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William Jackson Harper

William Jackson Harper

Actor · Born February 8, 1980 (46) · Dallas, Texas, USA

Primetime Emmy nominee · 1 other major award body

William Jackson Harper (born William Fitzgerald Harper; February 8, 1980), is an American actor. He portrayed Chidi Anagonye on the NBC comedy The Good Place (2016–2020).

Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 8, 1980 (46)
From
Dallas, Texas, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
34 on MovieCove · 41 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Up 48% in 30 days

What are William Jackson Harper's films like?

Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
23%
Self
20%
Survival
15%
Ideas
12%
Power
12%
Society
10%
Morality
8%
Romantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship4 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 7 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 5 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 4 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 3

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 5 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 3

Roles they play

11 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 4 of 11 analyzed roles.

Hero
4 of 11
Trickster
3 of 11
Mentor
2 of 11
Ally
2 of 11
Show the 11 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
10
Absurd
7
Contemplative
7
Warm
5
Dread
3
Other
22

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet12
  • 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 William Jackson Harper's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 25 of their 34 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for William Jackson Harper'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

41 credits, 34 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • American Hostage(2026)

    Show 8 episodes · as Ben Hairston

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all shows

  • The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd(2026)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • A Man in Full(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · as Wes Jordan

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • Elsbeth(2024)

    Show 1 episode · as Gary Pidgeon

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • Landscape with Invisible Hand(2023)

    as Mr. Campbell

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania(2023)

    as Quaz

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • The Resort(2022)

    Show 8 episodes · as Noah Reed

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • Death to 2021(2021)

    as Zero Fournine

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Dogs in Space(2021)

    Show 20 episodes · as Loaf (voice)

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Inside Job(2021)

    Show 1 episode · as Bryan Jacobsen / Bryan Bot (voice)

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • The Underground Railroad(2021)

    Show 3 episodes · as Royal

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows

  • We Broke Up(2021)

    as Doug

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • These Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Show 1 episode · as Will

  • The Man in the Woods(2020)

    as Buster Heath

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • David (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as David

  • Blithe Spirit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as Charles Condomine

  • Love Life(2020)

    Show 10 episodes · Executive Producer · as Marcus Watkins

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Stars in the House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Show 1 episode · as Charles Condomine

  • Dark Waters(2019)

    as James Ross

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Morning Show(2019)

    Show 6 episodes · as Ben Rusch

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows

  • Midsommar(2019)

    as Josh

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Lost Holiday(2019)

    as Mark

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Jack Ryan(2018)

    Show 2 episodes · as Xander

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • The Root of Happiness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Will

  • We Win (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Ben

  • They Remain(2018)

    as Keith

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Paterson(2016)

    as Everett

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • The Good Place(2016)

    Show 50 episodes · as Chidi Anagonye

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • How to Tell You're a Douchebag(2016)

    as Jake Brown

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • The Breaks(2016)

    as Stephen Jenkins

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • True Story(2015)

    as Zak Rausch

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • That's What She Said(2012)

    as Harry

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all films

  • Person of Interest(2011)

    Show 1 episode · as Stroble

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • Unforgettable(2011)

    Show 1 episode · as Arnold

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows

  • All Good Things(2010)

    as Moynihan's Assistant

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • 30 Rock(2006)

    Show 1 episode · as Rioter

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • The Electric Company(2006)

    Show as Danny Rebus

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • American Dad!(2005)

    Show 1 episode · as General Store Cashier (voice) · as Nathaniel (voice)

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows

  • Law & Order: Criminal Intent(2001)

    Show 1 episode · as Chayne Danforth

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows

  • Law & Order(1990)

    Show 1 episode · as Derek Waldron

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • Cry Wolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · as Arthur

Career shape

Star power in the 98th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 40 titles, 39 of them dated from 1990 to 2026; peak year 2020.

Biggest box office

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

$476M worldwide

Highest rated

Dark Waters (2019)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

The Good Place (2016)

Film career

MilestoneBreakoutNomination
19902026

Peak 2020 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 5 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.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting40 of 40: 39 only acting, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rdProducing1 of 40: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

By decade

1990s1 · acting2000s3 · acting2010s17 · acting2020s18 · 18 acting · 1 crew

Billing

usually 5th · top billed in 10% of 10 roles

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

5 major nominations and no wins, 2019–2022.

  1. 2022
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television
  2. 2020
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
  3. 2019
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

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 William Jackson Harper's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 28th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

32ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 34 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

15 of their 34 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Universally Panned1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser15
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed10

Most divisive · actor

The Man in the Woods (2020)

83rd percentile spread · 45% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Dark Waters (2019)

Midcredits 96th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 43. 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 William Jackson Harper's work okay for kids?

Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore9 titles20–90 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity10 titles21–70 · median 43 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity10 titles40–72 · median 53 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs10 titles13–50 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles10–90 · median 41 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 William Jackson Harper work with?

People who share at least 2 of William Jackson Harper's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bill Camp shares the most, 2.

Actors

Editors

Producers