
Joshua Safdie (born April 3, 1984) and Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) are a writer/director/editor Sibling Team from New York City known for their intense, anxiety-inducing crime stories, and use of vivid, fluorescent color and naturalistic dialogue.
Gaining a love for film from their father, the two began cutting their teeth with several short films, initially catching attention for their "Lonely John" trilogy, and independent character studies filmed with No Budget. While Heaven Knows What got them some attention, the one-two combo of Good Time and Uncut Gems made them household names among independent film circles with their distinct style and career best performances from their leads.
While they're both very hands-on on the technical side of their projects, Benny has also stepped in to act in instances such as Good Time and Goldman v Silverman, later going on to forge a solo acting career of his own. He's co-starred with Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in The Curse; he also appeared in the Star Wars Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi and has appeared to have joined the stable in Christopher Nolan's Production Posse, beginning with Oppenheimer.
As of 2024, due to their diverging career choices, both brothers have said that they will no longer be making films together.
Projects the Safdie brothers have worked on:
- "Lonely John" Saga (2008–2010)—Trilogy of short films starring Benny as the titular character. First was written and directed solo by Benny, while the latter was made with Josh
- The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008)—Directorial debut of Josh without collaboration with his brother; also co-written
- Daddy Longlegs (2009)—First writer/director collaboration between the brothers, Josh also appears as Chris
- Lenny Cooke (2013)—A sports documentary about a former high school basketball player
- Heaven Knows What (2014)—A semi-autobiographical addiction drama
- Good Time (2017)—A crime-drama starring Robert Pattinson and co-starring Benny
- Uncut Gems (2019)—A crime thriller starring Adam Sandler
- Goldman v Silverman (2020)—A short film starring Sandler and Benny
- Licorice Pizza(2021)—Benny plays Joel Wachs
- Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)—Benny plays Nari
- Funny Pages (2022)—Dark Coming of Age comedy produced by the duo
- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)—Benny plays Herb Simon
- Oppenheimer (2023) —Ben plays Edward Teller

- The Curse (2023)—A Showtime comedy series executive produced, co-starring and co-written by Benny and Nathan Fielder
- Pee-Wee as Himself (2025)—A documentary about Paul Reubens executive produced by Josh
- Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)—Benny plays Big Bad Frank Manatee
- The Smashing Machine (2025)—Sports biopic co-written and directed by Benny starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt
- If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)—Psychological Black Comedy produced by Josh and written and directed by frequent Safdie collaborator Mary Bronstein
- Marty Supreme (2025)—Sports adventure dramedy biopic co-written and directed by Josh starring Timothée Chalamet
- The Odyssey (2026)— Benny will play an as yet unannounced character
The Safdie Brothers and their films provide examples of:
- Amateur Cast / Darkhorse Casting: While Good Time and Uncut Gems are primarily known for their powerhouse performances from Robert Pattinson and Adam Sandler, respectively, the Safdies fill out their casts with actors who have little to no acting experience, ranging from felon-turned-actor Buddy Duress to NBA champion Kevin Garnett.
- Anti-Hero: None of the Safdies' protagonists are traditionally heroic, instead tending to be, at best desperate, but well-intentioned jerks with hearts of gold like Lenny in Daddy Longlegs. At worst they're destructive, narcissistic Villain Protagonists, such as Connie in Good Time.
- Associated Composer: Starting with Good Time, the Safdies have begun collaborating with electronic musician Daniel Lopatin.
- Author Appeal: The two are major sports fans, with several of their projects having strong ties to it; most notably, star NBA player Kevin Garnett appears prominently As Himself in Uncut Gems, with the 2012 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals being an important subplot. This goes into their solo films following their split, as both are sports biopics.
- Big Applesauce: Literally every film they've helmed has taken place in New York City (aside from their one documentary endeavor).
- Big Eater: Benny has said that he hates when actors don't eat during takes, so when he acts, he makes sure to eat in every take. Benny estimated that he ate thirty tiramisus while filming a scene in Licorice Pizza, and Nathan Fielder said Benny ate fifteen plates of food from a Chinese buffet while filming a scene in The Curse.
- Black Comedy: Despite the constantly tense atmospheres, combinations of dialogue and unconventional situations leads to more than a few instances of this across their filmography.
- Broken Record: To go along with their realistic diction, characters often repeat themselves constantly in the same scene; in instances like Uncut Gems, it's at least partially because characters are constantly talking over each other.
- Copiously Credited Creator: By taking a look at their Letterboxd
profiles
, both brothers have experience in nearly every faucet of filmmaking. - Creator Provincialism: To date, nearly all of the Safdies' films have been set on their home turf of New York City.
- Film Noir: Their taste for shady, self-destructive protagonists and scuzzy settings is very neo-noir.
- His Own Worst Enemy: A running theme with the protagonists of their works, as they usually almost always make their situations worse on themselves with some sort of Fatal Flaw.
- Motor Mouth: A lot of their characters frequently tend to ramble inarticulately when they try to get themselves out of a sticky situation. Howard Ratner is the crowning example.
- Production Posse:
- Nearly all of the brothers' scripts have been co-written with their friend Ronald Bronstein, who also assists with editing and starred in Daddy Longlegs.
- Buddy Duress was a favorite among the brothers until his death in 2023, having prominent roles in Heaven Knows What, Good Time, Funny Pages, and several short films.
- Adam Sandler has quickly become one, starring in a feature and short film by the brothers, Benny having a prominent role in the Happy Gilmore sequel, and Sandler reuniting with Josh on a live comedy special and a future film project.
- Benny seems to be working his way into Christopher Nolan's stable of actors with Oppenheimer (2023) and The Odyssey (2026).
- Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: HEAVILY averted. Safdie/Bronstein dialogue is loud, messy and repetitive as with real-life conversations, often overlapping lines in an Altman-esque fashion.
- Scenery Porn: Their vivid lighting and meticulous cinematography really know how to make New York's seedy criminal underbelly look absolutely gorgeous.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: A favorite method of ending their stories to fit their realistic feel. Connie and Howard's stories ultimately amount to nearly nothing, usually by their own terrible decision making.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Despite their high profile films featuring a central figure with varying degrees of jerk and self-centeredness, they don't quite lean all the way towards the cynical end, as Good Time ends with Nick possibly getting the institutional help he needs to stop relying on his brother's toxic influence in his life.
- Sliding Scale Of Silliness Vs Seriousness: Their films are known for their very tense and gritty atmospheres, often casting amateur actors to play people with the same jobs as they have in real life to emphasize the realism of their settings. That being said, their films typically have a good amount of dark humor, often resulting from the stupid decisions of their characters.
- Stupid Crooks: There are no mastermind criminals or gentlemen thieves in the Safdies' world. Good Time, for example, feels far less like The Thomas Crown Affair and more like a particularly frenetic episode of World's Dumbest Criminals.
- What Could Have Been: Before their split, their next project would have been a remake of Walter Hill's 48 Hours. It morphed into an original idea during the writing process but was ultimately shelved.
