Benny Safdie
American filmmaker and actor (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986)[1] is an American filmmaker and actor, most known for his film collaborations with his elder brother, Josh, in Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), which he also starred in, and Uncut Gems (2019).
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February 24, 1986
- Film director
- producer
- screenwriter
- film editor
- actor
Benny Safdie | |
|---|---|
Safdie at the 2025 Venice Film Festival | |
| Born | Benjamin Safdie February 24, 1986 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Boston University (BS) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse |
Ava Rawski (m. 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives |
|
Safdie's career additionally includes co-creating, writing, and acting in the satirical series The Curse (2023) with comedian Nathan Fielder, and his solo directorial debut The Smashing Machine (2025), for which he won the Silver Lion at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.
For his role in Good Time as Nick, Safdie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, and has since starred in Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (2023), Oppenheimer (2023), Happy Gilmore 2 (2025), and provided the voice of Bowser Jr. in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026).
Early life
Safdie's parents are Amy and Alberto Safdie. He is of Syrian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Ashkenazi Jewish descent on his mother's side.[2] He was raised in New York.[3] When their parents divorced, he and brother Josh divided their time between their father in Queens and their mother and stepfather in Manhattan.[3] He attended Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School[3] and graduated from the Boston University College of Communication in 2008.
Career
Filmmaking
The Safdies' first feature was the 2009 film Daddy Longlegs: they also wrote the screenplay and edited the film together.[4] The film was showcased in the Directors' Fortnight at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[5] In 2013, they debuted the documentary film Lenny Cooke at the Tribeca Film Festival,[6] a documentary they became attached to after Cooke approached them to review the footage.[7] In 2014, the pair premiered their next film Heaven Knows What at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.[8] In February 2016, the brothers began filming their crime thriller film Good Time, which Benny starred in alongside Robert Pattinson, in New York City.[9] It premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.[10] Benny, for his performance, was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.[11]
Uncut Gems, Josh and Benny's next film, starred Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield and Julia Fox; Martin Scorsese was executive producer.[12] The brothers won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, and Benny shared the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing with Ronald Bronstein, with whom he has co-edited all the Safdie brother films.[13]
Safdie and Nathan Fielder co-created the Showtime series The Curse, which premiered in November 2023.[14] The show, in which they also starred, received critical acclaim,[15][16] and Safdie earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series.[17]
Safdie then, in his first directorial endevour without his brother and his first solo writing credit, directed the MMA themed film The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr. The film premiered and the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where Safdie won the Silver Lion for Best Direction. The film received a theatrical release in October 2025 by A24.
Safdie is currently attached as writer, director and producer to a film adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater's Lizard Music for Amazon MGM Studios' United Artists, reteaming with Johnson.
Acting
In 2017, Safdie began taking on performances not directed by himself or Josh, appearing in a role in the film Person to Person.[18] In 2020, he appeared in Pieces of a Woman,[19] and in 2021 he took on a significant supporting role in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza.[20]
In 2022, Safdie appeared in Claire Denis' romantic thriller Stars at Noon,[21] and as Nari in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi.[22] In 2023, he starred in the film adaptation Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.,[23] and appears as Edward Teller in Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan.[24]
In 2025, he appeared in Happy Gilmore 2,[25] and is set to reunite with Nolan on The Odyssey in 2026.[26] He played the voice of Bowser Jr. in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.[27]
Personal life
Safdie is Jewish. His father was born in Italy and raised in France, and is of Sephardic-Jewish and Syrian-Jewish descent.[3][28][29][30] His mother is of Russian-Jewish descent.[31] His great uncle is architect Moshe Safdie. His cousin once removed is playwright Oren Safdie.[32]
He is married to Ava Safdie (née Rawski), with whom he has two sons.[33]
Filmography
Feature films
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Producer | Collaboration with Josh | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Pleasure of Being Robbed | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2009 | Daddy Longlegs | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2013 | Lenny Cooke | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2014 | Heaven Knows What | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2017 | Good Time | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2019 | Uncut Gems | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2022 | Funny Pages | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| 2025 | The Smashing Machine | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
As actor
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Person to Person | Eugene | Dustin Guy Defa | ||
| Good Time | Nick Nikas | Safdie brothers | |||
| 2020 | Pieces of a Woman | Chris | Kornél Mundruczó | ||
| 2021 | Licorice Pizza | Joel Wachs | Paul Thomas Anderson | ||
| 2022 | Stars at Noon | CIA Man | Claire Denis | ||
| 2023 | Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. | Herb Simon | Kelly Fremon Craig | ||
| Oppenheimer | Edward Teller | Christopher Nolan | |||
| 2025 | Happy Gilmore 2 | Frank Manatee | Kyle Newacheck | ||
| 2026 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Bowser Jr. | Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic | Voice | |
| The Odyssey † | Agamemnon | Christopher Nolan | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Togetherness | Craddock Brother #2 | Episode: "Advanced Pretend" | |
| 2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Nari | Episode: "Part I" | |
| 2023–2024 | The Curse | Dougie Schecter | Main role; also co-creator, writer, executive producer and editor |
Awards and nominations
Safdie brothers
Solo
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venice International Film Festival | September 6, 2025 | Golden Lion | Benny Safdie | Nominated | [34][35][36][37] |
| Silver Lion | Won | ||||
| Stockholm International Film Festival | November 16, 2025 | Stockholm Visionary Award | Honored | [38] | |