Early work (2000–2008) Lerman had a passion for movies from a young age, though he started acting "just for fun" and "to do something to get out of school". He began auditioning for roles in the late 1990s, and first appeared in commercials. He made his film debut in 2000's
The Patriot, playing William Martin, one of the lead character's children. The same year, he appeared in
What Women Want. In 2001's
Riding in Cars with Boys, he played the son of the main character. Lerman has stated that while appearing in his earliest roles as a child, he did not have "any conscious awareness of what I was doing or what was going on" A review in the
Boston Globe described Lerman as a "promising newcomer" with the
Telegraph-Herald commenting on the character having been "quietly and effectively played". For the role, he was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance by a Leading Young Actor in a television production, and tied with
Calum Worthy for the win. He next appeared in the 2004 thriller film
The Butterfly Effect, portraying a seven-year-old version of character Evan Treborn. digitallyOBSESSED's reviewer described Lerman as "definitely a child actor to watch". Lerman had quit acting for a "year or so" in the early 2000s, when he was ten. in Missouri who was destined to become President of the United States as an adult. The show ran on
The WB Television Network during the 2004–2005 season, receiving some positive reviews but low ratings, and was subsequently canceled. Lerman was nominated for another
Young Artist Award for his performance, tying with
Jack DeSena for the win. Lerman has stated that he "started taking things seriously" about his career after appearing on the show. The
Boston Heralds reviewer mentioned that Lerman's performance had a "blend of vulnerability and strength", while
Entertainment Weeklys reviewer had noted that "Lerman lends Bobby a bedraggled optimism". Continuing his film work, Lerman had his first starring role in a motion picture, playing Roy Eberhardt in the children's adventure
Hoot; his character moves to Florida from Montana and attempts to save endangered burrowing owls. Lerman stated that the film's message is "that you can be any age and make a difference".
The Washington Posts reviewer commented that "Lerman shows some life as Roy" though his role was "an anomaly in a sea of insipidity", while the
San Francisco Chronicles reviewer disliked Lerman's performance. In 2007, Lerman appeared in the thriller
The Number 23, in which he played the son of Walter Sparrow, a man who becomes obsessed with
numerology. That year, he also appeared in the critically acclaimed western remake
3:10 to Yuma, playing William Evans, a teenager who looks up to criminal Ben Wade while shunning his father; Lerman's character did not exist in the original version of the story. Lerman received positive reviews for his work, and was again nominated for the
Young Artist Award – Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor (2008). It was the second consecutive year he received a nomination in that category, although this time he did not win.
USA Today stated that he was among the film's "best supporting players", while
Rolling Stone gave Lerman a "shout-out" and
Newsday stated that he delivers a "credibly explicit note". In 2008, Lerman co-starred in the comedy
Meet Bill as a teenager mentored by Bill.
Meet Bill was filmed in 2006, premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2007, and received a theatrical release on April 4, 2008.
Hollywood.com stated that, though the film was uneven, Lerman "displays a supreme confidence". In 2009, he appeared in the science fiction film
Gamer, as Simon, a teenage gamer who controls one of the characters in a video game played with live human subjects. Also that year, Lerman had a leading role in the comedy
My One and Only, playing a teenage character based on actor
George Hamilton – depicted as an aspiring writer who, after his parents split, accompanies his mother and brother on a cross-country trip, eventually arriving in Hollywood. Bloomberg's reviewer described Lerman as appealing, with the
Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey stating that the character "captures the ease with which an angry teen will use a growing vocabulary to wound a parent".
