Beau Garrett's 10 Best Movies & TV Shows

Beau Garrett has built a career where audiences are likely to recognize her long before they remember exactly where they saw her before. Since making her screen debut in the early 2000s, Garrett has steadily moved between movies and television, taking on everything from big-budget franchise roles to much more substantial parts in character-driven dramas.

Garrett's earliest years in Hollywood saw her appear in supporting roles alongside much bigger names. However, television ultimately gave the actor considerably more room to show what she could do. Over time, Garrett went from appearing briefly in recognizable projects to becoming an important part of several long-running ensembles, often playing complicated women whose stories were far more layered than they initially appeared.

That evolution makes Garrett's filmography particularly interesting to look back on. Some of her most famous projects included a small amount of screen time, while several of her strongest performances came in shows where she developed a character over multiple seasons. Taken together, Garrett's best movies and TV shows reveal a career that has quietly become far more impressive than it might first appear.

10 Made of Honor

Gloria

Made of Honor is another example of Garrett appearing in a recognizable studio movie without receiving the type of material that would later define her television career. Patrick Dempsey stars as Tom, who realizes he has fallen in love with his longtime best friend Hannah shortly after she gets engaged and asks him to serve as her maid of honor. Garrett appears as Gloria, one of Hannah's bridesmaids.

Garrett is surrounded by a large supporting ensemble that also includes Busy Philipps, Chris Messina, Kevin McKidd, and Whitney Cummings, leaving Garrett's character overshadowed. Still, the romantic comedy remains among Garrett's more recognizable early movie credits and helps illustrate just how much more substantial her roles became once her career shifted toward television.

9 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Captain Raye

Years before Beau Garrett became best known for television dramas, she appeared in one of Marvel's earliest major attempts at building a superhero movie franchise. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer brings back Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis while introducing the Silver Surfer as Earth faces an entirely new threat.

Garrett plays Captain Raye, a military officer involved in the government's response to the Silver Surfer's arrival. The role doesn't offer an opportunity for character development, and the movie received largely negative reviews upon release. Still, appearing in such a recognizable comic book property makes it an important early credit, especially considering how much superhero cinema would expand shortly afterward.

8 Longmire

Shawna Crawford, 2 Episodes

Garrett's involvement in Longmire is considerably smaller than many of her other television roles, appearing as Shawna Crawford in just two season 5 episodes. That limited screen time is why the acclaimed Western crime drama doesn't sit higher on our list, despite being one of the strongest overall shows in her filmography.

Still, appearing in Longmire allowed Garrett to join a series that already had a devoted following as it transitioned from A&E to Netflix. Shawna's involvement is brief, meaning viewers looking specifically for Garrett shouldn't expect the depth offered by Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce or Firefly Lane. However, it remains a worthwhile stop on an increasingly television-focused career path.

7 Capsized: Blood In The Water

Deborah “Deb” Scaling-Kiley

Capsized: Blood in the Water gives Beau Garrett one of the more substantial movie roles of her career. Based on a true story, the Discovery film follows five people stranded in the Atlantic after their yacht capsizes during a violent storm. Garrett plays experienced sailor Deborah “Deb” Scaling-Kiley, one of the central group members fighting to survive for days in shark-infested waters.

Garrett spends nearly the entire movie in survival mode as the situation steadily grows more desperate. That makes Capsized a considerably stronger showcase for her than many of the bigger studio films on her résumé, where she is often relegated to a supporting role. It also allows Garrett to tackle a true-life character whose ordeal requires a much more physically and emotionally intense performance.

6 Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

FBI Special Agent Gina LaSalle, 13 Episodes

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior survived for only one season, but the short-lived spin-off gave Garrett something many of her earlier projects had not: a genuine starring television role. She plays FBI Special Agent Gina LaSalle, a member of the Red Cell team working under Forest Whitaker's Sam Cooper to investigate particularly dangerous offenders.

