Justice Smith

Justice Smith began his screen career in 2014, appearing as a boy at school in the film Trigger Finger. That year, he also appeared as Angus in two episodes of Nickelodeon’s The Thundermans and appeared as himself in one episode of the HBO documentary series Masterclass. He also appeared in Vlogbrothers videos.

In 2015, Smith portrayed Marcus “Radar” Lincoln in the film Paper Towns. In 2016, he was cast in the lead role of Ezekiel “Zeke” Figuero in Netflix’s musical drama series The Get Down, which premiered in August 2016 and concluded in April 2017, with Smith appearing in 11 episodes.

In 2017, Smith appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Yen by Anna Jordan as Bobbie at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The production began in January 2017 and closed March 4, 2017. Smith received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play and a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for Yen. He was also named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017.

In 2018, Smith portrayed Justin in Every Day and Franklin Webb in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. In 2019, he starred as Tim Goodman in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and appeared as Ptolemy XIII in an episode of Drunk History titled “Bad Blood.” He also portrayed Nicolas in the Atlantic Theater Company production of The Mother. Smith received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

In 2020, Smith participated in Acting for a Cause, a live play and screenplay reading series. He played Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Dennis Ziegler in This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan. He also portrayed Theodore Finch in All the Bright Places, which was filmed beginning in 2018 and released in 2020.

In 2021, Smith portrayed Thomas in The Voyeurs and provided the voice of Marc Wydell in the animated film Ron’s Gone Wrong. He also starred as Chester in the television series Generation, appearing in 16 episodes. For Generation, he received nominations for the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy Series, and the Pena de Prata for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

In 2022, Smith returned as Franklin Webb in Jurassic World Dominion. He also portrayed Ryan Erzahler in the video game The Quarry, providing voice performance, motion capture and likeness. His work on The Quarry earned a 2023 New York Game Award nomination for the Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game. In 2022, he also received a Queerties nomination for Favorite TV Performance.

In 2023, Smith portrayed Tom in Sharper and Simon Aumar in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

In 2024, Smith portrayed Owen in I Saw the TV Glow and Aren in The American Society of Magical Negroes. For I Saw the TV Glow, he received nominations for Best Actor at the Astra Midseason Movie Awards, Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, Best Lead Performance at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Best Lead Performance from the Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards. He was also a Breakthrough Award honoree at the Variety and Golden Globe Breakthrough Artist Awards for I Saw the TV Glow and The American Society of Magical Negroes.

In 2025, Smith portrayed Adi in Creditors at the Minetta Lane Theatre and Charlie Vanderberg in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. He received a Dorian Awards nomination for Film Performance of the Year and a Queerties nomination for Favorite Film Performance.

Smith is also credited with the 2019 music video “Graduation” by Benny Blanco and Juice Wrld, in which he played Jackson. In 2026, he appeared as himself in the music video for “Do Me Right” by Mr. Fantasy.

Smith’s upcoming film credits include White Elephant and Trust the Man, both listed as TBA, with White Elephant in filming and Trust the Man in post-production. On Aug. 7, 2026, it was announced that Smith had been cast as Harris Drover in the second season of Heated Rivalry, listed for 2027.