Sklenar made his professional film debut in the 2011 film
Cornered. The following year, he appeared in the television series
Dating Rules from My Future Self. He then appeared in the film
Chance, in 2014, the
NBC comedy series
Truth Be Told, in 2015, the films
Hunky Dory and
Bella Donna, and the television series
Fall into Me, in 2016, a lead role in the American-Japanese horror film
Temple and the
Fox sitcom series,
New Girl, in 2017. He was then cast as Edward Mapplethorpe in the 2018 biographical drama film
Mapplethorpe, which follows the life of New York photographer
Robert Mapplethorpe. It screened at
Tribeca Film Festival, in 2018, where it was named a runner-up in the
U.S. Narrative Competition section. Sklenar received critical acclaim from multiple media outlets for his performance in
Mapplethorpe, including from
Boy Culture, who praised him for "[having] maximum impact in [his] psychologically charged scenes with Matt Smith (actor)|[Matt] Smith" He appeared in the 2018 biographical drama film,
Vice, opposite
Amy Adams,
Steve Carell,
Christian Bale and
Sam Rockwell. The film explores the life of politician
Dick Cheney and is directed by
Academy Award-winner
Adam McKay. Sklenar then appeared in
Amir Naderi's film
Magic Lantern, in addition to films
The Last Room and
Glass Jaw. In June 2018, Sklenar was also cast in the independent drama film
Indigo Valley, which is based on director
Jaclyn Bethany's short film of the same name. That same year, Sklenar was cast as the lead antagonist in
The Big Ugly, a noir crime thriller that weaves the British gangster genre with the American Western, opposite
Ron Perlman,
Malcolm McDowell,
Nicholas Braun and
Leven Rambin. For his work in the film as Junior Lawford, Sklenar received wide critical praise.
Richard Roeper of the
Chicago Sun Times stated, "Brandon Sklenar gives a screen-popping performance as Junior; he's fantastic as a monster cloaked in a
James Dean persona." Sklenar then went on to appear in
Roland Emmerich's
Midway for
Lionsgate with
Woody Harrelson,
Luke Evans, and
Patrick Wilson. Sklenar portrayed
George H. Gay Jr., who was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8 (
VT-8). He then starred in the independent film
Jonesin – a crime comedy about a moonshiner who, after a case of mistaken identity, gets abducted and finds himself stuck in the city between two rival gangs. In March 2021, he joined the cast of the film
Karen opposite
Taryn Manning and
Cory Hardrict. In 2022, he was cast in the role of Spencer Dutton in the
Yellowstone prequel television series
1923. In 2025, he played Andrew Winchester in
The Housemaid, co-starring with
Sydney Sweeney and
Amanda Seyfried. ==Filmography==