Ti West’s horror movie “MaXXXine” continues Maxine Minx’s (Mia Goth) journey from “X,” and it features a truly star-studded cast unlike anything the film series has seen so far. One of the most recognizable faces in the movie belongs to Michelle Monaghan, whose Detective Williams investigates the movie’s central murder mystery with her partner, Detective Torres (Bobby Cannavale).

Fans who are impressed by Monaghan’s role in “MaXXXine” and want to see more of her work will no doubt be happy to discover that the actor has a robust CV with plenty of great roles in quality projects, on both the big and small screen. To help you make your list of must-watch Michelle Monaghan roles to enjoy, here’s a compilation of some of her best movies and shows.

Fans of Hulu’s three-season cultist drama series “The Path” are certainly familiar with Michelle Monaghan, who stars alongside Aaron Paul and Hugh Dancy. Eddie (Paul) and Sarah Lane (Monaghan) are devout members of a strange cult called Meyerism, but turmoil enters their lives when Eddie sees a vision that appears to indicate that the movement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Meanwhile, Sarah’s old friend and wannabe suitor Cal Williams (Dancy) assumes de facto control of Meyerism and starts making his own moves. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Monaghan said she was drawn to Sarah because she was a far more nuanced character than your average “main character’s wife” type role. She also enjoyed the opportunity to work with a female showrunner, Jess Goldberg. “I go where the great material is, whoever wrote it, but I will say it’s really nice to feel like I’m playing a woman who’s very multidimensional and that I can speak to as someone who is a mother, okay, and a wife, yes, but I’m also something much more than that as well, personally and professionally,” Monaghan said. “It’s been really nice delving into that world with [Goldberg].”

Fans of Michelle Monaghan’s work in horror genre will want to check out “Nanny,” the 2022 Amazon Prime Video horror thriller starring Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, and Morgan Spector. Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu’s intense film focuses on an undocumented immigrant (Diop) who’s hired as a nanny for a rich couple (Spector and Monaghan), but gets drawn into a strange nightmare. 

If that sounds like the setup of a fairly ordinary horror film, rest assured that it’s anything but. “Nanny” was the first horror movie to win the U.S. Grand Jury prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and its particular brand of horror is far more heartbreaking and personal than any slasher villain could ever aspire to be. It’s also the rare movie where Monaghan’s character decidedly isn’t charming or likeable, and she does an excellent job of portraying what’s essentially the polar opposite of Diop’s loving but unlucky main character.

A showcase of snark between Robert Downey Jr.’s thief-turned-accidental-actor Harry Lockhart and Val Kilmer’s private detective Perry van Shrike, Shane Black’s 2005 directorial debut “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” oozes black comedy and detective hijinks. Michelle Monaghan plays Harry’s old flame Harmony Faith Lane, who becomes a central figure in the murder mystery in which the mismatched pair of men end up entangled. 

A full-on charm offensive from all three leads, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” gleefully parodies and pays homage to buddy cop films like “Lethal Weapon.” The director later went on to revisit similar themes in 2016’s highly-rated “The Nice Guys,” but “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” continues to stand in a league of its own thanks to the performances of the main cast. It’s a must-watch for any Michelle Monaghan fan. 

“Moon” director Duncan Jones’ 2011 movie “Source Code” explores a futuristic program that allows military man Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) to live through the final minutes of a train being destroyed in a terror attack over and over again. Colter’s mission is to uncover the bomber’s identity in order to prevent an upcoming attack, but every run through the Source Code reveals worrying new things about his situation — both inside the simulation and in the real world. Michelle Monaghan plays Christina, a passenger on the train who ends up assisting Colter more and more as his investigation deepens.

The ending of “Source Code” is one of the twistier sci-fi curveballs out there, and the movie is extremely well-regarded by the critics. Combine this with great performances by Gyllenhaal, Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright, and “Source Code” is one of the best Monaghan films you may want to add to your watch list. 

“True Detective” Season 1 was a total game changer, even if the following seasons couldn’t quite recapture the lightning in the bottle. Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart’s (Woody Harrelson) nihilistic adventures in deeply depressing, poverty-stricken Louisiana remain a yardstick for prestige police drama, and Michelle Monaghan plays a crucial role in the proceedings as Marty’s wife, Maggie.

The slow unraveling of every main character’s lives revolves heavily around Maggie, who often acts as the voice of reason for the increasingly lost and burned out Marty, and she ends up taking agency in a way that crucially changes the dynamic between the main characters. “As the series progresses, you start to see her strength unveiled, episode after episode,” Monaghan described her role in an interview with GQ. “She’s butting up against this idea that she’s not taken seriously by her husband, she’s not respected. With Rust’s character, too, she’s almost an afterthought, in terms of the way that they communicate with her. And I think both men make the mistake, ultimately, of underestimating her.”

“Gone Baby Gone” is a 2007 crime movie that marked the directorial debut of Ben Affleck. Another one of Michelle Monaghan’s twist-filled neo-noir projects, the movie’s portrayal of child abduction and its effects on everyone involved packs a major punch, even before the quietly chilling ending comes. 

Monaghan plays main character Patrick Kenzie’s (Casey Affleck) private investigator partner Angie Gennaro as the pair look into the case of Helene McCready’s (Amy Ryan) lost child, and the many secrets that surround the disappearance. Easily one of director Affleck’s best films, “Gone Baby Gone” is a ride viewers won’t forget in a hurry, and Monaghan’s performance is no small part of its appeal. 

“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” is easily one of the best “Mission: Impossible” movies and arguably the crown jewel of Henry Cavill’s movie roles. Knowing this, it’s not exactly a shock that Christopher McQuarrie’s 2018 spy action film also fares extremely well on a list of Michelle Monaghan’s finest big screen moments.

Unlike Cavill’s mustachioed powerhouse August Walker, Monaghan’s Julia Meade-Hunt doesn’t play a massive role in “Fallout.” As Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) long-suffering ex-wife, she’s deliberately kept out of the secret agent picture until the film’s explosive climax. However, she’s still a crucial component of the film’s endgame — and while Cavill only appears in this “Mission: Impossible” film, Monaghan is an important presence throughout the series. As such, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” effectively represents her role in the entire film series … and that kind of screen presence is seriously hard to beat.