Donovan has become his most iconic role. The crime series stars Schreiber as the titular character, a hardened criminal from Boston who has reinvented himself as a fixer for high-profile clients in Los Angeles, using his lack of ethics and willingness to break the law to make any problem go away.
He excelled at playing this fascinating yet deeply flawed character, never shying away from Ray’s darker qualities.
Schreiber was highly acclaimed in his leading role,earning three Emmy nominations and five Golden Globe nominationsover the course of the show. He excelled at playing this fascinating yet deeply flawed character, never shying away from Ray’s darker qualities. It was a brutal and grim show while also injecting a lot of humor into the story. The show ran for seven seasons, ending with a made-for-television movie which was released in 2022.
Liev Schreiber joined the star-studded cast ofSpotlightin this Oscar-winning and powerful drama based on a true story.Spotlightis set in the early 2000s and centers around the investigative team at the Boston Globe as they worked to uncover a scandal involving years of abuse by Catholic priests in the city as well as the church’s efforts to cover up the crimes. Schreiber plays the pivotal role of Marty Baron, the new managing editor of the newspaper, who pushes to have the story investigated.
Spotlightis one of thebest movies about journalism, taking a grounded and impactful look at the tireless work these journalists do to get to the truth, no matter how much pushback they might get from those around them.Schreiber is excellent in his reserved supporting role as an outsider who brings a new perspective to handling a story like this.
