10 Major Actors Who Have Surprisingly Never Worked With David Fincher

David Fincher has his favorites, but there aren’t many. In his 12 feature films, Fincher has collaborated with a handful of actors more than once and only Brad Pitt more than twice. He is a director who revels in the casting process, often obsessing over the perfect casting for a lead and supporting character. This has led to some truly inspired casting choices by David Fincher, dating as far back as when he cast Brad Pitt against type (at the time) in Se7en .

From Oscar winners to up-and-coming talent, Fincher has worked with a range of actors, expecting the same from every one of them. However, despite his fluidity in casting, there are several big-name actors he has not collaborated with. Based on their previous work, how closely they align with the intensity of a Fincher project, or their all-round dedication to the craft, these are some of the actors that are surprisingly still yet to work with David Fincher.

10 Austin Butler

Most Recently Seen in ‘The Bikeriders’ (2024)

Thanks to recent performances in The Bikeriders and Dune: Part Two, Oscar nominee Austin Butler has proven himself an excellent character actor. He has shown an ability to simultaneously make his character the focus of the audience’s attention or subtly fade into the background. After a breakthrough role in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Butler rubber-stamped his movie star bona fides with the titular performance in 2022’s Elvis.

Another actor who has previously dominated this rarified air is recurring David Fincher collaborator and Butler’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood co-star Brad Pitt. In Fincher’s three collaborations with Pitt, he weaponized his movie star charm to devastating effect in Fight Club , underplayed it in favor of a deeper character study in Se7en, and balanced both in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fincher has proven adept at utilizing his actors’ innate acting abilities and movie star status to create excellent performances. It stands to reason that an Austin Butler and David Fincher collaboration would bring the best out of the actor.

9 Barry Keoghan

Most Recently Seen in ‘Bird’ (2024)

Butler’s Masters of the Air co-star Barry Keoghan has made a name for himself in recent years as one of the most eclectic and interesting actors working. Thanks to performances in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Banshees of Inisherin and Saltburn, Keoghan has exhibited a boldness of choice in his acting.

As established in his 30-year filmography, David Fincher is fond of an off-kilter protagonist. With so many of his lead characters being villains or anti-heroes, he usually seeks out talented actors who can bring complexity to these characters. Keoghan’s ability to morph between projects and sometimes multiple times within the same film makes him an excellent Fincher actor. He is equally proficient at playing the sympathetic lead and the chaotic antagonist, an asset that Fincher would be able to employ just as he did to such great heights in The Social Network and Gone Girl.

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8 Lupita Nyong’o

Last Seen in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’

In the years since Lupita Nyong’o won an Academy Award for her performance in 12 Years a Slave, she’s unfortunately not received the diversity and depth of roles that her talent deserves. In addition to 12 Years a Slave, her performances in Jordan Peele‘s Us and Michael Sarnoski‘s A Quiet Place: Day One prove Lupita’s immense acting talent and intense dedication.

David Fincher’s lead female characters have run the full gamut of character types, ranging from alien-fighting heroines to manipulating, murderous housewives. However, what they all have in common is an inherent determined and steely resolution that’s also present in Nyong’o’s performances. This is a trait that the Oscar-winning actress has always presented in her roles, perfectly aligning her with Fincher’s cache of female characters and actors.

7 Cillian Murphy

Most Recently Seen in ‘Small Things Like These’ (2024)

Cillian Murphy has made a film career of inhabiting varied supporting characters. Bringing a focus and single-mindedness to his characters, Murphy has consistently been regarded as an excellent character actor. His extensive collaboration with Christoper Nolan is a great testament to his ability, with his performances ranging from the cowardly Shivering Soldier in Dunkirk to the villainous Scarecrow in The Dark Knight trilogy.

Before his Academy Award-winning performance in Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy was best known for his television work as Thomas Shelby in Steven Knight‘s Peaky Blinders. Tommy Shelby is a character who maintains a strong moral code and prioritizes his family but is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He is always the smartest character in the room but is not immune to his vices. Murphy’s willingness to go as far as is needed for the performance and Oppenheimer‘s vindication that Cillian Murphy can do it on the biggest of stages make him an ideal Fincher collaborator.

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6 Florence Pugh

Most Recently Seen in ‘We Live in Time’ (2024)

If there’s a thematic connection between David Fincher’s 12 feature films, it is his lack of fear in confronting dark people and heavy subject matter. Since her breakthrough in Ari Aster‘s Midsommar, Florence Pugh has routinely returned to films with heavy central topics. From stories about addiction, terminal illnesses, and domestic abuse, Florence Pugh has repeatedly proven to be unafraid of the darker topics.