Mainstream success (2009–2016) In spring 2009, Lerman was cast in the lead role as
Percy Jackson in
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The movie was filmed in 2009 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was released in February 2010. Lerman has stated that he was not familiar with the book series when he received the script. During his teenage years, Lerman and his family had viewed his acting work as just a "hobby" before college; his parents had only become more comfortable with acting as a career in 2010, the year of
Percy Jackson release. Lerman's next role was
d'Artagnan, in director
Paul W. S. Anderson's
3D film version of
The Three Musketeers, which was released in the U.S. on October 21, 2011. Lerman was cast in the role without having to
audition. He took the role because
The Three Musketeers was one of the only books his paternal grandfather had taken with him when he "had to leave his home... as a young kid" in the 1930s. Lerman trained in sword fighting for three months and wore
hair extensions to portray d'Artagnan, whom he has described as "the most different character to me that I've ever played". The film received negative reviews, with
Michael Phillips of the
Chicago Tribune writing that "Lerman already has done solid work... but he's a blank slate here." Lerman starred in a
film adaptation of
Stephen Chbosky's novel
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, playing the lead role, Charlie; filming took place in 2011, and the movie was released in September 2012. Lerman has described the film as a "life epic, and stated that he had been "torturing [himself] for... a few months in order to get inside Charlie's head." while
Christy Lemire of the Associated Press wrote that, by the film's end, Lerman "bust[s] out, show[s] some range and reveal[s] he can really, truly act". For his performance, Lerman was nominated for several awards, including Best Young Actor/Actress by the
Broadcast Film Critics Association, and won a
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Drama. '' in October 2014 Lerman played Lou in the independent drama film
Stuck in Love; the film received a limited U.S. release in 2013. Lerman had initially been signed to appear in three
Percy Jackson films. The second film in the series,
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, was released in August 2013, although no further films in the series have since been produced. Lerman played
Ham, the son of prophet
Noah, in the
Biblical epic
Noah, directed by
Darren Aronofsky. Filming took place in 2012, in New York and Iceland, and
Noah was released on March 28, 2014, to positive reviews. Lerman next starred in
David Ayer's World War II-set film,
Fury; in the film, Lerman's character is an American soldier fighting Nazi forces. Filming began in September 2013, and the movie received an October 2014 release. Reviews for
Fury were positive; Matt Stieb of the
San Antonio Current wrote that Lerman "manages to hold his own" opposite co-star
Brad Pitt, and Lerman's performance was described as a "great turn" by Oliver Lyttelton of
Indiewire. Lerman played the lead, Marcus Messner, in
Indignation, an adaptation of
Philip Roth's 2008 novel
of the same name, directed by
James Schamus; his character is a student who faces
antisemitism and
sexual repression while
coming of age at a 1950s Ohio college. Filming began in June 2015.
Indignation premiered at the
2016 Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released in July 2016. It received positive reviews for both the film itself and Lerman's performance, with Tim Grierson of
ScreenDaily writing that Lerman's work "seethes with his character's burgeoning arrogance and cynicism" and David Rooney of
The Hollywood Reporter stating that Lerman gives "a performance of tremendous focus, maturity and depth of feeling, with exciting flashes of the umbrage that gives the film its title". Lerman also served as one of the film's executive producers, receiving his first such credit.
Fluctuations and expansion (2017–present) Lerman played Sidney Hall in
Shawn Christensen's feature drama
The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017). He was also an executive producer for the film, which began production in
New York City in April 2016 and premiered on January 25 at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival. Lerman voiced Robert Conroy, a real-life soldier who worked with
World War I hero
war dog Sergeant Stubby, in
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, an animated film which was released on April 13, 2018. In 2018, Lerman signed to star as lead Jonah Heidelbaum in the
Amazon Video series
Hunters, about a group of
Nazi hunters in the 1970s. The show premiered in February 2020. Lerman also starred in two drama films that were released in mid-2020:
End of Sentence, in which he plays an ex-convict who travels with his father to
Ireland; and
Shirley, about author
Shirley Jackson, in which he plays one half of a young couple staying in Jackson's unstable household. Lerman co-produced the drama
Press Play (2022) alongside his producing partner
Jonathan Schwartz. Also that year, he had a supporting role in the action-thriller
Bullet Train. In June 2023, Lerman and Schwartz were announced as producers of the Hollywood thriller
Skincare, directed by Austin Peters. In 2025, he starred as the lead of the
Sundance Film Festival romantic road comedy
Oh, Hi!, directed by Sophie Brooks. It was theatrically released nationwide July 25 via
Sony Pictures Classics. who played his best friend on
Jack & Bobby; they remained close after the series' cancellation, and worked together again on
Hoot, where Collins had a supporting role. In their spare time, the two collaborated on comedic short films. As well as acting, they wrote, directed, and shot the videos, often enlisting the help of family and friends. The shorts were uploaded to
YouTube under the joint account name of "monkeynuts1069". In 2006, Collins and Lerman formed a band, Indigo, along with musician Daniel Pashman; Collins sang lead vocals, Lerman played keyboard and guitar, and Pashman played the drums. and that music is his biggest passion after film. ==Personal life==