Benny Safdie

American filmmaker and actor (born 1986)

Benny Safdie

Safdie in 2010

Born|

Benjamin Safdie

(1986-02-24) February 24, 1986 (age 39)

New York City, U.S.

Education| Boston University (BS)
Occupations|

* Film director
* producer
* screenwriter
* film editor
* actor

Years active| 2007–present
Spouse|

Ava Rawski

(m. 2013)​

Children| 2
Relatives|

* Josh Safdie (brother)
* Moshe Safdie (great-uncle)
* Oren Safdie (first cousin once removed)
* Dov Charney (first cousin once removed)

Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986)[1] is an American filmmaker and actor. He and his elder brother, Josh, have directed the films Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). Transitioning towards acting, Safdie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his role in Good Time and has since taken on roles in films such as Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Oppenheimer (both 2023). He also co-created, co-wrote, and starred in the television series The Curse (2023).

## Early life

[edit]

Safdie was born to Amy and Alberto Safdie: he is of Syrian Jewish descent and was raised in New York.[2] He and brother Josh divided their childhood living between their father in Queens and their mother and stepfather in Manhattan upon their parents' divorce.[2] He attended Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School[2] and graduated from the Boston University College of Communication in 2008.

## Career

[edit]

### Filmmaker

[edit]

Main article: Safdie brothers

The Safdies' first feature was the 2009 film Daddy Longlegs: they also wrote the screenplay and edited the film together.[3] The film was showcased in the Directors' Fortnight at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[4] In 2013, they debuted the documentary film Lenny Cooke at the Tribeca Film Festival,[5] a documentary they became attached to after Cooke approached them to review the footage.[6] In 2014, the pair premiered their next film Heaven Knows What at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.[7] In February 2016, the brothers began filming their crime thriller film Good Time. which Benny starred in alongside Robert Pattinson, in New York City.[8] It premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.[9] Benny, for his performance, was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.[10]

Uncut Gems, Josh and Benny's next film, starred Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield and Julia Fox and was executive produced by Martin Scorsese.[11] 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.[12]

Safdie and Nathan Fielder co-created in the Showtime series The Curse, which premiered in November 2023.[13] The show, in which they also starred, received critical acclaim,[14][15] and Safdie earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series.[16]

Safdie's next directorial effort is The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr and set to be released by A24 in 2025.

### Acting roles

[edit]

In 2017, Safdie began taking on performances not directed by himself or Josh, appearing in a role in the film Person to Person.[17] In 2020, he appeared in Pieces of a Woman,[18] and in 2021 he took on a significant supporting role in the Paul Thomas Anderson film Licorice Pizza.[19]

In 2022, Safdie appeared in Claire Denis' romantic thriller Stars at Noon,[20] and as Nari in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi.[21] In 2023, he starred in the film adaptation Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.,[22] and appears as Edward Teller in Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan.[23]

In 2025, he appeared in Happy Gilmore 2,[24] and is set to reunite with Nolan on The Odyssey in 2026.[25]

## Personal life

[edit]

Safdie is Jewish. His father was born in Italy and raised in France and is of Sephardic-Jewish and Syrian-Jewish descent.[2][26][27][28] His mother is of Russian-Jewish descent.[29] His great uncle is architect Moshe Safdie. His cousin once removed is playwright Oren Safdie.[30]

He is married to Ava Safdie (née Rawski), with whom he has two sons.[31]

## Filmography

[edit]

See also: Safdie brothers § Filmography

### Feature films

[edit]

Key  †  | Denotes film or TV productions 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

[edit]

Key  †  | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

|

Film

Year  | Title  | Role  | Director  | Notes

|
|
|
|

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 Odyssey † | TBA | Christopher Nolan  | Filming

Television

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2016  | Togetherness | Craddock Brother #2  | 1 episode
2022  | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Nari  | Miniseries, 1 episode
2023  | The Curse | Dougie Schecter  | Main role; also co-creator, writer, executive producer and editor

