Jesse Plemons

Early life and education

Plemons was born in Dallas, and raised in Mart, Texas, a small town 21 miles (33.7 km) east of Waco.

In 2007, Plemons graduated from the Texas Tech University Independent School District, a distance learning program, which allowed him to earn his high school diploma. He attended schools in Mart, playing football in middle school, junior high, and at Mart High School, until he received more acting jobs and shifted to the online program.

Career

1991–2006: Early career

Plemons got his start in a Coca-Cola commercial at age 3. When he was 8, he started doing extra work, and, with the support of his family, spent time auditioning in Los Angeles and landing small jobs. After appearing in the films Varsity Blues (1999) and All the Pretty Horses (2000), and guest-starring on Walker, Texas Ranger and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Plemons' first prominent role was in the film Children on their Birthdays (2002). He later appeared in Like Mike (2002) and When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003), with guest roles on the television series Judging Amy, The Lyon's Den, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Grey's Anatomy between 2003 and 2006.

2006–2011: Breakthrough with ''Friday Night Lights''

In 2006, when he was 18, Plemons joined the ensemble cast of NBC's television series Friday Night Lights, filmed in Austin, Texas, detailing the fictional events surrounding a high school football team in fictional Dillon, Texas. In the show's first season, his character Landry Clarke provided comic relief as the best friend of football quarterback Matt Saracen, though Landry himself was not on the team. Among the cast and crew, it was joked that Plemons played football better than most of the other actors, even though his character was one of the few who did not play.

Landry joined the Panthers football team in the second season, and Plemons, having played high school football, told director Jeffrey Reiner that he would do his own stunts. In his first football scene, Landry had to "get the crap beat out of [him] over and over and over again".

In 2012, Plemons reunited with Kitsch and Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg in the film Battleship. Berg, who directed the film, explained that he knew how comfortable Kitsch was with Plemons: "I know that he's really good for Taylor and he makes Taylor better. So, I wrote that whole part for Jesse. I never thought of it as a Friday Night Lights reunion. I thought of it as protection, bringing a trusted family member in."

2011–2019: Character work

From 2012 to 2013, Plemons portrayed Todd Alquist during the final season of the AMC drama series Breaking Bad. He was a recurring cast member in Season 5A and was promoted to series regular for Season 5B. Fans of Breaking Bad nicknamed him "Meth Damon", due to Plemons' resemblance to actor Matt Damon. One of his first film roles, at age 12, was playing the younger version of Damon's character in the film All the Pretty Horses (2000).

In late-2015, Plemons co-starred in the second season of the TV show Fargo. For his performance, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2016, Plemons starred in the film Other People. In 2017, he appeared in the Doug Liman thriller film American Made, the Scott Cooper western Hostiles, and Steven Spielberg's historical drama The Post.

In December 2017, Plemons appeared in "USS Callister", an episode in the fourth series of the anthology show Black Mirror. Plemons played Robert Daly, the episode's main character and a sadistic introvert, and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2018, Plemons had supporting roles in two films, the comedy Game Night and Adam McKay's Dick Cheney biopic Vice, which he narrated. In 2019 he had a supporting role in the Martin Scorsese crime drama The Irishman, which premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 27, 2019. He also reprised his role as Todd Alquist in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

2020–present: Career expansion

In 2020, Plemons received critical praise and a Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Best Actor for his lead performance in Charlie Kaufman's psychological drama I'm Thinking of Ending Things. In 2021, Plemons gave supporting performances in Judas and the Black Messiah, a film about civil rights activist Fred Hampton and the Disney adventure film Jungle Cruise. In the same year, Plemons starred in the supernatural horror film Antlers, again collaborating with director Scott Cooper, and starred once again alongside his real life partner and Fargo co-star Kirsten Dunst in Jane Campion's western drama The Power of the Dog, for which he has received praise and a number of accolades, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2022, Plemons starred in Charlie McDowell's noir thriller Windfall, which also marked his first credit as a producer. It was about this time Plemons noted that the number of people referring to him by his nickname "Meth Damon" had started to decline. In 2023, Plemons starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen in the HBO Max true crime series Love & Death and reunited with Martin Scorsese for a supporting role in his western-thriller Killers of the Flower Moon, which he starred in alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. In September 2022, Plemons was announced to be starring alongside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley in Yorgos Lanthimos's film Kinds of Kindness, which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where Plemons won the Best Actor award.

