1983–2008

Harris began his film career directing Darkmoor (1983), an unfinished feature-length film for Duke University's Freewater Films. His first film appearance as an actor was in The Rachel Papers (1989). He took minor roles in films such as the western romance Far and Away (1992), the historical epic The Last of the Mohicans (1992), and the crime drama Natural Born Killers (1994). He took the role of Benmont Tench in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1995). He portrayed the role of the aged Will Robinson in the 1998 movie adaptation of the television series Lost in Space. That same year he portrayed Vladimir in the controversial black comedy drama film Happiness (1998), written and directed by Todd Solondz. He portrayed Kenneth Branagh's character's doppelgänger in How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000).

Other notable roles include Andy Warhol in I Shot Andy Warhol, John Lennon in the television movie Two of Us (2000) and King Henry VIII in the 2003 BBC film adaptation of the novel The Other Boleyn Girl. Harris portrayed Dr. Charles Ashford in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004). He portrayed the gruff Captain Anderson in the BBC2 adaptation of To the Ends of the Earth; Mac McGrath in the movie Mr. Deeds; Eamon Quinn on the FX series The Riches; and David Robert Jones on Fringe.

2009–2017

He gained widespread fame for his portrayal of Lane Pryce in the AMC period drama series Mad Men from 2009 until 2012. The show focuses on the lives of Ad Men in New York City during the 1960s. He first appeared in season three where he arrives as a British newcomer to Sterling Cooper, and later becomes a partner of the new agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Paul MacInnes of The Guardian wrote of Lane Pryce, "For much of his three season tenure on the show, Lane has seemed like the archetypal Englishman...He was polite, courteous, dry-witted, stingy. He was also apparently logical and keenly stoic, keeping calm and carrying on when Sterling Cooper broke up and its successor nearly went under."^[7] Harris received critical acclaim for his final appearance in the episode "Commissions and Fees" as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, losing to Aaron Paul for Breaking Bad in 2012. He returned to the series to direct the 11th episode of season 7, which aired in 2015.

He portrayed Ulysses S. Grant in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed historical drama film Lincoln (2012).^[8]

His portrayal of King George VI in the first season of The Crown received praise from critic Matt Zoller Seitz, who stated that despite the series' large ensemble, "Harris still manages to communicate the character’s understated sensitivity and awareness of his circumscribed role in England’s drama so poignantly that one can’t help being moved by the performance".^[9] He received nominations for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series.

2018–present

He portrayed Captain Francis Crozier in the 2018 series The Terror, based on the Dan Simmons novel of the same name that provided a fictional account of the fate of Franklin's lost expedition. In November 2018, Harris was one of the first recipients of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's Louie Kamookak Medal, awarded "for making Canada's geography better known to Canadians and to the world", for his portrayal of Captain Crozier. Harris said that he was "gratified" that the series inspired curiosity about the real expedition, remarking, "It’s sort of fitting that history will recall that it was the RCGS that first recognized The Terror, and that we as the recipients walked in the footsteps of Louie Kamookak."^[10]

In 2019, Harris portrayed Valery Legasov in the acclaimed miniseries Chernobyl, which revolves around the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and the cleanup efforts that followed.^[11] For that role he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. The series was produced by HBO in the United States and Sky UK in the United Kingdom.

In March 2019, Harris joined Jared Leto in Sony's Spider-Man spinoff Morbius.^[12] He plays the developer of psychohistory Hari Seldon in the Foundation television series produced for Apple TV+ which premiered in September 2021.^[13] In March 2021, Harris was announced to have joined the cast of the biographical drama film Rothko, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.^[14]

In 2024, he played the father of a returning missing child in the British psychological thriller film Reawakening, alongside Erin Doherty and Juliet Stevenson.^[15]

Film

Television

Theatre

Honors

On 18 October 2019 Harris received the Cinema Vanguard award at the San Diego International Film Festival.^[25] Previous winners include Topher Grace, Kate Beckinsale and Adrien Brody.