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by the Safdie brothers

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Benny Safdie". AlloCiné. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
2. ^ a b c d Sanneh, Kelefa (December 16, 2019). "The Safdie Brothers' Full-Immersion Filmmaking". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
3. ^ Macaulay, Scott (January 28, 2010). "Daddy Longlegs Josh and Benny Safdie". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
4. ^ "Quinzaine 2009". quinzaine-realisateurs.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
5. ^ Kemmerle, Karen (April 15, 2013). "'Lenny Cooke' Directors Josh and Benny Safdie Explore What Happened to the American Dream". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
6. ^ Harris, Brandon (December 6, 2013). "Hoop Dreams: Josh and Benny Safdie on Lenny Cooke". Filmmaker. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
7. ^ Foundas, Scott (August 28, 2014). "'Heaven Knows What' Review: The Safdies Take a Step Forward". Variety. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
8. ^ "On the Set for 1/8/16: Robert Pattinson Starts on the Feature, 'Good Time' While Michael Fassbender & Marion Cotillard Wrap 'Assassin's Creed'". SSN Insider. January 8, 2016. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
9. ^ "The 2017 Official Selection". Cannes. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
10. ^ Sharf, Zach (November 21, 2017). "2018 Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 'Get Out' and 'Call Me by Your Name' Dominate". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
11. ^ Hipes, Patrick (September 28, 2018). "Safdie Brothers' 'Uncut Gems' Scores Financing From RT Features & Scorsese's Sikelia – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 17, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
12. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Blyth, Antonia (February 8, 2020). "Independent Spirit Awards Redresses Female Balance With Wins For Lulu Wang, Olivia Wilde & Julia Reichert – Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
13. ^ White, Peter (December 10, 2020). "Emma Stone To Star In Comedy Series The Curse From Nathan Fielder & Safdie Brothers For Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
14. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (November 11, 2023). "The Curse review – this exquisitely cringe-worthy drama is like nothing else on TV". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
15. ^ "The Curse (2023) | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
16. ^ "See the full list of 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees". EW.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
17. ^ Kohn, Eric (January 20, 2017). "Tragedy, Neurosis, Sundance: The Long, Strange Journey of Person to Person Director Dustin Guy Defa". Indiewire. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
18. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 21, 2020). "Sarah Snook & Benny Safdie Join 'Pieces Of A Woman; Jaime Zevallos & Adrienne Lovette Board A Boy Like That". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
19. ^ Sneider, Jeff (August 31, 2020). "Benny Safdie to Play Gay Politician in Paul Thomas Anderson's New '70s Movie". Collider. Archived from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
20. ^ "Stars at Noon". Ad Vitam Distribution. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 29, 2021). "Obi-Wan Kenobi To Start Production In April; Disney+ Series Cast Includes Joel Edgerton Returning To Star Wars Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
22. ^ Sneider, Jeff (April 7, 2021). "Exclusive: Benny Safdie Joins Rachel McAdams in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Movie". Collider. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
23. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 9, 2021). "Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Adds Florence Pugh, Rami Malek & Benny Safdie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
24. ^ Perella, Vincent (August 21, 2024). "Adam Sandler Confirms Benny Safdie Is in Happy Gilmore 2 and Says That His Josh Safdie Baseball Film Is 'Hopefully Going to Come Back'". IndieWire. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
25. ^ Kit, Borys (January 29, 2025). "Benny Safdie Reuniting with Christopher Nolan for 'The Odyssey' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
26. ^ Robinson, George (August 17, 2010). "Being The Safdie Brothers". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
27. ^ Barshad, Amos (August 21, 2017). "The Safdie Brothers Are Classic New York Hustlers". The Fader. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
28. ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (June 17, 2015). "Life as lived by a homeless junkie". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
29. ^ Vance, Kelly (December 25, 2019). "Hoops Hoopla + Precious Stones = Mayhem". East Bay Express. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
30. ^ Foley, Euan (June 29, 2020). "A Brief History of the Safdie Brothers". Port Magazine. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
31. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (August 10, 2017). "Safdie brothers bring a New York flavor to breakout thriller Good Time". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Benny Safdie at IMDb
* Red Bucket Films Archived November 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie

Feature films directed together|

* Daddy Longlegs (2009)
* Heaven Knows What (2014)
* Good Time (2017)
* Uncut Gems (2019)

