John Howard Gallagher Jr. (born June 17, 1984) is an American actor and musician known for originating the role of Moritz Stiefel in Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's rock musical Spring Awakening, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also played Johnny in Green Day's Broadway musical, American Idiot, Lee in the 2011 Broadway production of Jerusalem, and Edmund in the 2016 Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night. He portrayed Jim Harper in Aaron Sorkin's drama series The Newsroom, starred in the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge, and played Emmett DeWitt in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
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Biography from TMDB.
- June 17, 1984 (42)
- Wilmington, Delaware, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 32 on MovieCove · 40 credits in all
What are John Gallagher Jr.'s films like?
Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 22
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 10 · Dark 11
Grounded 17 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 7 · Intense 12
Steady 9 · Shifting 12 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 18 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 14 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 3
Casual 9 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 4
A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 12
Resolved 13 · Open-ended 8 · Ambiguous 3
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 4 of 16 analyzed roles.
Show the 16 rolesHide the roles
- Heraldas Perry in Whatever Works (2009)
- Allyas Darren in Margaret (2011)
- Allyas Mason in Short Term 12 (2013)
- Threshold guardianas Christopher Kitteridge in Olive Kitteridge (2014)
- Tricksteras The Man in Hush (2016)
- Allyas Emmett in 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
- Shadowas The Man in Hush (2016)
- Heroas Mike Milch in The Belko Experiment (2016)
- Shapeshifteras Detective Stan Carmichael in Peppermint (2018)
- Threshold guardianas Reverend Rick in The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
- Shadowas Cyrus in Sadie (2018)
- Shadowas Juan in American Woman (2019)
- Allyas Liam Smith in Underwater (2020)
- Shapeshifteras Max in Gone in the Night (2022)
- Heroas Wallace in Which Brings Me to You (2023)
- Shadowas Christian Campbell in I.S.S. (2023)
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet18
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch John Gallagher Jr.'s films?
As of October 24, 2026, 25 of their 32 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (9).
- Short Term 12 (2013) · actor · free
- Pieces of April (2003) · actor · free
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) · actor · free
- Hush (2016) · actor · free
- Sadie (2018) · actor · free
- The Belko Experiment (2016) · actor · free
- I.S.S. (2023) · actor · free
- American Woman (2019) · actor · free
- Gone in the Night (2022) · actor · free
Subscription and free streaming for John Gallagher Jr.'s titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
40 credits, 32 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
The Exorcist: Martyrs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

I.S.S.(2023)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Which Brings Me to You(2023)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
The Same Storm(2021)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Gone in the Night(2022)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Abandoned(2022)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Come Play(2020)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Love Life(2020)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Underwater(2020)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Modern Love(2019)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
American Woman(2019)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
The Best of Enemies(2019)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Sadie(2018)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Peppermint(2018)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
The Belko Experiment(2016)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
Westworld(2016)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Easy(2016)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows
Hush(2016)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
10 Cloverfield Lane(2016)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Olive Kitteridge(2014)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
The Heart Machine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

Short Term 12(2013)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Newsroom(2012)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Margaret(2011)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Jonah Hex(2010)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Whatever Works(2009)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Love Monkey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

The Good Student(2006)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Pieces of April(2003)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
The Flamingo Rising(2001)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Ed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

The West Wing(1999)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Law & Order(1990)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Hallmark Hall of Fame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
20/20 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

Eleven Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Swim Fishy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 40 titles, 36 of them dated from 1951 to 2024; peak year 2017.

Biggest box office
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Highest rated
Short Term 12 (2013)

Most popular right now
The Newsroom (2012)
Film career
Peak 2017 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 10 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2003Screen debut· Pieces of April
- 2012Career best· The Newsroom
- 2014First top-billed film· The Heart Machine
- 2016Career best· Hush
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do John Gallagher Jr.'s films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 41st percentile, the median of all 22; across their 24 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up13
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th7
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 32 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved6
- Universally Panned1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed6
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 69/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles; fans 78, detractors 42. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is John Gallagher Jr.'s work okay for kids?
Across up to 21 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does John Gallagher Jr. work with?
People who share at least 2 of John Gallagher Jr.'s MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Alison Pill shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Peter HedgesShared titles: The Same Storm (2021), Pieces of April (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Hedges

Actors
- Alison PillShared titles: The Same Storm (2021), The Newsroom (2012), Pieces of April (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Alison Pill

- Wes BentleyShared titles: The Best of Enemies (2019), Jonah Hex (2010)See all 2 shared titles with Wes Bentley

- Sarah SteeleShared titles: Margaret (2011), The Good Student (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Sarah Steele

- Patricia ClarksonShared titles: Whatever Works (2009), Pieces of April (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Patricia Clarkson

Cinematographers
- David LanzenbergShared titles: The Best of Enemies (2019), Peppermint (2018)See all 2 shared titles with David Lanzenberg

Producers
- Ali JazayeriShared titles: Which Brings Me to You (2023), Abandoned (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Ali Jazayeri

- David GendronShared titles: Which Brings Me to You (2023), Abandoned (2022)See all 2 shared titles with David Gendron
- Viviana ZarragoitiaShared titles: Which Brings Me to You (2023), Abandoned (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Viviana Zarragoitia

- Dianne DreyerShared titles: The Same Storm (2021), Pieces of April (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Dianne Dreyer








