Top 5 Willa Fitzgerald Movies & TV Shows You Need To Check Out

Willa Fitzgerald is one of the most exciting rising actors on the scene right now. That's partly due to her refusing to be pigeonholed into specific types of roles. From horror to action projects, she's done it all and already has an eclectic filmography that promises great things to come. 

It's all the more amazing that she wasn't always on the path to becoming a performer. While she was passionate about acting and doing theater, she initially studied psychology at Yale. But she soon realized what her true calling was, telling W magazine, "Eventually, I realized that I didn't want to be writing research papers — becoming an actor felt undeniable."

Fitzgerald's career began like many, by taking on small roles in TV series. She was even in an episode of "Blue Bloods" you might have forgotten about, where she played a teenager trying to get rid of some drugs before she's busted by the authorities. But one episode isn't enough to show off her acting chops. Here are the best Willa Fitzgerald movies and TV shows you can watch to see just how talented she is. 

Willa Fitzgerald had already been acting for quite some time when "Strange Darling" came out in theaters, but for many, it was their introduction to the talented star and served as her breakout role. It proved she could lead a film as she delivers a harrowing performance as a young woman on the run from a man, played by Kyle Gallner, who's trying to kill her. Not everything is as it seems in this non-linear story though, and Fitzgerald manages to display a range of emotions as we learn more about these two individuals. 

"Strange Darling" might be Fitzgerald's best acting work yet, which makes it all the more astounding that at one point, executives wanted her role recast. Producer Roy Lee spoke on "The Business with Kim Masters" podcast about the treacherous journey the film took to make it to the big screen, with Miramax executives not happy about what they were initially seeing. Lee stated, "You've seen the movie, and you've seen how great Willa Fitzgerald's performance is. They wanted to recast. And I said, 'You cannot recast this movie.'"

Thankfully, Lee and director JT Mollner stuck by their actor and completed the film, with Miramax changing their tune about the movie after a positive test screening. Fitzgerald's career would have probably been fine had "Strange Darling" not worked out, but it's exciting to think what other thriller and horror films could be in store for her in the future after this sleeper horror hit.

2025 has been a great year for medical dramas, thanks in large part to the overwhelming success of "The Pitt." Granted, the genre never went away, as shows like "Chicago Med" and "Grey's Anatomy" are still some of the most bingeworthy medical shows around and still cranking out new episodes. But if you're looking for shows like "The Pitt" to check out, then you need Netflix's "Pulse" on your radar.

Willa Fitzgerald takes on the lead role of Dr. Danielle Simms, a third-year medical resident who receives an unexpected promotion to chief resident after the previous person in that position, Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell), gets fired for sexual harassment. On top of that, Simms and Phillips were romantically linked, and she was the one who reported him. "Pulse" deals with a variety of medical cases like any good medical show, but it also keeps its finger on the pulse of the real-world issue of sexual harassment in a post-#MeToo world.

Medical professionals certainly deserve a lot of respect, but they're complicated individuals like anyone else. "Pulse" dabbles in this gray area, with Fitzgerald offering a stellar performance as Simms — who is indeed great at her job but also held back by her own self-sabotaging ways.

"Reacher" is easily one of the coolest shows that Amazon Prime Video has in its repertoire, and Willa Fitzgerlad helped make it what it is. She only appeared as Margrave PD Sergeant Roscoe Conklin in Season 1, but as one of the only good cops in town, she becomes an invaluable ally to Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) as he investigates a conspiracy that threatens to bring down powerful businessmen and politicians.

In an exclusive interview with Looper, Fitzgerald explained that Conklin represents the kind of bold characters she enjoys playing: "It was really fun to play someone who's so opinionated in a world in which she's also bumping up against a lot of other really opinionated people," she said. "It makes for a really fun dynamic in scenes and on set."

Despite Conklin and Reacher developing a romantic connection, Fitzgerald hasn't been seen on "Reacher" since that first season. It makes sense given that Reacher's a drifter, helping out whoever he encounters on his journey. But if there was anyone from a previous season to bring back, it'd be her.

"Scream: The TV Series" is an underrated horror gem that was originally supposed to have Bella Thorne in the lead role of Emma Duval. Instead, Thorne wound up as the show's first victim, and Emma was played by Willa Fitzgerald. She's effectively the final girl in this franchise, as she's the main target of the Lakewood Slasher, the show's version of Ghostface from the films. While she's naive when the series begins, she learns to grow up quickly as those around her quickly start dropping, and by the time Season 2 rolls around, she's having to deal with mental health problems in addition to a new killer on the loose.

"Scream: The TV Series" was rebooted for Season 3 with an all-new cast that didn't include Fitzgerald. Upon receiving the news that she wouldn't return, the actor told Collider, "I remember being kind of devastated and also, at the same time, being like, 'Okay.' It was a hard show in a lot of ways, and we were really under a lot of pressure every season. It was kind of a pressure cooker." Fitzgerald continued to do just fine for herself in the aftermath of "Scream," going on to appear in "Little Women," "House of Cards," and others.

It's hard not to see "Scream" as an early precursor to "Strange Darling," with Fitzgerald playing a "final girl" in both projects, although the two characters are very different in the end. If Fitzgerald continues pursuing such stories, she could easily become the next scream queen of this generation.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" may make some major changes to Edgar Allen Poe's original story, but it's hard to deny it's one of the most horrifying and suspenseful miniseries in recent memory. The show recounts the rise to prominence of the Usher family, before Roderick Usher's (Bruce Greenwood) children begin meeting terrifying demises in the present. Part of the story takes place decades in the past, where Willa Fitzgerald plays the younger version of Bruce's sister Madeline from 1979.

What makes Fitzgerald's performance so compelling her is how subtle it often is. Madeline in her younger days is aloof and often thinks herself better than most everyone else. She doesn't get along with Bruce's wife, Annabel Lee (Katie Parker), for how subservient she appears, which is the perfect demonstration of how she feels women should behave in a male-dominated world. It may seem like it would be hard to get a read on Madeline because of how stone-faced she is, but Fitzgerald's eyes often reveal her true thoughts on a situation. 

As you can see, there are some great Willa Fitzgerald movies and TV shows to put on your watchlist if you're a fan of any of her work. She's frequently the best part of whatever she's in, and there's bound to be more from her in the near future.