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Latest News: Jesse Plemons Wins Top Acting Award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Actor Jesse Plemons has received widespread acclaim for his role in the highly anticipated film Kinds of Kindness. At the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this month, Plemons, 36, was honored with the prestigious Best Actor award for his performance in the film, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. The movie, also starring Oscar winner Emma Stone, features Plemons in a unique portrayal of three distinct characters—Robert, Daniel, and Andrew—within an anthology-style narrative. Kinds of Kindness is set to be released in theaters on June 21.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Plemons reflected on the strong sense of camaraderie among the cast, describing it as akin to a “weird family theater troupe.” He emphasized the importance of trust and taking risks in their work, noting, “This was such a unique group of crazy-talented people, and it felt like everyone had each other’s backs.”
Plemons, Stone, and Lanthimos are set to collaborate again on an upcoming project. According to Variety, the trio will reunite for Bugonia, a drama centered around an alleged alien conspiracy.
Who Is Jesse Plemons?
Academy Award-nominated actor Jesse Plemons has earned recognition for his standout performances in notable TV shows and films. He rose to fame with his portrayal of Landry Clarke on the acclaimed drama Friday Night Lights, followed by his chilling role as Todd Alquist in Breaking Bad. In 2021, Plemons earned an Oscar nomination for his work in The Power of the Dog. Additionally, he has appeared in several high-profile films, including Martin Scorsese’s crime dramas The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon, as well as the period Western The Power of the Dog.
Plemons is married to actress Kirsten Dunst, his former co-star from the TV series Fargo.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born on April 2, 1988, in Dallas, Texas, Jesse Lon Plemons was raised in the small town of Mart, located just outside of Waco. His father, Jim Bob, is a retired firefighter, and his mother, Lisa, works as a special education trainer. Plemons also has an older sister, Jill.
From a young age, Plemons developed an interest in Westerns, drawing inspiration from classics like the 1989 TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, which starred Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. This passion for Westerns led him to land his first acting role at the age of three in a Coca-Cola commercial, where he portrayed a young cowboy. He also participated in the Central Texas Youth Rodeo Association, further cementing his connection to Western culture.
As his acting career expanded, Plemons divided his time between his hometown in Texas and Los Angeles. Reflecting on this experience, he noted the contrast between his quiet rural upbringing and the bustling city life of Los Angeles, which kept him grounded and humble.
Plemons attended Mart High School, where he excelled as an athlete, playing quarterback and tight end in football, as well as pitching for the baseball team. However, he ultimately chose to focus on his acting career, stepping away from sports to pursue his passion for performance.
TV Shows: Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights, and More
Jesse Plemons began his acting career at an early age, making his television debut in 2000 with a small role on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, starring Chuck Norris. Over the next few years, Plemons appeared in one-episode roles on a variety of popular TV series, including Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Judging Amy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Grey’s Anatomy.
Breakthrough on Friday Night Lights
Plemons’ first recurring role came with Friday Night Lights, the NBC drama about a Texas high school football team. Drawing on his own athletic background, Plemons portrayed Landry Clarke, the best friend of Dillon High School quarterback Matt Saracen. At just 18 years old, Plemons was in Los Angeles searching for apartments when he landed the role, which he described as one of the most exciting moments of his life. He appeared in 65 episodes of the show, which ran from 2006 to 2011. Friday Night Lights was lauded for its authentic portrayal of life in the American heartland and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series in its final season.
After Friday Night Lights, Plemons found himself being offered similar roles, but he remained patient, waiting for the right opportunity. That opportunity came in the form of another major TV hit.
Breaking Bad’s Todd Alquist
In a dramatic departure from his role on Friday Night Lights, Plemons took on the role of Todd Alquist in Breaking Bad’s fifth and final season. The critically acclaimed AMC drama, which follows a terminally ill chemistry teacher-turned-methamphetamine dealer, was one of the most popular and awarded shows on television by the time Plemons joined the cast in 2012. Plemons described Todd as “an ambush predator; he seems really, really harmless, and I think that’s the scariest part.” His chilling portrayal of the remorseless criminal earned him the nickname “Meth Damon” from fans, due to his resemblance to actor Matt Damon.