The series never achieved the longevity of Criminal Minds, ending after 13 episodes, but Garrett is part of its central investigative team rather than relegated to a supporting guest appearance. Gina is tough and perceptive while still fitting comfortably into the group's unusual dynamic. Even though stronger television projects followed, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior marked an important transition toward the more substantial roles Garrett would eventually become known for.

5 TRON: Legacy

Gem

Garrett's television work ultimately gave her the most substantial characters of her career, but TRON: Legacy remains her most recognizable movie role. She plays Gem, one of the Sirens responsible for preparing Sam Flynn for the games after he unexpectedly enters the Grid. Gem later resurfaces when Sam searches for Castor, giving Garrett slightly more to do than her striking introduction initially suggests.

It isn't a particularly large performance, especially alongside Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, and Michael Sheen. However, Gem's distinctive appearance and Garrett's deliberately controlled performance fit perfectly within the Grid's highly stylized world. For an actor whose best roles tend to come from television, TRON: Legacy is the clearest standout in cinema.

4 The Good Doctor

Jessica Preston, 20 Episodes

Before The Good Doctor became one of ABC's longest-running medical dramas, Beau Garrett was an important part of the show's original ensemble. Jessica Preston serves as St. Bonaventure Hospital's in-house attorney and Vice President of Risk Management. She has the difficult job of balancing what is best for the hospital with what its doctors believe is best for their patients.

Jessica's engagement to Dr. Neil Melendez also ensures Garrett isn't confined entirely to the show's administrative storylines. Their relationship gives the character a more personal connection to the hospital and creates conflict when their ideas about marriage and the future no longer align. Garrett's time on the show was relatively brief compared to The Good Doctor's seven-season run. Still, Jessica remains an important part of its foundation as a significant character in season 1 and when she returned in season 4.

3 Firefly Lane

Dorothy "Cloud" Hart, 24 Episodes

Although Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke are the leading actresses in Netflix's Firefly Lane, Beau Garrett has one of the most challenging supporting roles. She portrays Dorothy "Cloud" Hart, the free-spirited mother of Tully, whose problems with drugs and alcohol cause her daughter to take on responsibilities that no child ought to have to manage. Their strained relationship is key to understanding who Tully becomes.

Cloud could easily have been reduced to the unreliable parent responsible for much of Tully's childhood trauma. Instead, Garrett brings enough humanity to the character for Firefly Lane to gradually examine her failures without excusing them. The role allows Garrett to play Cloud across different periods of her life, making their attempts at reconciliation particularly effective.

2 The Madison

Abigail Reese, 6 Episodes

Long after she earned a reputation as a reliable ensemble performer, Garrett took on one of her most well-known roles in Taylor Sheridan's The Madison. In the show, she portrays Abigail Reese, the eldest daughter of Stacy and Preston Clyburn, now a divorced mother looking after two daughters. After a severe family tragedy, Abigail is left to cope with sorrow while simultaneously facing great uncertainty regarding the future.

Garrett gets considerably more dramatic weight here than in many of her earlier projects. Abigail's complicated relationship with her mother and younger sister lets Garrett explore grief, anger, parenthood, and resentment without any one emotion or theme defining the character. The Madison may be a newer addition to Garrett's résumé, but it quickly became one of her most substantial.

1 Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce

Phoebe Conte, 45 Episodes

Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce is arguably the project that best demonstrates what Beau Garrett can do when given enough time to develop a character. She stars as Phoebe, a former model and one of the women Abby McCarthy turns to as she rebuilds her life after separating from her husband. Garrett remained part of the ensemble throughout the show's five seasons.

At the beginning, Phoebe appears confident, sexually free, and very at ease with the unusual path her life has followed. The series slowly reveals the insecurities lying beneath that outward persona, especially in the context of her difficult relationships and family background. Beau Garrett handles both aspects of Phoebe's character effectively. It's the most comprehensive display of her range to date.