2001–2004: Early work Chatwin made his debut in the musical comedy
Josie and the Pussycats (2001), in which he played an enthusiastic fan. The film, based on the
Archie Comics series and the
Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name, was a commercial failure upon its initial release, but has enjoyed later success as a
cult film. Soon after, Chatwin starred as John Spencer in the two-part
miniseries Christy, Choices of the Heart. He went on to guest-star in several television series including
Smallville,
Mysterious Ways,
Night Visions,
Just Cause,
Glory Days,
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction and
Taken, playing also a
juvenile delinquent in the
television film The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003), directed by
Paul Johansson. One year later, Chatwin played an aspiring guitarist murdered by a
serial killer who takes on the identities of his victims in
D. J. Caruso's
psychological thriller Taking Lives, based on the
novel of the same name by Michael Pye. He was also a helper and friend of the title characters in the family-oriented comedy
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, a
sequel to the 1999 film
Baby Geniuses. The feature is considered one of
the worst films of all time, receiving an
approval rating of 0% on
Rotten Tomatoes. Ellen Fox of the
Chicago Tribune called Chatwin "the only bright spot" of the film. In 2004,
Newsweek magazine labeled Chatwin an "Actor to Watch" based on his performance as Tyler McKay in the three-part miniseries
Traffic. He also starred opposite
Kate Mara in
The WB pilot
Prodigy, about a
child prodigy.
2005–2010: Breakthrough Chatwin was chosen out of several young actors to play
Tom Cruise's rebellious adolescent son in the
alien invasion film
War of the Worlds (2005), directed by
Steven Spielberg, based on the 1898
novel by
H. G. Wells. It was a commercial success, grossing $603 million worldwide against a $132 million budget, and garnered generally favorable reviews. Chatwin's performance in
War of the Worlds earned him the 'Breakthrough of the Year' award from Hollywood Life Magazine. In 2005, he also starred as teenage drug dealer Billy Peck in the black comedy
The Chumscrubber, alongside
Camilla Belle and
Jamie Bell.
Arie Posin's directorial debut about a group of superficial parents and young adults living a seemingly perfect life, had the world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 25, and was released theatrically on August 5, earning $351,401 on a production budget of $10 million. The film was poorly received by critics; writing for
Rolling Stone,
Peter Travers opined that it was "an appallingly clumsy and stupid take on drugs, kidnapping and suicide in suburbia". That same month, Chatwin appeared in the
Showtime series pilot
Weeds as the troubled
homosexual son of
Kevin Nealon's character. He reprised his role seven years later for the series finale. In 2006, Chatwin guest-starred as the undercover cop Eddie Colburn on the
ABC drama series
Lost. Around that time, he was attached to produce and star in a film adaptation of
Michael Turner's novel ''The Pornographer's Poem'' (1999), with
Jeremiah S. Chechik on board to direct. That same year, Chatwin made his
off-Broadway debut in Trip Cullman's play
Dark Matters at the
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Following a dysfunctional family whose mother goes missing then suddenly reappears claiming that she was abducted by aliens, Chatwin stars as Jeremy Cleary, the eccentric, but intelligent 16-year-old son of Michael (
Reed Birney) and Bridget (
Elizabeth Marvel). Chatwin landed his first leading role in
The Invisible (2007), a
remake of the
Swedish film
Den Osynlige.
David S. Goyer's
supernatural thriller centers on high school senior Nick Powell, who is brutally beaten and left in an
intermediate state. Chatwin liked the script because "it's about all these polar opposites – life and death, love and hate – and also about the idea that when you think something is black or white, you might suddenly find that there's gray to it". The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $26 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, and was also poorly received by critics;
John Campea noticed a "subtle strength" in Chatwin's performance, writing, "nothing really ever went over the top, nor did he ever come off as forced", but criticized the feature for its "lack of depth" and "dramatic tension". Also in 2007, he returned to the stage to act in Jamie Wollrab's
The Mistakes Madeline Made at the Dairy Arts Center in
Boulder, Colorado. The story revolves around Edna (
Shannon Woodward), a young woman who develops ablutophobia, a fear of bathing. Chatwin plays Wilson, the protagonist's co-worker, "with lots of nervous energy, and generates laughs along the way" according to one critic. Chatwin starred opposite
Anton Yelchin and
Eva Amurri in the
coming-of-age drama
Middle of Nowhere directed by
John Stockwell, He described the role as the most physically demanding he had ever played, as he had to train in
martial arts and adopt a strict diet with no sugar and
carbohydrates. The film was a critical and commercial failure. Ross Miller of the
Screen Rant calling it "a badly written film with horrible dialogue, lackluster action and a sense of fun that's nowhere to be found". Miller also felt that Chatwin was "completely miscast" as Goku. The 12-episode first season began airing in January 2011, and over the course of three years, Chatwin portrayed Jimmy Lishman / Steve Wilton, Rossum's love interest, a car thief who comes from a wealthy family. Chatwin made a brief appearance in the fourth season finale, and returned in the fifth season as a special guest star. The show received mostly positive reviews; Eric Goldman of
IGN opined that Chatwin brings "the right vibe of scruffy determination" to his role, while another critic noticed his "very intense and intimate chemistry" with Rossum. During an interview, when asked about one of the most controversial aspects of the series, the significant amount of nudity and sex scenes, Chatwin said: Chatwin's film career in the 2010s consists primarily in independent features. Those usually premiered first at various
film festivals, before being released simultaneously in select theaters and through
video-on-demand or
streaming services. In 2011, Chatwin starred alongside
Patrick Huard and
Paul Doucet in the canadian film
Funkytown. Directed by
Daniel Roby, the feature set in
Montreal follows a group of characters and the events that changed their lives during the
disco era. He plays Tino DeiFiori, a young
italian dancer who is hiding a secret. Chatwin was drawn to the part because he "haven't danced a day" in his life: "I'm the guy who sits in the corner at the club and doesn't move". In 2011, he also acted in
Shawn Christensen's short film
Brink, which earned a nomination for "Best Narrative Short" at the
Tribeca Film Festival. In 2013, Chatwin guest-starred in the fourth season of
The Listener, and appeared in
Isolated, a documentary narrated and executive produced by
Ryan Phillippe about a group of surfers in search of untouched waves. Alongside
Jane Levy and
Peter Stormare, Chatwin subsequently appeared as
rock and roll star Bobby Shore in the
Jeffrey St. Jules-directed sci-fi musical set in the '60s
Bang Bang Baby (2014). His character was based on
Vanilla Ice,
Justin Bieber and
Elvis Presley.
