Akhilesh C.
In the realm of the cinematic world, Melissa Benoist is better known by the alias of ‘Supergirl’ than anything else. The American Actress-Singer has been mostly seen sporadically across many TV shows and movies, yet more prominently in ‘Glee’, ‘Whiplash’, and ‘Supergirl’, her momentary stints could still be considered as the stepping-stones to her success. With her forever increasing influence in Warner Bros’ Arrowverse and after the onset of and her appearance in crossover TV shows like The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, Melissa Benoist has been raring to go places and reach new zeniths of her acting career.
With a couple of movies in post-production and ‘Supergirl’ being due for yet another seasonal run, her career seems on a rise and so is her popularity, with her movies and TV shows often on the receiving end of critical and commercial successes. We’ve compiled a list of her best movies and TV shows she’s featured in so far, though the fact that she’s a risen star is no more a secret. So, here goes non-exhaustive the list of top Melissa Benoist movies and TV shows.
12. Tennessee (2008)
As a debutante, Benoist played the lesser-noticed yet far the more important character in the movie – Laurel Michaels. Laurel is the girlfriend of Carter, one of the protagonists while they were in the high school. As Carter and his buddies are on a road trip to Tennessee, the former recounts the good times he’s had with Laurel and his “episodes” are reminiscent of the fact that even though a few things could be far away from one’s reach, they can’t be forgotten. A movie that promises a lot, has a pretty conclusive ending and yet fails in its journey.
11. The Longest Ride (2015)
Featuring Scott Eastwood as Luke and Britt Robertson as Sophia in leading roles in a movie by the makers of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and a story penned by Nicholas Sparks (also starring), ‘The Longest Ride’ is yet another love story wherein a young couple take their inspiration from an older one in order to make their relationship work. It is difficult to see Melissa Benoist sidelined in her role as Marcia, one of the sorority sisters Sophia lives with, yet, it is the overall story and a typical Nicholas Sparks’ treatment that matters towards the end. Not one of the best love stories you’d see, but definitely a decent one to endure.
10. Danny Collins (2015)
‘Danny Collins’ is a movie surrounding the real-life story of an ageing rock-star back in the day, albeit in a much more fictional sense. Though the movie essentially narrates a brief period of Danny’s own life, Benoist’s role reduced to a mere behind-the-table one as Jamie, which was both short-lived on the screen and totally missable, unless one’s watching the movie for her. Even though ‘Danny Collins’ wouldn’t have done much to augment Benoist’s career in any manner, it’d still be fair to call it one of the cornerstones of her career, for sharing her screen space with the likes of Al Pacino.
9. Patriots Day (2016)
A film that recounts the horrors of the infamous bombings of the Boston Marathon in 2013 and the events that unfolded subsequently, ‘Patriots Day’ has an ensemble cast of the likes of J.K. Simmons, Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon among others. Melissa Benoist is seen playing the role of Katherine, the wife of one of the dreaded terrorists who connives to plant the bomb on that fateful day. Perhaps one of the most prominent and successful movies of Mark Wahlberg, with an equally suppressed role of Melissa Benoist, yet, not invisible in entirety.
8. Lowriders (2016)
To further Melissa’s more prominent roles in movies, ‘Lowriders’ features Melissa and many others in a weird mix of family drama and some subtle action including the lowriders and their “thing” with the cars. Benoist plays a photographer named Lorelai, who is also the love interest of Danny, one of the lowriders and protagonists. More or less, the movie feels like a Mexican makeover of the blockbuster ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, with a generous dose of melodrama, guilt, reckoning, love and a sense of accomplishment. A film that can easily be called true to its soul, save some uneven tidings.
7. Homeland (2011*)
More of a Claire Danes’ affair as the bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison, ‘Homeland’ has fared pretty well throughout its run, even in the overseas markets. The very second episode of the first season features Melissa Benoist in a rather NSFW appearance, perhaps her first on the screen. Benoist plays Stacy Moore, a prospective partner, one of the many, for one of the cohorts of a prime suspect and a Saudi Prince named Farid. Her screen-appearance is during an ongoing “interview” for the prospective girls who are to be a part of the Prince’s harem. More often than not, her nude appearance has surely become one of the most paused moments in TV shows of all time and one of the few things Benoist admittedly regrets.
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6. Whiplash (2014)
The forever-struggling and novice drummer Andrew Neiman finds his momentary solace in Melissa Benoist as Nicole, a girl working at a local movie theatre. An adept and zealous Andrew aspires to walk the footsteps of the famed drummer Buddy Rich amidst the mentorship of Terence Fletcher, the scurrilous and vicious instructor at Shaffer Conservatory. As he tries to find a fine balance between what he wants to accomplish and whatever he could till the end, he also implores Nicole that they break up mutually, thus letting him focus more on his drumming. Though Melissa Benoist’s Nicole was shortlived on the screen, we had already started to like the brewing affection between Andrew and Nicole, had it lasted any longer.
