'Altered Carbon' and 4 Other Movies & TV Series Starring Joel Kinnaman, Ranked by IMDb
The cult cyberpunk series, dark Scandinavian thrillers, and Hollywood blockbusters.
Hollywood always takes notice of foreign talent – if a European film gains international recognition, its star is practically guaranteed a new lease on life.
This happened to Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman after the resounding success of the action movie Easy Money – producers noticed him and invited him to Hollywood.
5. 'Silent Night', 2023
IMDb Score: 5.3/10
Joel Kinnaman plays Brian Godlock, an ordinary electrician from Texas whose only son, Tyler, is killed in a shootout between two rival gangs. Brian himself is seriously wounded in the shootout and loses the ability to speak.
Grieving deeply over his son's death, Brian decides to punish those responsible himself. Obsessed with revenge, he begins training to fire a gun and fight hand-to-hand.
One year after the tragedy, Brian hunts down and kills those involved in the massacre one by one.
4. 'Sympathy for the Devil', 2023
IMDb Score: 5.5/10
The thriller centers on David, an expectant father played by Joel Kinnaman, who becomes deeply distressed by the birth of his child. He rushes to meet his wife at the hospital, but at a critical moment, a stranger in a red jacket takes him hostage at gunpoint and forces him to drive to another city.
Deprived of a choice, David agrees and begins a dangerous game of cat and mouse with his uninvited passenger. The passenger suspects David of being responsible for the death of his wife and daughter.
In this psychological thriller, Nicolas Cage steals the show with his irrepressible charisma, leaving Kinnaman in the background.
3. 'Easy Money', 2010
IMDb Score: 6.7/10
The crime drama focuses on Johan, a Stockholm student played by Joel Kinnaman. Johan is embarrassed by his humble origins and constantly pretends to be the son of a successful diplomat.
This image, however, comes at a cost, forcing Johan to take a part-time job as a taxi driver. One day, his boss suggests a new way to make money quickly: cocaine trafficking.
To establish a successful business, though, Johan must first track down Jorge, a Chilean con man on the run from the police and the Serbian mafia who have sent a professional hitman named Mrado after him.
2. 'Altered Carbon', 2018-2020
IMDb Score: 7.9/10
In the distant future, humans have conquered death – the human mind can now be digitized and easily transferred into a new body. However, not everyone embraced the idea of immortality, some people began to fight the widespread adoption of the new technology.
Takeshi Kovacs was among them. He ultimately lost the battle with the corporations and spent the next 250 years in suspended animation.
The revolutionary was awakened by billionaire Laurens Bancroft, who gave him a new body with the face of Joel Kinnaman. Bancroft tasked Kovacs with discovering the cause of his previous self's death.
1. 'The Killing', 2011-2014
IMDb Score: 8.3/10
The series takes place in Seattle, where the body of a teenage girl named Rosie is found one morning. Detective Sarah Linden is assigned to investigate the potential murder and is partnered with Stephen Holder, played by Joel Kinnaman, a former undercover detective who has arrested drug dealers.
Together, Linden and Holder must unravel the mystery while the girl's relatives struggle to come to terms with her death and a local mayoral candidate decides to exploit the crime to advance his career.
