Greg Kinnear

Greg Kinnear often looks as though he knows how to make himself welcome. The charm can carry a smirk, which makes him useful as a sympathetic man with flaws or someone less deserving of our trust. We rate him most when he lets vulnerability disturb that easy manner. When the writing supplies only another man sabotaging himself, the familiarity can become a drawback.

The early film work includes Sabrina (1995), but James L. Brooks's As Good as It Gets (1997) is the more useful starting point. We were moved by his Simon Bishop because Kinnear allows him to seem vulnerable without making him helpless. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) provides another good setting for his ability to work within a family ensemble. His subsequent movement between supporting film parts and television leads has given him opportunities to be both sympathetic and less trustworthy.

For a warmer evening, we would choose Margo's Got Money Troubles (2026), in which he plays Kenny. The family comedy is funny and unusually sensible about sex work, with Elle Fanning giving us the main reason to keep watching. Its heavier drama sometimes asks for more attention than it deserves, but the warmth survives. That suits an actor whose strengths have often emerged in ensembles, although our recommendation rests on the family comedy and Fanning rather than on his presence alone.

Smoke (2025), in which he plays Harvey Englehart, comes with a larger warning. The cast makes the arson investigation worth considering, especially Taron Egerton and Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, but it cannot make nine episodes feel necessary. The later repetitions are frustrating, and we would not recommend it simply because Kinnear is in it. For Kinnear himself, start with Simon Bishop rather than committing to nine episodes on the strength of a name.