One of many talented actresses whose skills have been applied to the world of comic book superheroes, Tessa Thompson is known among MCU fans for her work as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame. Thompson has been on the scene since the early 2000s, and her filmography includes tons of TV and films.
When she isn't playing historical figures like Diane Nash in Selma, Thompson tends to show up in sci-fi movies and TV shows. There's Westworld, Sorry to Bother You, and Men in Black to name a few. She's also known for acting in projects that tackle racism and white supremacy head-on, including Dear White People and Mississippi Damned.
Updated on July 7th, 2022 by Colin McCormick: Though her career is still relatively new, Tessa Thompson is quickly becoming one of the most promising actors of her generation. With a number of big and small projects in both television and movies, Thompson has been an exciting actor to watch grow in Hollywood. And with some highly anticipated new projects, like the return of Thor: Love and Thunder, fans may want to check out some more of her most popular projects as well as the ones that didn't connect with fans.
Tessa Thompson's Worst Roles (According To IMDb)
Nia Palmer In Murder On The 13th Floor (2012) - 4.6
- Available on Tubi and Pluto TV
Murder on the 13th Floor is a melodramatic Lifetime thriller about a bizarre love triangle. Jordan Ladd and Sean Patrick Thomas play Ariana and Jordan Braxton, whose marriage is on the rocks.
It's made worse by the arrival of Thompson's character Nia, who serves as a live-in nanny for their son Cody. As it goes with these kinds of films, Ariana plots to kill Nia, who becomes pregnant with Jordan's baby.
Scarlett In When A Stranger Calls (2006) - 5.1
- Available on Hulu
When a Stranger Calls was dubbed by critics as yet another unnecessary and forgettable horror movie remake. In her first feature film role, Thompson co-stars alongside Camilla Belle. Belle plays Jill, a high schooler whose dad forces her to take a babysitting job in order to pay off her exorbitant cell phone bill.
While watching over the Mandrakis children, Jill starts to receive prank phone calls that soon escalate to death threats, leaving her to fight for her life. Thompson plays Jill's best friend Scarlett.
Claire In Everyday Black Man (2010) - 5.1
- Available on DIRECTV and Spectrum on Demand
Carmen Madden's Everyday Black Man centers around a grocery store owner named Moses, a man with a criminal past. Henry Brown plays Moses, and Thompson plays his daughter Claire.
Claire is unaware Moses is her biological father, and he must watch on as a crook named Malik tries to take advantage of her. While its performances are good, Everday Black Man proves to be a pretty standard fare family thriller.
Dana In Make It Happen (2008) - 5.4
- Available on Roku, Vudu, Tubi, Redbox and Plex
Thompson stepped into the dance movie genre with Make It Happen, co-written by the same person responsible for Step Up and Save the Last Dance. Make It Happen stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a small-town Indian girl who travels to Chicago to make it big in the dancing world.
Thompson co-stars as Dana, a waitress who takes in Winstead's character Lauryn. Reviews for the movie were dismal, as critics labeled it derivative, predictable, and boring.
Furlough (2018) - 5.5
- Available on AMC+
Thompson has shown her comedic skills in a number of projects, but Furlough sadly wasted those talents, along with those of Oscar-winner Melissa Leo. Thompson plays a rookie corrections officer escorting an intimate (Leo) when she is granted a weekend out of prison.
What could have been a funny and interesting buddy comedy instead finds nothing smart or funny to say. The two talented leads do what they can, but the result is an overall disappointment.
Wallis In Grantham & Rose (2014) - 5.6
- Available on Peacock and Peacock
Grantham & Rose is an unfocused, forgotten road-tripping drama directed by Kristin Hanggi. It follows a juvenile delinquent and the 81-year-old Black woman who forces him to her on a cross-country expedition.
Thompson plays Wallis, a drifting shoplifter the titular characters pick up along their way. In addition to its aimless plot, Grantham & Rose suffers from one-dimensional characterizations.
Tessa Thompson's Best Roles (According To IMDb)
Sorry To Bother You (2018) - 6.9
- Available on Hulu and Netflix
Along with big blockbusters like the Thor movies, Thompson seems drawn to smaller and more ambitious movies like Sorry to Bother You. The wild satire stars LaKeith Stanfield as a telemarketer who finds new success in the job by using his "white voice."
Thompson shines in a ing role as Stanfield's girlfriend battling with her own ambitions and his newfound success. It is an inventive and hilarious ride that also gets surprisingly dark and insightful. It is unlike any movie fans will have seen.
Selma (2014) - 7.5
- Available on Showtime, DIRECTV and Spectrum on Demand
Thompson has starred in a number of compelling period movies, but Selma is one of the most powerful. It tells the true story of Martin Luther King Jr. leading a Civil Rights march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery while facing violent opposition from local law enforcement.
Thompson was part of the large ensemble that included David Oyelowo, LaKeith Stanfield, and Oprah Winfrey. Under the direction of Ava DuVernay, the movie made for a stirring, harrowing and gripping recreation of a historical moment.
Rebecca Taylor In Heroes (2006 - 2010) - 7.6
- Available on Peacock and Peacock
It turns out Valkyrie isn't the first superhero brought to life by Thompson. She co-stars in season four of the cult NBC show Heroes as Rebecca Taylor, who possesses the power to achieve invisibility.
Over her three-episode stint on the show, Taylor serves as a sort of foil to Hayden Panettiere's character Claire Bennet. Many fans were upset when NBC canceled heroes at the end of the fourth season.
Bianca In Creed (2015) - 7.6
- Available on TNT, TBS and Spectrum on Demand
In Ryan Coogler's Rocky sequel and spin-off Creed, Thompson plays the love interest of Michael B. Jordan's titular character, the son of fictional boxer Apollo Creed -- played by Carl Weathers in the Rocky movies. Jordan's character Donnie is trained and mentored by none other than Rocky Balboa, who is of course portrayed by Sylvester Stallone.
Thompson's character Bianca is a singer-songwriter with a hearing impairment. As Donnie prepares to take the world of lightweight division boxing by storm, he pursues a romance with Bianca. It was seen as a riveting sports drama and a fitting reboot for the beloved Rocky franchise.
Valkyrie In Thor: Ragnaraok (2017) - 7.9 & Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 8.4
- Available on Disney+
Valkyrie first meets the Hulk and Thor on Sakaar in Valkyrie a popular new MCU character who is funny, badass, and entertaining.
In Avengers: Endgame, Valkyrie settles into New Asgard on Earth, and she s the final battle against alternate Thanos. Thompson and Valkyrie will return for the Thor: Love and Thunder.
Jackie Cook In Veronica Mars (2004 - 2019) - 8.4
- Available on Hulu
In Veronica Mars, Thompson found early career success playing Jackie Cook in the second season of UPN's high school noir Veronica Mars. Thompson's character served as the love interest for Percy Daggs III's character Wallace Fennel.
Despite Thompson's stellar acting, Jackie's character arc annoyed a lot of fans, who rallied against her. She was ultimately written out of the series by the second season's end.
Charlotte Hale In Westworld (2016 - Present) - 8.6
- Available on HBO and HBO Max
Thompson's best role is also her most sinister: Charlotte Hale in the acclaimed sci-fi series Westworld. Hale is the ruthless director of the board overseeing Westworld who is eventually killed by Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores.
A host replica of Charlotte is created by Jeffrey Wright's character Bernard, which Dolores uses to leave the host world and enter the human one. Thompson has received praise for her portrayal of the cunning in the series, one that contributes to the contrasts between the human characters and the hosts.