Josh only|

* The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008)
* Marty Supreme (2025)

Benny only|

* The Smashing Machine (2025)

Documentaries|

* Lenny Cooke (2013, together)

Awards for Benny Safdie

* v
* t
* e

Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Film Editing

* Tom Cross (2018)
* Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Joe Walker (2021)
* Paul Rogers (2022)
* Jennifer Lame (2023)
* Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, and Valentin Féron (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay

Screenplay
(1996–2009)|

* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (1996)
* Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland (1997)
* Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (1998)
* Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (1999)
* David Mamet (2000)
* Christopher Nolan (2001)
* Charlie and Donald Kaufman (2002)
* Sofia Coppola (2003)
* Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (2004)
* Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (2005)
* William Monahan (2006)
* Diablo Cody (2007)
* Simon Beaufoy (2008)
* Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (2009)

Original Screenplay
(2010–present)|

* Christopher Nolan (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* Rian Johnson (2012)
* Spike Jonze (2013)
* Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (2014)
* Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (2015)
* Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos (2016)
* Jordan Peele (2017)
* Boots Riley (2018)
* Ronald Bronstein and Benny and Josh Safdie (2019)
* Lee Isaac Chung (2020)
* Wes Anderson (2021)
* Park Chan-wook and Jeong Seo-Gyeong (2022)
* Celine Song (2023)
* Jane Schoenbrun (2024)

Adapted Screenplay
(2010–present)|

* Aaron Sorkin (2010)
* Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (2011)
* Chris Terrio (2012)
* John Ridley (2013)
* Gillian Flynn (2014)
* Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (2015)
* Whit Stillman (2016)
* James Ivory (2017)
* Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (2018)
* Greta Gerwig (2019)
* Charlie Kaufman (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Sarah Polley (2022)
* Tony McNamara (2023)
* Justin Kuritzkes (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Independent Spirit Award for Best Director

1980s|

* Joel Coen / Martin Scorsese (1985)
* Oliver Stone (1986)
* John Huston (1987)
* Ramon Menendez (1988)
* Steven Soderbergh (1989)

1990s|

* Charles Burnett (1990)
* Martha Coolidge (1991)
* Carl Franklin (1992)
* Robert Altman (1993)
* Quentin Tarantino (1994)
* Mike Figgis (1995)
* Joel Coen (1996)
* Robert Duvall (1997)
* Wes Anderson (1998)
* Alexander Payne (1999)

2000s|

* Ang Lee (2000)
* Christopher Nolan (2001)
* Todd Haynes (2002)
* Sofia Coppola (2003)
* Alexander Payne (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (2006)
* Julian Schnabel (2007)
* Tom McCarthy (2008)
* Lee Daniels (2009)

2010s|

* Darren Aronofsky (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* David O. Russell (2012)
* Steve McQueen (2013)
* Richard Linklater (2014)
* Tom McCarthy (2015)
* Barry Jenkins (2016)
* Jordan Peele (2017)
* Barry Jenkins (2018)
* Safdie brothers (2019)

2020s|

* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Maggie Gyllenhaal (2021)
* Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (2022)
* Celine Song (2023)
* Sean Baker (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing

2010s|

* Nat Sanders (2013)
* Tom Cross (2014)
* Tom McArdle (2015)
* Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders (2016)
* Tatiana S. Riegel (2017)
* Joe Bini (2018)
* Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie (2019)

2020s|

* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Joi McMillon (2021)
* Paul Rogers (2022)
* Daniel Garber (2023)
* Hansjörg Weißbrich (2024)

* v
* t
* e

National Board of Review Award for Best Original Screenplay

* Charlie Kaufman (2002)
* Jim Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan and Naomi Sheridan (2003)
* Charlie Kaufman (2004)
* Noah Baumbach (2005)
* Zach Helm (2006)
* Diablo Cody / Nancy Oliver (2007)
* Nick Schenk (2008)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2009)
* Chris Sparling (2010)
* Will Reiser (2011)
* Rian Johnson (2012)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2013)
* Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (2014)
* Quentin Tarantino (2015)
* Kenneth Lonergan (2016)
* Paul Thomas Anderson (2017)
* Paul Schrader (2018)
* Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie (2019)
* Lee Isaac Chung (2020)
* Asghar Farhadi (2021)
* Martin McDonagh (2022)
* David Hemingson (2023)
* Mike Leigh (2024)

