Benny Safdie

AKA: Ben Safdie, The Safdie Brothers, Benjamin Safdie
1.9325

1986-02-24

New York City, New York, USA

Biography

Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) is an American filmmaker, actor, and editor best known for his collaborations with his older brother, Josh Safdie. Together, the Safdie brothers have established themselves as leading voices in contemporary independent cinema with acclaimed films such as Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). In addition to directing, Benny has pursued a parallel career as an actor. His performance in Good Time earned him a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He has since appeared in high-profile films including Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza (2021), Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023), and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023). On television, he co-created, co-wrote, and starred alongside Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in the Showtime series The Curse (2023).

Crew Roles

Daddy Longlegs
Director
The Pure and the Damned
Director
Thank You Very Much
Executive Producer
John's Gone
Writer
John's Gone
Director
Lenny Cooke
Director
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John
Director
Question & Answer
Director
The Black Balloon
Director
Daddy Longlegs
Writer
The Back of Her Head
Writer
There's Nothing You Can Do
Director
The Black Balloon
Writer
Question & Answer
Writer
Question & Answer
Editor
The Adventures of Slater's Friend
Director
The Smashing Machine
Director
The Smashing Machine
Screenplay
Solid Gold
Director
Buttons
Director
The Story of Charles Riverbank
Writer
The Story of Charles Riverbank
Director
Buttons
Director of Photography
The Pleasure of Being Robbed
Editor
Good Time
Director
The Surprise Tour
Editor
Trophy Hunter
Director
The Black Balloon
Sound Recordist
The Adventures of Slater's Friend
Editor
The Adventures of Slater's Friend
Writer
Uncut Gems
Director
Daddy Longlegs
Co-Producer
John's Lonely Trip to Coney Island
Director
The Ralph Handel Story
Director
Straight Hustle
Writer
Straight Hustle
Director
Toback Vs. Mailer: The Incident
Editor
Toback Vs. Mailer: The Incident
Director
What To Do When Choking
Editor
Gone Tomorrow
Director
What To Do When Choking
Director
Into the Woods with Mark
Director
Lenny Cooke
Editor
John's Gone
Editor
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John
Editor
The Black Balloon
Editor
Buttons
Editor
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John
Writer
If You See Something, Say Something
Writer
Daddy Longlegs
Editor
Trophy Hunter
Writer
The Groomsmen
Production Assistant
Daddy Longlegs
Sound Designer
John's Gone
Producer
The Black Balloon
Casting Director
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John
Producer
Good Time
Editor
Uncut Gems
Writer
The Ralph Handel Story
Editor
There's Nothing You Can Do
Writer
There's Nothing You Can Do
Editor
Heaven Knows What
Editor
Heaven Knows What
Sound Mixer
Heaven Knows What
Director
Heaven Knows What
Sound Recordist
Good Time
Sound Recordist
Funny Pages
Producer
Uncut Gems
Editor
John's Lonely Trip to Coney Island
Editor
Goldman v Silverman
Director
Heartland
Producer
The Smashing Machine
Co-Producer
The Smashing Machine
Editor
Lizard Music
Director
Lizard Music
Producer
Lizard Music
Screenplay
Why? (This Movie Exists)
Director
Why? (This Movie Exists)
Editor
Marty Supreme
Thanks
Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall
Camera Operator
Noah Britton: The Best Stuff I've Ever Done
Additional Camera
Set Decoration
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Story
Teleplay
Writer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Creator
Cast RolesCast Roles Played = {39}

John

2010-09-07 5

John's Gone

John sells things online, cheats off dollar stores, needs friends but settles for strangers, has roaches. He is punch drunk, not with love but something far more strange and lost. One can only say Joh ...
Genre :Comedy

John

2008-05-22 5.9

The Acquaintances of a Lonely John

John is a lonely man who wanders through the city, encountering various acquaintances of differing temperaments. Though he crosses paths with many people, some simply prefer not to be bothered with hi ...
Genre :Drama, Comedy

CIA Man

2022-10-14 5.9

Stars at Noon

In present-day Nicaragua, a headstrong American journalist and a mysterious English businessman strike up a romance as they become embroiled in a dangerous labyrinth of lies and conspiracies and are f ...
Genre :Drama, Romance, Crime

Edward Teller

2023-07-19 8.038

Oppenheimer

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. ...
Genre :Drama, History

Charles Riverbank

2008-01-08 0

The Story of Charles Riverbank

This is the story of a man named Charles Riverbank, who, upon losing his home, wanders into various adventures (and a lot of dirty looks). ...
Genre :Comedy, Fantasy

2008-08-05 6

There's Nothing You Can Do

The Safdie brothers repurpose reality television’s vocabulary of confrontation and cramped cinematography for a miniature study of urban maladies. ...
Genre :Drama

Himself

2011-12-13 0

Second Stop from Jupiter: The Making of Daddy Longlegs

A documentary chronicling the production of Daddy Longlegs. ...
Genre :

Himself (Archival)

0

Projection/Admiration

Charli contemplates the messiness of the ethics in filmmaking and collaboration. ...
Genre :

Frank Manatee

2025-07-25 6.6

Happy Gilmore 2

Happy Gilmore isn't done with golf — not by a long shot. Since his retirement after his first Tour Championship win, Gilmore returns to finance his daughter's ballet classes. ...
Genre :Comedy

Nick Nikas

2017-08-11 7.2

Good Time

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail. ...
Genre :Crime, Thriller, Drama

Riverguy 2

2008-03-10 5.7

Yeast

A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships. ...
Genre :Comedy, Drama