5. Band of Robbers (2015)
A critically panned movie nevertheless, ‘Band of Robbers’ has Benoist’s role elevated by several notches to playing a cop, and also being deterministic of the upcoming stints in her career. Based on the famed Huckleberry Finn adventures by Author Extraordinaire Mark Twain, and set in the present (rather than being a historical film), ‘Band of Robbers’ revolves around Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, two childhood friends, the latter being a cop, who’d rather choose to spoil himself in riches if given the chance. As they commence on their heist plot, alongside a couple of other folks, Melissa Benoist (as Officer Becky) is attached to Tom under a mentor-trainee relationship. Despite all the troubles, how the heist proceeds (or it doesn’t?) is all that consists of ‘Band of Robbers’.
4. Legends of Tomorrow/The Flash (The WB’s Arrowverse) (2016-2017)
Though the masses wouldn’t have been extremely excited for the ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ crossover, what made news was almost all of the crossover episodes of ‘Supergirl’ and ‘The Flash’. Not only was Melissa’s chemistry with her co-actor Grant Gustin was widely appreciated, we also saw the much-expected sizzle between those two off late. As the details of Benoist’s appearances go in the Arrowverse, she, while playing the ‘Supergirl’, is either seen partnering with Barry Allen and Cisco to fight her arch nemesis Livewire or she’s summoned by Barry and his associates to ward off an “Invasion”. Regardless of the time when she’s in the frame across all the crossover episodes, there’s still a lot of appetite among fans and critics alike, given her upbeat demeanour as the ‘Supergirl’ and her amazing team comprising none other than “The Flash”.
3. Waco (2018)
Featuring as one of the series’ regulars alongside the likes of Michael Shannon, John Leguizamo, Taylor Kitsch et al, ‘Waco’ is one of the latest forays of Benoist as a lead. Based on a true story, The TV show, set in Waco, Texas of 1993, is the famed 51-day standoff between Branch Davidians of the Mount Carmel Center and the ATF and the FBI, followed by the killings, primarily involving that of David Koresh, the self-proclaimed “sinful” messiah and his followers and family. Not only the miniseries has been detailed aptly, its eerie thrills and edge-of-the-seat moments, even though scanty, are worth the price. Benoist plays Rachel Koresh, the wife of the pro(an)tagonist David Koresh.
2. Glee (2012-2014)
The colourful TV series with a high-school musical kind of a premise, nay with a difference, ‘Glee’ is the club of talented yet outcast students at McKinley High School in Ohio. As one of the in-house Spanish teachers takes upon himself to lead the choir and attempts to rejuvenate the club, his students have to confront bullies from other rival clubs, cheerleading groups, and many other singing choirs. Nevertheless, ‘Glee’ is the story of the teenage glitches, sorrows, and struggles one faces in a high school, and the price one has to pay for their tangential abilities. Melissa Benoist plays the timid, bullied and outcast Marley Rose, who later turns out to be a rising sensation of the Glee club. Although her presence in the series is overshadowed by numerous other characters bearing the identical social awkwardness, she still stands out as one of the leading actresses of the TV show.
1. Supergirl (2015-Present)
A no-brainer, uncontested numero uno acting choice of her career, ‘Supergirl’ has more often than not, skyrocketed Melissa Benoist’s fan-following and her stature as an actress and as a female-superhero-icon, perhaps one of the few handful of female leads having attained the feat. As the premise goes, Kara Zor-El, one of the cousins of our favourite Kal-El a.k.a. The Superman left Krypton in ruins as a 13-year-old to help protect her infant cousin Kal. Her spacecraft got knocked off-course and she had to spend 24 years in the Phantom Zone, only to know that her beloved cousin Superman back on Earth is all grown up and powerful now.
As Kara takes the reins of National City upon herself and reveals her powers to the world as ‘Supergirl’ when a plane comes crashing upon the city, she also becomes a part of the DEO (Department of Extra-Normal Operations), which is a covert government organization that monitors extra-terrestrial activities on Earth, alongside her adoptive sister Alex. Supergirl’s journey has been incredible ever since, with improvised CGI in every episode, a coherent storyline, and a volley of powerful antagonists including Kara’s evil aunt Astra. With a 100% approval rating by Rotten Tomatoes for its second season and an equally good third season, ‘Supergirl’ is here to stay.
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