In 2025, Plemons played a supporting role in the Robert De Niro-led Netflix political thriller series Zero Day, which reunited him with Love and Death director Lesli Linka Glatter. He ended the year with a leading role opposite Stone in Lanthimos' black comedy Bugonia. His performance in the latter received critical acclaim. On casting Plemons, Lanthimos said: "He’s very sensitive to all kinds of emotions and triggers. It’s beautiful to see the little things that can make him do something different — a word you tell him, something that changes in the room. He absorbs everything. He allows the situation or the other actor to affect him. That vulnerability and generosity are great qualities for an actor."

Upcoming

In 2026, Plemons will play Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, a film adaption of the bestselling novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.

Personal life

Plemons began a relationship with his Fargo co-star Kirsten Dunst in March 2016, and the two got engaged a year later. The couple welcomed their first son in May 2018 and their second in May 2021. In February 2022, Plemons and Dunst were both nominated for Academy Awards for their roles in The Power of the Dog. They were officially married in July of that year. They reside in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Jesse Plemons

References

References

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9. (May 17, 2012). "'Battleship's' Jesse Plemons Talks Action Films and Board Games (Video)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
10. "Jesse Plemons | Biography, Movies, TV Shows, Kirsten Dunst, & Facts |".
11. (May 1, 2007). "'Friday Night Lights' Star Earns Diploma at a Distance Through Texas Tech Independent School District". [[Texas Tech University]].
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19. Radish, Christina. (March 19, 2012). "Brooklyn Decker and Director Peter Berg Talk BATTLESHIP, Naval Warfare and the Design of the Aliens at WonderCon". Collider.com.
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22. (May 17, 2012). ""Friday Night Lights" alum Plemons joins "Breaking Bad"". [[Yahoo! News]].
23. (November 26, 2013). "Jesse Plemons: Psycho of the Year 2013". [[GQ (magazine).
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28. (January 11, 2014). "Jesse Plemons Reportedly Up For 'Star Wars' Role". [[The Huffington Post]].
29. (March 12, 2014). "'Star Wars Episode VII': Actors Battle for Lead Role (Exclusive)". [[Variety (magazine).
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32. Wiseman, Andreas. (September 19, 2019). "Jesse Plemons & 'The Deuce' Actress Dominique Fishback Join Daniel Kaluuya & Lakeith Stanfield In WB's Black Panthers Pic 'Jesus Was My Homeboy'".
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37. (July 12, 2021). "Jesse Plemons, Lily Collins and Jason Segel Star in Charlie McDowell Thriller "Windfall"".
38. (November 22, 2021). "Jesse Plemons: 'I've noticed fewer people refer to me as Meth Damon…'".
39. (May 24, 2021). "Jesse Plemons Joins Elizabeth Olsen In 'Love And Death' HBO Max True Crime Limited Series".
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41. Bergeson, Samantha. (December 1, 2023). "Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's Latest Film 'AND' Is Renamed 'Kinds of Kindness'".
42. (2024-05-25). "The 77th Festival de Cannes winners' list".
43. Andreeva, Nellie. (2023-04-24). "Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Joan Allen & Connie Britton Join Robert De Niro In 'Zero Day' Netflix Series".
44. Donnelly, Matt. (2024-05-18). "Yorgos Lanthimos to Reunite With Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons for Alien Conspiracy Drama 'Bugonia' at Focus Features".
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57. (2024-04-12). "Inside the most unnerving scene in 'Civil War': 'It was a stunning bit of good luck'".