Bang Bang Baby won the award for
Best Canadian First Feature Film at the
2014 Toronto International Film Festival, and garnered also two nominations at the third edition of
Canadian Screen Awards, for
Best Supporting Actor (Chatwin) and
Best Overall Sound.
The Young Folks critic Josh Cabrita thought Chatwin "perfectly balances celebrity charm, self-absorption, and wooden caricature". In the romantic comedy
No Stranger Than Love (2015), which was the closing night film of the 16th annual
Newport Beach Film Festival, Chatwin plays a sensitive poet teaming up with a woman (
Alison Brie) in order to rescue an unfaithful man (
Colin Hanks) trapped in a
black hole.
The Hollywood Reporter Leslie Felperin gave the film a negative review, describing it as "disappointingly bland", lacking any "
metaphor, playfulness" and "enigmatic,
magical-realism" necessary to sustain the offbeat premise. In 2015, Chatwin also portrayed a troubled man desperate to retrieve his bike in the short film
The Cycle, and recorded the audio version of Celeritas, a screenplay who featured on 2014
Black List. Chatwin starred as a detective tracking down a mysterious race of creatures in the
TNT pilot
Breed (2015), and also that year, he secured a recurring role in the third season of
Orphan Black, playing opposite
Tatiana Maslany and
Kristian Bruun. followed by a
limited release two years later. Also that year, he appeared in three films, starting with a
cameo as
Vincent D'Onofrio's drug-addicted son in the action-comedy
CHiPs, directed by
Dax Shepard, based on the
television series of the same name. Chatwin then portrayed modern-day
cowboy Hugh Jay Linder in
Blake Robbins'
western noir The Scent of Rain and Lightning, based on the 2010 novel of the same name by
Nancy Pickard. Led by
Maika Monroe, the film follows a young woman's attempt to uncover the truth behind the death of her parents (Chatwin and
Maggie Grace in the flashback sequences). After making its debut at the
Atlanta Film Festival, the critically acclaimed film was released to a general audience one year later, Frank Scheck deeming it "a well-acted, intelligent thriller", while another critic praised Chatwin's "subtle and strong" performance. He also had a role in the independent drama
''We Don't Belong Here'', sharing the screen with
Riley Keough and Anton Yelchin. Chatwin later headlined
Crackle's original sci-fi movie
In the Cloud (2018), in which he plays a
computer scientist. That same year, he starred as a rookie detective working on his first major case in the dramatic thriller ''
The Assassin's Code, which was screened at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival. Chatwin also featured as a hedonistic bartender named Andy in the ensemble coming-of-age drama Summer Night (2019), directed by Joseph Cross in his directorial debut. Following its premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival in the spring, the film opened in theaters that summer to mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times
critic Carlos Aguilar called it "mediocre and forgettable", however, The Hollywood Reporter'' critic found Chatwin "very funny" providing the
comic relief. From 2019 to 2021, over the course of two seasons, Chatwin played scientist Erik Wallace in the
Netflix television series
Another Life.
2021–present: Subsequent career Chatwin co-starred opposite
Diego Boneta,
Alexandra Daddario and
Travis Fimmel in the
romantic crime film Die in a Gunfight (2021), which has been described as a modern-day version of
William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet. He plays an unscrupulous stalker loosely based on
Tybalt and
Count Paris. Although it garnered a negative response, Mae Abdulbaki of
Screen Rant opined that Chatwin is "chewing up scenery with gusto and a glint in his eyes" as the film's
villain. In 2022, Chatwin starred as a conflicted police officer in the
period drama film The Walk. Directed by
Daniel Adams, it centers upon the
forced busing in 1974
Boston. Lisa Kennedy of
Variety praised the film's performances but criticized its
after-school-special vibe, clichéd script and melodramatic tone. Chatwin portrayed
Jack Reagan, the father of
United States President Ronald Reagan in
Sean McNamara's
biopic Reagan. ==Other ventures==