Even though Chloe Grace Moretz is just in her twenties, it seems like she has been entertaining moviegoers for a while. After helping her brother read his lines after the family relocated to New York City, Moretz became interested in acting. It was just a matter of time until she moved into bigger roles after getting a part on the CBS series The Guardian. She began acting professionally when she was six years old and won her breakthrough parts in the movies Kick-Ass and Hugo when she was twelve.
Updated January 2023: Maria McGinnis has revised this article to include new details and entries that will keep it current.
She had appeared in roughly sixty movies and TV episodes by the time she was twenty-two, a remarkable accomplishment that was only surpassed by Dakota and Elle Fanning. Moretz is a talented actor who, despite her young age, has starred in many R-rated movies that most parents wouldn’t allow their children, who would have been Moretz’s age at the time of filming, to watch. To regain her love for acting, Moretz abandoned almost all of her future projects in 2016 as she started to reevaluate her profession. Since then, she has chosen her assignments with greater care, maximizing her passion projects in the film industry. The top Chlo Grace Moretz movies are listed below.
500 Days of Summer (2009)
It’s not your normal romantic comedy, 500 Days of Summer. It moves through a failing relationship in a nonlinear fashion, lingering on both the good and bad times. The male character, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who falls in love with a girl and is later dumped, tells the story from his point of view. After earning $60 million worldwide, this film soon rose to the status of a fan favorite and had a significant cultural impact. Gordon-Levitt’s character’s half-sister is portrayed by Moretz as Rachel. Even though she’s the younger person in that relationship, she has remarkably mature judgment and offers guidance well beyond her years. The movie wouldn’t be the same without her character.
Carrie
Every time someone takes on the title character of Carrie in a film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1974 novel, Carrie, there are large shoes to fill. In the fourth version of Carrie to date, which was released in 2013, Chlo Grace Moretz took over the part first played by Sissy Spacek in 1976. While the 2013 remake is undoubtedly not the original, it is, in all honesty, a pretty strong retelling of the tale with a contemporary flavor. The narrative of the remake is identical to that of the original, and Moretz is excellent as Carrie. Even if the story hasn’t changed much in this remake, it’s still worth seeing for Moretz’s performance. Carrie is a fantastic addition to her resume because she excels in teen roles in the horror genre.
Dark Shadows (2012)
Based on the gothic soap opera of the same name that ran from 1966 to 1971, Dark Shadows is a lighthearted, dark fantasy comedy. The film centers on the vampire Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), who was originally imprisoned in a tomb but was released centuries later and eventually returned to the Collinwood Mansion, the family home. In the mansion, he encounters his descendants, who are struggling to adapt to modern life and restore Collinwood to its former splendor. Moretz portrays Carolyn, a sullen, rebellious adolescent who turns out to be a werewolf in the end. Moretz excels at portraying angsty young characters, and this one in Dark Shadows fits her to a T. If you’re looking for something a little gothic and campy, this classic Tim Burton film with fantastic actors and a fascinating ’70s atmosphere is well worth a watch.
Greta
In the psychological suspense film Greta, Frances (Moretz), a young woman, befriends Greta, a lonely widow. Frances, who recently lost her mother, warms to Greta, an eccentric French piano teacher. It begins as a pleasant, regular friendship at first, but Greta quickly develops an obsession with Frances and her conduct changes for the worse. Frances must find a way out of the connection before things spiral out of hand. The film’s plot garnered negative reviews, but it is the performance, particularly that of Moretz and Huppert, that elevates it. While the premise may be a little predictable and possibly even unoriginal, the lead performances in Greta make up for it. It manages to be spooky and unsettling without being terrifying.
Hugo (2011)
The 2011 film Hugo is an adaptation of the children’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which tells the story of young Hugo Cabret, a kid who tries to solve the puzzle of an automaton he discovers in a museum. The movie, which was directed by Martin Scorsese and is set in 1930s Paris, was influenced by George Méliès. Although it was seen as a box office dud, this was Scorsese’s debut 3D movie and received high marks from critics. It adds a personal touch to a family-friendly film while being imaginative and expansive, drawing viewers into its rich world. Moretz portrays Isabelle, a toy store owner’s goddaughter. As they work to uncover the automaton’s mysteries, she becomes Hugo’s accomplice. When this movie was being made, Moretz was fourteen years old, and it was one of the few movies she had been in that she could legally see.
If I Stay (2014)
Based on Gayle Forman’s 2009 novel of the same name, If I Stay is a dramatic teen romcom. It concerns Mia (Moretz), a gifted cellist who gets the chance to relocate and attend Juilliard. But if she pursues her goal of attending Juilliard, she will have to part ways with Adam, the love of her life. Mia and her family are tragically killed in a vehicle accident before she can even make this choice. Mia is in the hospital following the collision, hanging in the balance between life and death. While her physical body remains in a coma at the hospital, she begins experiencing ghostly out-of-body experiences in which she witnesses the transformation of her entire life before her eyes. Mia is given another difficult decision to make when a nurse arrives to take care of her: whether or not she wants to continue living. The movie If I Stay is a whirlwind of emotions and a great illustration of how to adapt a novel for the screen. It deals with life and death in a novel way, and Moretz does a fantastic job of bringing Mia’s character to life.
Kick-Ass (2010)
Based on the same-named comic book series, Kick-Ass became a popular among viewers. The movie centers on Dave Lizewski, a regular boy from Staten Island who aspires to be a superhero. After adopting the name “Kick-Ass,” he is able to create a Myspace account that serves as his base of operations. In the end, he becomes involved in the narrative of a former police officer turned vigilante (Nicolas Cage) and his young daughter Hit-Girl. When the movie was being made, Moretz was twelve years old. Her performance caused controversy since it featured profanity and what some people considered excessive violence. Because of the violence and obscenity in the movie, people who objected to her acting in it because of her age felt strongly. However, there were few arguments against the fact that her character is taught to kill people brutally. Regardless, the humor and excellence of her performance give the movie a certain charm.
Let Me In (2010)
Let the Right One In, a Swedish movie, was remade as Let Me In. Abby, a young vampire who befriends a bullied 12-year-old, is portrayed by Chloe Grace Moretz. Moretz was recommended for the part by the Kick-Ass director. Critics believed that this picture drew too heavily on the original rather than reinventing it, therefore the names and settings from the original were altered for an American audience. Aspects were also borrowed. The movie was, however, made more approachable for broad distribution, which was a hit. For her portrayal of Abby, Moretz was recognized with numerous honors, and she and her co-star were commended for the character’s complexity and maturity.
The Equalizer (2014)
Denzel Washington and Chloe Grace Moretz co-star in the movie The Equalizer as Robert McCall, the main character. He spends time at a neighboring cafe after years of working at a hardware store, where he meets Alina (Moretz), a young sex worker connected to the Russian mafia. Following Alina’s assault and hospitalization, McCall determines he must intervene on his own, using any means required to achieve his objectives, including violence. Critics appreciated Moretz’s performance in this movie, which was one of her more somber performances outside of the horror and fantasy genres. It was a financial triumph, grossing over $192 million at the box office worldwide.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a movie that explores teen sexuality and LGBT conversation centers, featured Chloe Grace Moretz in a standout performance. In 1993, after being discovered having sex with her girlfriend, Cameron Post (Moretz) is sent by her aunt to a conversion facility. She makes friends with other kids who have been taken there and struggles with the conflict between the religious doctrines she is being taught and her own identity as an LGBTQ+ person. The movie would take home the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, which is the festival’s top honor. Moretz humanizes a very genuine circumstance and the coming-of-age process for gay teenagers by bringing a feeling of reality to her part.
