William Jackson Harper

William Jackson Harper makes a character’s uncertainty audible in the care with which he speaks. There is similar precision in his physical acting, making inner conflict clear without much fuss. Chidi Anagonye in The Good Place (2016–2020) brought him wider recognition, and the anxious, intellectually driven man remains central to his screen identity. We value the restraint, though the frequency of those roles can make it harder to see what else a film might ask of him.

Paterson (2016), in which he plays Everett for Jim Jarmusch, is where we would start with the film work. Jarmusch makes ordinary days absorbing, with Adam Driver giving the quiet stretches plenty to watch. We were unexpectedly comforted by the attention paid to a bus driver’s working week. Harper has a supporting role here; the film is worth seeing without pretending it is primarily an occasion to watch him.

His subsequent film work includes Josh in Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019), then Quaz in Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). The latter is a much less persuasive reason to spend an evening with him. Its subatomic universe loses too much of the series’ small-scale appeal, and Jonathan Majors and Michelle Pfeiffer are its principal compensations. We would not recommend it on Harper’s presence alone, or treat its shortcomings as a judgement on his acting.

The stage work gives a fuller picture than those supporting film credits. In Primary Trust (2023), his Kenneth made complicated feelings clear through restraint; he followed it with Astrov in Uncle Vanya (2024). His ability to hold attention through extended monologues suggests he can sustain a scene without needing constant exchanges with an ensemble. The caveat is how readily anxiety has become the expected assignment. We would welcome a substantial film part that lets him get on with something other than worrying.