Ashton Sanders

Actor · Born October 24, 1995 (31) · Carson, California, USA

Screen Actors Guild Award nominee · 1 other major award body

Ashton Durrand Sanders (born October 24, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Teen Chiron in the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight (2016). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ashton Sanders, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

What are Ashton Sanders' films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.

Genres

Drama3 titles53^rd

Action2 titles43^rd

Biography2 titles79^th

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

share of theme weight

Morality

22%

Self

20%

Survival

19%

Power

14%

Bonds

13%

Society

11%

Ideas

2%

Identity5 Survival3 Family bonds3 Betrayal3 Oppression2 Justice2 Community2

What they feel like to watch

their average across 10 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9

Dark

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 10

Stylized

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

Intense

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 9

Shifting

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 1

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 2

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 3

Heavy

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 8

Open-ended

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

7 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 5 of 7 analyzed roles.

Hero

5 of 7

Herald

1 of 7

Shapeshifter

1 of 7

Show the 7 roles

Heroas Will in The Retrieval (2013)
Heraldas Miles Whittaker in The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Heroas Bigger Thomas in Native Son (2019)
Heroas Bobby Diggs in Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019)
Heroas Gabriel Drummond in Captive State (2019)
Heroas Jahkor Abraham Lincoln in All Day and a Night (2020)
Shapeshifteras Bobby Brown in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

10

Melancholic

9

Dread

6

Thrilling

2

Contemplative

2

Other

3

How their films linger

Bittersweet4 Haunting4 Hopeful3 Devastating3 Thought-provoking3 Rousing2

How their films end · 1 with a twist

Happy1
Bittersweet5
Tragic3
Ambiguous2

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 Ashton Sanders' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Kino Film Collection1 title, show their title on Kino Film Collection

Subscription and free streaming for Ashton Sanders' 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

19 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Corporate Retreat(2026)
as Carl
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
Brothers Under Fire(2026)
as Carson
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody(2022)
as Bobby Brown
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Invasion(2021)
Show 6 episodes · as Joel
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows
Judas and the Black Messiah(2021)
as Jimmy Palmer
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
All Day and a Night(2020)
as Jah
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Wu-Tang: An American Saga(2019)
Show 30 episodes · as Bobby Diggs
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Captive State(2019)
as Gabriel Drummond
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Native Son(2019)
as Bigger Thomas
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Curtains Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Actor
The Equalizer 2(2018)
as Miles Whittaker
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Dead Women Walking (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
as Troy
We Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
as Javan
The Kids Are Alright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Actor
Moonlight(2016)
as Chiron
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Last Virgin in LA (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
as Josh
Straight Outta Compton(2015)
as Kid
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Retrieval(2013)
as Will
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Baby, You're a Star (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 98^th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 19 titles, 18 of them dated from 2013 to 2026; peak year 2019.

Biggest box office

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

$190M worldwide

Highest rated

Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019)

Midcredits 96^th

Film career

MilestoneNomination

20132026

Peak 2019 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 6 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.

2013Screen debut· The Retrieval
2013First top-billed film· The Retrieval
2016Screen Actors Guild Award nomination· Moonlight
2019Career best· Wu-Tang: An American Saga
2020Career best· All Day and a Night

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting19 of 19 · 64^th

By decade

2010s12 · acting2020s6 · acting

Billing

usually 2nd · top billed in 33% of 9 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

1 major award from 2 major nominations, 2017.

WinNomination

2017
- Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
- +1 other major body · 1 win
  - Independent Spirit Award, won

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 Ashton Sanders' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 64^th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

60^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 10

Approval · how many liked their films

64^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 10

Reach · how many have seen their films

86^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 10

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

75^th and up4
50^th to 74^th5
25^th to 49^th1
Below 25^th3

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

Universally Loved2
Crowd Pleaser6
Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Corporate Retreat (2026)

79^th percentile spread · 56% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Midcredits 97^th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the acting 70/100 in their films, across 10 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 50. 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 Ashton Sanders' work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles

Violence & Gore6 titles41–82 · median 60 · moderateheavier than most films

Sex & Nudity6 titles21–61 · median 29 · mildnear the median of all films

Profanity6 titles49–89 · median 83 · severeheavier than most films

Alcohol & Drugs6 titles39–66 · median 61 · intenseheavier than most films

Frightening / Intense6 titles49–76 · median 59 · moderateheavier 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 Ashton Sanders work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ashton Sanders' MovieCove titles; Alan Ruck shares the most, 2.

Alan Ruck2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Alan Ruck