Brit Heyworth Marling (born August 7, 1982) is an American writer, producer, director, and actress. After majoring in economics at Georgetown University, Brit moved to Los Angeles with friends Mike Cahil and Zal Batmanglij to pursue screenplay writing and acting. Marling was born in Chicago, Illinois. She was named "Brit" after her Norwegian maternal great-grandmother. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2005 with degrees in economics and studio art, and was her class Valedictorian. Following graduation from Georgetown, Marling spent a summer interning for the investing banking firm Goldman Sachs. She later turned down a job offer from the firm, opting instead to move to Cuba with friend and director Mike Cahill to film the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas. It was for this documentary that Marling first gained recognition in 2004; having co-written the film with Mike Cahill and Nicholas Shumaker and co-directed with Mike Cahill. Marling also co-wrote, co-produced, and acted in the 2011 films Sound of My Voice and Another Earth. Both of these films were featured at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, with Another Earth winning the Alfred P. Sloan Prize for outstanding film with science, technology or math as a major theme. In 2012, she played Richard Gere's daughter in Arbitrage. In 2013, she collaborated with Sundance once again on her lead role in The East alongside Elliot Page and Alexander Skarsgård.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 7, 1982 (44)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Actor, producer, writer and director
- 16 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
What are Brit Marling's films like?
Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality 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 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 4
Grounded 8 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1
Gentle 3 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 4
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 3
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 3 of 9 analyzed roles.
Show the 9 rolesHide the roles
- Shapeshifteras Maggie in Sound of My Voice (2011)
- Shadowas Rhoda Williams in Another Earth (2011)
- Heroas Sarah in The East (2013)
- Allyas Liz Garvey in Babylon (2014)
- Allyas Nancy Lincoln in The Better Angels (2014)
- Heroas Augusta in The Keeping Room (2014)
- Allyas Karen in I Origins (2014)
- Mentoras Prairie Johnson in The OA (2016)
- Threshold guardianas Lee Andersen in A Murder at the End of the World (2023)
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet8
- Ambiguous4
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 Brit Marling's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Brit Marling'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
21 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
The OA(2016)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Babylon(2014)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all shows
Posthumous (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
The Keeping Room(2014)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
I Origins(2014)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
The Better Angels(2014)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
The East(2013)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
The Company You Keep(2012)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Arbitrage(2012)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Another Earth(2011)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Sound of My Voice(2011)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Community(2009)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Political Disasters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
The Recordist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Boxers and Ballerinas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Uncanny Valley (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 21 titles, 20 of them dated from 2004 to 2026.
Film career
Top draw in 9 MovieCove titles.
- 2011Screen debut· Sound of My Voice
- 2011First top-billed film· Sound of My Voice
- 2011Breakout· Another Earth
- 2016Career best· The OA
By role
Billing
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.
Awards
6 major nominations and no wins, 2012–2024.
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Limited Series
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Episodic Drama
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Supporting Female
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Screenplay
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Brit Marling's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 70th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 16 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the acting 75/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 49. 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 Brit Marling's work okay for kids?
Across up to 9 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and profanity 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 Brit Marling work with?
People who share at least 2 of Brit Marling's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Zal Batmanglij shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Zal BatmanglijShared titles: A Murder at the End of the World (2023), The East (2013), Sound of My Voice (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Zal Batmanglij
- Mike CahillShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011), Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out (2006)See all 3 shared titles with Mike Cahill
Actors
- William MapotherShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011)See all 2 shared titles with William Mapother
Composers
- Phil MossmanShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Phil Mossman
- Will BatesShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Will Bates
Producers
- Alex OrlovskyShared titles: On the Line: The Richard Williams Story (2022), I Origins (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Alex Orlovsky
- Hunter GrayShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Hunter Gray
- Phaedon A. PapadopoulosShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Phaedon A. Papadopoulos
- Tyler BrodieShared titles: I Origins (2014), Another Earth (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Tyler Brodie