Eugene

2017-07-28 5.173

Person to Person

Follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day. ...
Genre :Drama

Self

2017-10-03 7

The Universe Is Out There: Josh and Benny Safdie

Get to know the siblings whose films have captured the skittering pulse of New York’s city streets. An original documentary featuring footage from the making of their new thriller, Good Time, along wi ...
Genre :Documentary

Ralph Handel

2006-06-19 0

The Ralph Handel Story

Co-directed by Benny and Josh Safdie, this deadpan mock-documentary follows Ralph Handel, a buttoned-down office worker who spends his nights bombing on the open-mic circuit. Staged as cinéma vérité t ...
Genre :Comedy

2007-11-26 0

I Think I'm Missing Parts

When her station wagon conks out by a secluded house in the woods, a woman peers from the window and watches a string of peculiar goings-on next door. Josh Safdie’s 11-minute short turns a simple brea ...
Genre :

2008-09-27 0

John's Lonely Trip to Coney Island

John embarks on a trip to Coney Island for a day of fun and happiness. Things don't quite work out as planned. ...
Genre :Comedy

2007-01-01 0

What To Do When Choking

A 3-minute short film directed and edited by Benny Safdie, featuring Cassie Seale, Daniel S. Callahan, and Safdie himself. ...
Genre :

Business Man 2

2006-03-11 0

If You See Something, Say Something

An early short film by Josh Safdie, co-written with Benny Safdie and featuring frequent collaborators including Sam Lisenco and Ariel Schulman. Running just over three minutes, it premiered at the 200 ...
Genre :Comedy

10

Into the Woods with Mark

A short film directed by Benny Safdie, with cinematography by Josh Safdie and produced under the Red Bucket Films collective. ...
Genre :

Al Silverman

2020-01-16 6.2

Goldman v Silverman

Rod Goldman and Al Silverman are street performers who work the tourist scene of Times Square. Goldman gets no respect and Silverman is the first one to make sure of that. ...
Genre :Drama, Comedy

Goldman

2013-08-15 8

Solid Gold

A short observational piece by Josh and Benny Safdie, Solid Gold follows a gold-painted “living statue” (performed by Benny Safdie) working the streets and subways of New York—a compact study of stree ...
Genre :Drama, Comedy

Chris

2020-12-30 7.021

Pieces of a Woman

When a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning ...
Genre :Drama

Self

2020-03-10 6

Money on the Street: The Making of Uncut Gems

A behind the scenes look at Uncut Gems (2019) by the Safdie Brothers with interviews from the cast and more. ...
Genre :Documentary

Joel Wachs

2021-11-26 6.951

Licorice Pizza

The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973. ...
Genre :Drama, Comedy, Romance

Herbert Simon

2023-03-29 7.159

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

When her family moves from New York City to New Jersey, an 11-year-old girl navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence. ...
Genre :Comedy, Drama

2015-01-01 0

A Hot Two Weeks: The Making of Heaven Knows What

The story behind the acclaimed film, "Heaven Knows What," directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, and inspired by the life of Arielle Holmes. ...
Genre :Documentary

Self

2020-02-08 0

Question & Answer

The Safdie brothers go undercover to record an interview with Adam Sandler, the star of their film UNCUT GEMS. ...
Genre :Documentary

2026-07-15 0

The Odyssey

Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War, chronicling his encounters with mythical beings such as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the ...
Genre :Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

1st Cameraman

2005-04-22 0

The Adventures of Slater's Friend

A film crew trails Philbert Powell through his morning, from the supermarket to his job at a video store. Along the way, he crosses paths with several individuals all named “Slater.” His interactions ...
Genre :Comedy, Documentary

2010-01-01 0

Why? (This Movie Exists)

A short promotional film created by Benny and Josh Safdie to accompany the theatrical release of Daddy Longlegs. In the piece, Benny Safdie appears on the streets of New York City distributing handmad ...
Genre :Documentary

Benny the Salesman

2004-01-01 0

Alberto Live in a Bathroom

A man lives in a bathtub. He goes out for the day, then returns. ...
Genre :Comedy

Bowser Jr. (voice)

2026-04-01 0

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

A new movie based on the world of Super Mario Bros. that further broadens Mario's world with a bright and fun story. Plot TBA. ...
Genre :Family, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure, Animation

Nari

2022-05-26 7.027

Obi-Wan Kenobi

During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, embarks on a crucial mission to confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire. ...
Genre :Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama

Self

2014-02-17 5.9

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

After Jay Leno's second retirement from the program, Jimmy Fallon stepped in as his permanent replacement. After 42 years in Los Angeles the program was brought back to New York. ...
Genre :Comedy, Talk

Craddock Brother #2

2015-01-11 6.716

Togetherness

Four adults nearing 40, living under the same roof, struggle to keep their relationships and their individual dreams alive. ...
Genre :Comedy, Drama

Self

2010-06-05 6.7

The Neistat Brothers

Following Casey and Van Neistat, The Neistat Brothers is a autobiographical documentary following the lives and adventures of the two brothers. The series follows their travels around the world and Ne ...
Genre :Documentary

Dougie Schecter

2023-11-12 6.381

The Curse

An alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show. ...
Genre :Comedy, Drama

Self

1996-07-22 6.396

The Daily Show

The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture. ...
Genre :News, Comedy

Self

2025-10-16 8.139

Mr. Scorsese

Explore the many lives of Martin Scorsese through intimate interviews with the man himself, access to his private archives, plus conversations with Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Da ...
Genre :Documentary