A co-star of Cillian Murphy’s in the Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer, Pugh’s interest in heavy material and objectively recognized acting talent have led her to great performances in exciting films from prominent filmmakers. She is also devoid of ego, opting to take smaller roles in Oppenheimer and Dune: Part Two for the chance to work with their esteemed directors. Florence Pugh’s dedication to and love of filmmaking and her willingness to embrace dark material make her a perfect collaborator for David Fincher.

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5 Alexander Skarsgård

Most Recently Seen in ‘Lee’ (2024)

Few Hollywood leading men have had a career as varied as Alexander Skarsgård. From headlining epic historical action films from Robert Eggers to bone-chilling villain performances in Big Little Lies and turns in independent science fiction horrors, Skarsgård has proven that he’s not afraid to get weird! Luckily, David Fincher has always favored a leading man who is willing to go on the ledge with him.

An often underrated aspect of Fincher’s films is their darkly comic sensibilities. Despite playing in heavy genre sandboxes, his films are often littered with humorous moments, most especially in his most biting satires. Pitt and Michael Fassbender have proven to be great deliverers of Fincher’s humor. Thanks to hilarious turns in Atlanta and Succession, Skarsgård has justifiably grown a reputation as a funny character actor willing to be weird and funny, even at his own expense. Alexander gets bonus points for his father, Stellan Skarsgård, previously working with Fincher in 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

4 Viola Davis

Most Recently Seen in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ (2023)

An EGOT winner, Viola Davis is widely regarded as one of the best actors of her generation. She has gradually grown from smaller, character-focused parts to leading roles, never sacrificing the essential character work along the way. Despite the malleability of her performances, every Viola Davis character is instantly recognizable through the actor’s resolve and intensity. A consummate professional, Davis is among the rare group of actors that has arguably never put in a sub-par performance.

A Julliard-trained actor, Viola Davis’ intensity is just one of the many tools in her arsenal that make her a perfect Fincher collaborator. Her experience playing morally dubious characters also makes her fit right into the Fincher wheelhouse. With The Woman King, she also proved that she can match her cerebral acting talents with a physicality that many of Fincher’s leading ladies have possessed.

3 Charlize Theron

Most Recently Seen in ‘Fast X’ (2023)

If there ever were an actress in the last two decades that could rival Ripley’s physicality or could conceivably replace Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne, it would be Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron. Similar to Viola Davis, Theron has proven capable of excellent character work and intense physicality. Both of these traits were brought to a masterful alchemy in her role as Furiosa in George Miller‘s Mad Max: Fury Road.

While Theron has leaned more into action vehicles in recent years, she has often proven to be capable of the layered, emotional, and psychological acting that Fincher gravitates to. Her Academy Award-winning performance of a real-life serial killer in 2003’s Monster, at times, feels like a performance that Fincher himself could have directed.

2 Matt Damon

Most Recently Seen in ‘The Instigators’ (2024)

After his Oscar-nominated role in 1997’s Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon quickly proved himself a leading man, a box office draw, and one of his generation’s best dramatic actors. With three acting Academy Award nominations to his name and a win for Best Original Screenplay, Damon has certainly lived up to the early expectations set upon him.

Despite achieving undeniable movie star status thanks to his participation in the Ocean’s trilogy and the Bourne series, Damon has continually shown an affinity for denser character parts and an impressive list of hilarious and surprising cameo appearances. His performances in films such as The Departed, The Good Shepherd, and Stillwater showcase the kind of interiority that makes him such an appealing character actor. This ability to sink behind layers and deliver the essence of a character without any of the flashiness proves that he’ll be an excellent collaborator with Fincher, a director who places the character and story above all else.

1 Leonardo DiCaprio

Most Recently Seen in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (2023)

Arguably the greatest and most beloved actor of his generation, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s acting talents have long since been put beyond repudiation. As an actor who has consciously sought after the leading film directors, it comes as a surprise that DiCaprio and Fincher have never worked together. However, if a few things had happened differently, David Fincher might have directed Leonardo DiCaprio in 2002’s Catch Me If You Can. He instead opted to go ahead with Panic Room, and Steven Spielberg directed the con-man drama.

Beyond his acting talent, DiCaprio’s intensity, dedication to the scene, and extensive character work are well documented. An actor willing to stay in character despite sustaining an injury, Leonardo DiCaprio’s single-mindedness has produced several notable acting performances over the last three decades. DiCaprio is also, importantly for Fincher’s work, not afraid of portraying morally grey or flat-out evil characters. Considering what Fincher has achieved with some of DiCaprio’s contemporaries and the excellent work DiCaprio has produced with other A-list directors, it excites the mind what a Fincher/DiCaprio collaboration could produce.

NEXT: 10 David Fincher Movies That Are Pretty Much Perfect