Max Greenfield’s 10 Best Roles, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Max Greenfield isn’t necessarily a household name, but he’s the kind of actor that once you see his face, it’s instantly recognizable.

Building his career from recurring roles in series like Veronica Mars and Ugly Betty, his breakout role was as part of the ensemble cast of New Girl. He is also known as the voice of Roger in the Ice Age movies. Today, he stars in The Neighborhood, and while the CBS sitcom has been renewed for a third season, critics haven’t taken too kindly to the show (though his performance is usually praised).

Among his many roles, however, which are rated the best? According to Rotten Tomatoes, here are his top 10 roles, including movies and leading or recurring roles in more than a few episodes of a show.

10 American Horror Story: Hotel (2015) – 64%

As the fifth installment in this horror anthology series, Greenfield was among many others who had recurring roles, playing Gabriel, a heroin addict who visits the hotel for the sole purpose of doing drugs but is attacked by The Addiction Demon.

This is the much-talked-about season that starred Lady Gaga along with Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Matt Bomer, and Angela Bassett, among others.

9 They Came Together (2014) – 68%

The satirical romantic comedy film starred Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler about a couple retelling the story of how they met to another couple they are out to dinner with, the story strangely ending in divorce.

Greenfield, once again, has a small role in the movie that also counted Cobie Smulders, Christopher Meloni, Bill Hader, and Ellie Kemper among its cast.

8 Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015) – 85%

Sally Field stars in this romantic comedy-drama as Doris, a shy woman in her 60s who finds herself attracted to a much younger co-worker and decides to act on her feelings. Greenfield has a leading role as John, the man in question, who becomes the object of Doris’ attention and affections.

Critics praise Field’s leading performance, but clearly, Greenfield had something to do with the film transcending the stereotypical workplace comedy as well.

7 The Mindy Project (2014) – 86%

He was only a guest character on this comedy, appearing in two episodes as an elementary school teacher that Mindy Kaling’s character hooks up with in the second season. But given the high profile nature of the show, which ended up being resurrected by Hulu after being canceled by the network, it was worth including.

Charming with a great smile, the role fit Greenfield perfectly. Interestingly, he ended up being the only person Mindy had a one-night stand with through the entire series. He appeared a second time in a season three episode.

6 The Big Short (2015) – 88%

His character wasn’t even given a name, referred to in the credits simply as “mortgage broker.”  But the small role in this big film is worth mentioning because Greenfield has noted that he did the most research he has ever done for a role in order to play this character. The man was a pompous, arrogant, and greedy mortgage broker who laughed about the people he was taking advantage of while discussing the nature of his job and clients.

The Big Short went on to win an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as several other nominations.

5 American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianna Versace (2018) – 89%

Yes, he was in this series but in a role that made him so unrecognizable, many viewers probably never realized it was him. In this award-winning installment of the true crime anthology series, Greenfield played Ronnie Holston, a man alleged serial killer Andrew Cunanan met and befriended through his travels in Miami.

Holston was indeed a real person who lived in the same hotel where Cunanan was staying and reportedly helped him get sex work with older men.

4 Promising Young Woman (2020) – 91%

Greenfield’s most recent project, a thriller movie, has become one of his top-rated ones. Starring Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a young woman who lives a secret double life after a mysterious event threatens her promising future, the film has a star-studded supporting cast that also includes Alison Brie, Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, and Laverne Cox.

Greenfield’s character is named Joe, and the actor has said that he has never seen anything like the movie, which he has said in interviews “shocked” him.

3 Veronica Mars (2004) – 92%

Greenfield wasn’t a main character on this teen noir mystery drama, but he did appear in 14 episodes as Leo D’Amato, in 2005, 2007, and, most recently, in the eight-episode fourth season that was released by Hulu in 2019, five years after Veronica Mars originally ended.

D’Amato was the Sheriff’s Deputy who became friends with Veronica, and she even dated him at one point.

2 New Girl (2011) – 95%

His breakout role, Greenfield brought the laughs through this sitcom’s entire seven-season run as the hilarious, successful womanizer Schmidt, who shared the loft house with his friends and seemingly paid most of the bills and did all of the cleaning and shopping, too!

Schmidt eventually fell in love with Jess’ best friend Cece and much of his story centered around either his pining for her or their relationship once they were officially together. But his character as part of the wonderful ensemble cast was one of the funniest and most memorable.

1 Ugly Betty (2006) – 97%

This hilarious series starred America Ferrera as the title character, a frumpy, nerdy looking young woman who ends up working for a prestigious fashion magazine, much to her confusion and the staff’s dismay.

Greenfield appeared in the first two seasons of Ugly Betty, which aired for four seasons total, as Nick Pepper, the assistant to the boss and a total frat boy who had a rivalry with Amanda (mostly because he refused to date her) and despised Betty.

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