Kelli Brianne Garner (born April 11, 1984) is an American actress who has appeared in a variety of independent and mainstream films, television, and theater.
A native of Southern California, Garner made her feature film debut at age 16 in Larry Clark's thriller Bully (2001), followed by a supporting role as Faith Domergue in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004). In 2005, she made her New York stage debut in an off-Broadway production of Dog Sees God. Over the following several years, Garner had lead roles in the independent film Thumbsucker (2005), the studio comedy Man of the House (2005), and the comedy-drama Lars and the Real Girl (2007). She returned to theater in 2008, appearing in an off-Broadway production of The Seagull opposite Dianne Wiest.
Garner subsequently had a supporting role in the Disney animated film G-Force (2009), and from 2011 to 2012, had a lead role on the short-lived period drama Pan Am, portraying a flight attendant. She later co-starred in Alexandre Aja's fantasy horror film Horns (2014) opposite Daniel Radcliffe. In 2015, Garner portrayed Marilyn Monroe in the television film The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, opposite Susan Sarandon. She subsequently guest-starred on the series Looking (2014–2015) before starring as the lead on the NBC drama series The Enemy Within, which ran for one season in 2019. She also had a minor role in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
Early life
Garner was born on April 11, 1984, in Bakersfield, California, and spent her early childhood in Newbury Park before her family settled in Thousand Oaks. Garner was a talented soccer player in high school, and had planned on pursuing it as a career before she began working as an actress.
Her next major role came at age 19 in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004), in which she portrayed actress Faith Domergue, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes. According to Garner, she wore brown contact lenses to her audition to further embody Domergue; she has said that she tripped and fell when entering the audition room in front of Scorsese and DiCaprio. "I thought I'd lost the job," she recalled, "But I think it was that moment that made it work [because] the character was someone who was trying to be much older than she was." and the independent teen drama Thumbsucker (2005), opposite Lou Taylor Pucci and Vince Vaughn. She had supporting parts in the independent films London (2005) and Dreamland (2006), the latter of which earned her a Best Actress award at Method Fest Independent Film Festival, shared with co-star Agnes Bruckner.
In December 2005, Garner starred in the off-Broadway production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead at the Century Center for the Performing Arts, co-starring with America Ferrara, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Ari Graynor, among others. In 2008, she appeared again onstage in an off-Broadway production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull opposite Dianne Wiest, as Nina.
Garner was next cast in Alexandre Aja's horror-fantasy Horns (2014) with Daniel Radcliffe, and played the title role in the Lifetime miniseries The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, opposite Susan Sarandon as her mother. She also appeared in the independent film One More Time (2015) with Christopher Walken and Amber Heard. Between 2014 and 2015, she had a guest-starring role on the gay-themed series Looking, playing the sister of the lead character, Patrick Murray.
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| rowspan="3"|2002
| Love Liza
| Huffer Girl
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| Hometown Legend
| Josie
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| Return to Rajapur
| Samantha Hartley / Samantha Doyle
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| One More Time
| Corinne
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| 2019
| Godzilla: King of the Monsters
| USS Argo Officer Cross
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| 2021
| What Josiah Saw
| Mary Milner
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| rowspan="2"|2023
| V/H/S/85
| Dr. Sara Greyson
| , ,<br>, ,<br>
| Segment: "Total Copy"
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| Walden
| Emily Duperon
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| TBA
| Misty Green
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| Filming
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Television
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! Year
! Title
! Role
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| 2000
| Time Share
| Kelly, The Beach Girl
| Television film
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| 2008
| The Seagull
| Nina
| East 13th Street Theater, New York City
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