* v
* t
* e

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director

1935–1950|

* John Ford (1935)
* Rouben Mamoulian (1936)
* Gregory La Cava (1937)
* Alfred Hitchcock (1938)
* John Ford (1939)
* John Ford (1940)
* John Ford (1941)
* John Farrow (1942)
* George Stevens (1943)
* Leo McCarey (1944)
* Billy Wilder (1945)
* William Wyler (1946)
* Elia Kazan (1947)
* John Huston (1948)
* Carol Reed (1949)
* Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1950)

1951–1975|

* Elia Kazan (1951)
* Fred Zinnemann (1952)
* Fred Zinnemann (1953)
* Elia Kazan (1954)
* David Lean (1955)
* John Huston (1956)
* David Lean (1957)
* Stanley Kramer (1958)
* Fred Zinnemann (1959)
* Jack Cardiff / Billy Wilder (1960)
* Robert Rossen (1961)
* No Award (1962)
* Tony Richardson (1963)
* Stanley Kubrick (1964)
* John Schlesinger (1965)
* Fred Zinnemann (1966)
* Mike Nichols (1967)
* Paul Newman (1968)
* Costa-Gavras (1969)
* Bob Rafelson (1970)
* Stanley Kubrick (1971)
* Ingmar Bergman (1972)
* François Truffaut (1973)
* Federico Fellini (1974)
* Robert Altman (1975)

1976–2000|

* Alan J. Pakula (1976)
* Woody Allen (1977)
* Terrence Malick (1978)
* Woody Allen (1979)
* Jonathan Demme (1980)
* Sidney Lumet (1981)
* Sydney Pollack (1982)
* Ingmar Bergman (1983)
* David Lean (1984)
* John Huston (1985)
* Woody Allen (1986)
* James L. Brooks (1987)
* Chris Menges (1988)
* Paul Mazursky (1989)
* Martin Scorsese (1990)
* Jonathan Demme (1991)
* Robert Altman (1992)
* Jane Campion (1993)
* Quentin Tarantino (1994)
* Ang Lee (1995)
* Lars von Trier (1996)
* Curtis Hanson (1997)
* Terrence Malick (1998)
* Mike Leigh (1999)
* Steven Soderbergh (2000)

2001–present|

* Robert Altman (2001)
* Todd Haynes (2002)
* Sofia Coppola (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2004)
* Ang Lee (2005)
* Martin Scorsese (2006)
* Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (2007)
* Mike Leigh (2008)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
* David Fincher (2010)
* Michel Hazanavicius (2011)
* Kathryn Bigelow (2012)
* Steve McQueen (2013)
* Richard Linklater (2014)
* Todd Haynes (2015)
* Barry Jenkins (2016)
* Sean Baker (2017)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
* Joshua Safdie and Benjamin Safdie (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* S. S. Rajamouli (2022)
* Christopher Nolan (2023)
* RaMell Ross (2024)

* v
* t
* e

San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Director

* Joel Coen (1996)
* James Cameron (1997)
* John Madden (1998)
* David Lynch (1999)
* Cameron Crowe (2000)
* Terry Zwigoff (2001)
* Jill Sprecher (2002)
* Peter Jackson (2003)
* Clint Eastwood (2004)
* Bennett Miller (2005)
* Clint Eastwood (2006)
* Paul Thomas Anderson (2007)
* Danny Boyle (2008)
* Quentin Tarantino (2009)
* Darren Aronofsky (2010)
* Nicolas Winding Refn (2011)
* Ben Affleck (2012)
* Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
* Dan Gilroy (2014)
* George Miller (2015)
* David Mackenzie (2016)
* Greta Gerwig (2017)
* Debra Granik (2018)
* Benny and Josh Safdie (2019)
* Chloé Zhao (2020)
* Jane Campion (2021)
* Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (2022)
* Martin Scorsese (2023)
* Denis Villeneuve (2024)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
*[†]: Film has not yet been released
*[TBA]: To be announced
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*[t]: Discuss this template
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