Logan Lerman has always been an actor to watch out for. The California native is known for his sensitive and nuanced portrayals, along with his most popular role of Percy Jackson, and is now expected on the big screen in Bullet Train. The action comedy, expected in August this year, stars some of the brightest stars, including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Andrew Koji, and Bad Bunny, and Lerman is part of this amazing ensemble cast.
Lerman began his acting career very young, and his acting blossomed into a full-time profession soon enough: he has been in some big-budget movies as well as independent cinema, and is a certified heartthrob. His subtle but captivating performances are his USP, and some of his best roles have been quite under-the-radar ones.
Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013) – 5.7
Easily one of Logan Lerman’s most popular roles so far, sadly his reprisal in the second movie of the Percy Jackson franchise didn’t do so well, critically. The movies were criticized for many things, like age inaccuracies and plot merging, which made things extremely confusing and disappointing for viewers.
However, fans did really like how Lerman acted out Percy, and it’s still the role he is most known for. The only issue was that by the time the second movie rolled around, he was 21 years old in real life, playing a child who was supposed to be in his early teens.
The Three Musketeers (2011) – 5.7
There are many classic books that would make for great movies, but Alexandre Dumas’ masterpiece has been adapted enough number of times. Lerman played D’Artagnan in this outing, where he did an acceptable job as the spirited young Musketeer.
The movie in itself was harmless and fluffy — a light and entertaining watch, with lots of gorgeous visuals and a big budget. Lerman himself was athletic and alluring in the role, dutifully performing amazing stunts and swordsmanship, but it wasn’t anything award-worthy for the leading man.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) – 5.8
His first appearance as the powerful demi-god in Camp Half-Blood of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, this was Lerman’s first big-ticket role. Sadly, the flaws in the movie overshadowed the fantastic performance that the actor gave as Poseidon’s son: an awkward young boy coming slowly into his own.
In retrospect, this role foreshadowed the kinds of performances that Lerman has come to be well-known for, which are roles of sensitive young men. In this movie, he was charismatic and convincing as a teenaged half-God, and he would have shined had the movie been scripted better.
Indignation (2016) – 6.7
Emotional and raw, this Philip Roth adaptation was carried by Logan Lerman, who played Marcus Messner, an introverted and private young man who gets a scholarship to a college and defers a war draft. Marcus truly comes of age in this movie, but in a gritty manner unlike others of the same genre.
Lerman adds depth and nuance to Messner, who struggles with being himself, loves a troubled young woman, and deals with a mentally ill father and a mother who cannot deal with her own marriage. This is no fluffy period piece, but a Sundance Film Festival feature where the actor really showed his chops.
End Of Sentence (2019) – 6.7
Always a patron of independent movies, Logan Lerman dove head-first into Elfar Adalsteins’ first feature film about a road trip that an estranged father and son duo take to fulfil their matriarch’s last wishes of scattering her ashes.
The actor plays a tough guy this time, stepping out of prison after a while and being asked to go on a trip with a father he never had a relationship with. He conveys the strain and pressure of familial wounds and a bad bond beautifully, without making it look hammed or contrived. The premise isn’t new, but Lerman’s acting is fresh.
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017)- 6.8
This Logan Lerman-starrer also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and got mixed reviews from critics. The actor performed the titular Sidney, a precocious writer who, since a young age, had been gifted with the most fantastic tales.
After becoming a world-renowned author, Sidney disappears into the very world he made himself. Alongside Lerman stars Elle Fanning and Margaret Qualley in this thrilling mystery flick. Lerman convincingly portrays Hall at every age through fast-paced flashbacks in this fan-favorite film.
Hunters (2020-) – 7.2
Going shoulder to shoulder with greats like Al Pacino comes naturally to Logan Lerman, and he plays the part of Nazi Hunter Jonah Heidelbaum to perfection. Darkly comic and a total anti-hero, Logan shines in this part period, part revenge story about Nazis planning a Fourth Reich.
The series itself received a mixture of praise and criticism, but the cast was widely hailed for their fantastic acting, especially the two leads.
Stuck In Love. (2012) – 7.2
Part of an ensemble cast this time, Logan Lerman was sweet Louis, a young man in love with Lily Collins’ Samantha, a first time author not looking for any kind of love. His boyish charm and innate affability comes to the fore as his love story unfolds.
Romantic and full of feel-good moments, this is a movie that concentrates on second chances and first loves, and Logan Lerman represents the younger stories involved in it.
Fury (2014)- 7.5
In what seems to be a recurring theme in Lerman’s castings, he plays first-time soldier sent to the battlefield in April 1945, thankfully under the experienced eye of Brad Pitt’s Don. Norman Ellison’s inexperience almost costs him his life, and definitely costs others theirs, but he becomes slightly more hardened as he moves forth.
Predictably, Lerman plays Norman amazingly, truly capturing his trauma and shock at being thrust into a war situation. This is one of his finest roles.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012) – 8.0
Stephen Chbosky’s epistolary novel got made into one of the most iconic coming-of-age movies, led by none other than the king of movies about growing up and becoming an adult himself. Logan Lerman’s Charlie is depressed, suicidal, and alone, until he finds a bunch of misfits where he surprisingly fits in.
Through 80s pop culture and nostalgia, audiences learn what Charlie had to go through that made him this way, and how he must go on as his newfound friends grow up and graduate away from him. Charlie’s character is legendary and Lerman’s depiction was subtle and perfect.