The series’ final season was widely praised, with Plemons receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the ensemble cast in 2014. He reprised his role in the 2019 Breaking Bad spinoff, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
Fargo and More
Plemons continued to build his reputation with a standout performance in Season 2 of the FX crime drama Fargo in 2015, where he played Ed Blumquist, a butcher’s assistant caught in a web of crime. His onscreen wife, Peggy Blumquist, was portrayed by his future real-life partner, Kirsten Dunst. Plemons’ work in Fargo earned him his first of three Emmy nominations, this time for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Though Plemons has shifted his focus toward film in recent years, his television work has continued to be well received. He earned another Emmy nomination in 2018 for his performance in the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister,” where he starred as a lead character in the critically acclaimed Netflix anthology series. In 2023, he portrayed Allan Gore in Love & Death, the Max true crime miniseries about Candy Montgomery (played by Elizabeth Olsen), further solidifying his reputation as one of the most versatile actors of his generation.
Movies: Like Mike, The Irishman, and The Power of the Dog
Jesse Plemons’ career in film began with notable early roles, including Varsity Blues (1999), a Texas high school football drama, where he played Tommy, the younger brother of star quarterback Lance Harbor, portrayed by Paul Walker. He later appeared in All the Pretty Horses (2000), an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel starring Matt Damon.
As a teenager, Plemons frequently portrayed antagonistic characters, such as Ox in Like Mike (2002), Jay in When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003), and the aptly named “Bully No. 1” in The Flyboys (2008). He also featured in comedies such as Observe and Report (2009) and Paul (2011), before making his first major leap into a blockbuster role as Navy Seaman Jimmy Ord in Battleship (2012), a high-budget film based on the Hasbro board game. Though the film did not achieve financial success, it showcased Plemons’ ability to adapt to diverse genres.
In the years that followed, Plemons was cast in a variety of dramatic roles alongside some of Hollywood’s most renowned actors. These included Black Mass (2015), where he starred alongside Johnny Depp in the true-crime drama about gangster Whitey Bulger, Bridge of Spies (2015) with Tom Hanks in a Cold War thriller, and The Post (2017) with Meryl Streep in a film about the Washington Post’s role in the Pentagon Papers scandal. Plemons also appeared in the Oscar-nominated films Vice (2018) and The Irishman (2019), and in the Netflix film I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020).
Oscar Nomination for The Power of the Dog
In 2021, Plemons starred in four major films, including Jungle Cruise, Antlers, and Judas and the Black Messiah, the latter being a biographical drama about Black Panther Party member Fred Hampton. However, his most critically acclaimed performance came in The Power of the Dog, a western drama where he portrayed George Burbank, a Montana rancher in the 1920s, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch. The film earned 12 Oscar nominations, including a Best Supporting Actor nod for Plemons and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for his wife, Kirsten Dunst, who played his onscreen wife. Plemons expressed his excitement about working with director Jane Campion, describing the film’s script as one of the best he had read in years.
Recent and Upcoming Projects
Plemons’ recent credits include playing investigator Tom White in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), a Martin Scorsese crime drama, and a memorable cameo as a militiaman in the 2024 thriller Civil War. He also stars in the upcoming anthology film Kinds of Kindness, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, scheduled for release on June 21, 2024.
Personal Life: Wife Kirsten Dunst and Children
Plemons began dating fellow actor Kirsten Dunst in 2016, having met on the set of Fargo. They announced their engagement in 2017 and married in July 2022. The couple shares two sons: Ennis, born in May 2018, and James, born in April 2021. They divide their time between California and Plemons’ home state of Texas. Plemons has expressed that Dunst is his favorite acting partner, citing the ease of working together and the unique bond it creates.
The couple has often appeared together at public events, including Dunst’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2019 and the 2024 Academy Awards.
Weight Loss
Plemons’ physical transformation became a topic of interest when he appeared at the 2024 Oscars with a noticeably slimmer physique. In a December 2022 interview with Interview magazine, he shared that he had shed weight for a movie role, likely referring to his cameo in Civil War. Plemons adopted intermittent fasting and cut carbs to lose the weight, explaining that he felt better, with lowered blood pressure and increased energy to keep up with his growing children. His weight has fluctuated throughout his career, with the actor gaining 45 pounds for his role in Black Mass (2015).
Net Worth
As of March 2024, Plemons’ estimated net worth is approximately $15 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.