7 Margaret Qualley movies and shows to watch if you loved her in ‘Honey Don’t!’

Margaret Qualley anchors the film as Honey O’Donahue, whose deadpan poise and precise physicality keep the plot quietly anchored. Honey Don’t! lands as a neon-tinged neo-noir set in Bakersfield, following private investigator Honey O’Donahue who digs into a suspicious car crash that peels back a cult, a few strange deaths, and a small-town conspiracy.

The film pairs offbeat comedy with pulpish violence and a tight 89-minute runtime. The ensemble includes Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, Talia Ryder, and Billy Eichner. Viewers warmed to a lead who balances grit with small, vulnerable beats and whose micro-expressions make oddball moments feel lived-in rather than tossed off.

Acting choices that favor nimble timing and restrained gestures give scenes texture and surprise. This is not a sweeping melodrama but an idiosyncratic, slippery mystery that asks for attention. Moving on to related work, here are seven films and shows to watch if the Honey Don’t! performance landed.

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Substance, and 5 other Margaret Qualley shows and movies if you liked her role in Honey Don't!

1) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

a still from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (image via Sony Pictures)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes place in 1969 Los Angeles, tracking down-and-out TV star Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth through an uncertain industry while actual events spill into the story. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, it incorporates the Manson Family into the mix without making the tale absolute history.

Pussycat, a Manson-connected hitchhiker, Cliff takes on the highway and dumps at Spahn Ranch, comes into play by Margaret Qualley in a fleeting scene that sticks due to its subtle, quiet, uncanny vibe. That tightly contained appearance demonstrates the strength an abbreviated part may bring; the performance does innuendo over explanation and contributes a nervous, off-beat inflection that fits the darker tones around Honey Don’t.

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2) The Substance (2024)

a still from The Substance (image via Mubi)

The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat and released in 2024, is a body-horror fable about fame and aging. Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, an actress who uses an illicit serum that conjures a younger version of herself. The younger clone, Sue, is portrayed by Margaret Qualley and alternates control with unsettling consequences.

Lavish practical effects and acidic humor serve sharp commentary on ageism, vanity and the machinery of celebrity. Qualley's Sue has a coy glamour that slowly slides into uncanny menace; small physical choices register loudly, turning brief scenes into lingering moments. This role offers a compact study in presence, demonstrating how precision and quiet unpredictability can shape a character even within a supporting turn similar to her role in Honey Don't!.

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3) Poor Things (2023)

a still from Poor Things (image via Searchlight Pictures)

Poor Things is a wildly imaginative period fable from director Yorgos Lanthimos that recasts late Victorian London as a carnival of oddness, following Bella Baxter, a woman reborn with a childlike mind who sets off on a chaotic education in desire and freedom. The cast is stacked, with Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Mark Ruffalo anchoring the film’s strange gravity.

In a smaller but effective turn, Margaret Qualley appears as Felicity, a supporting figure whose brief scenes stick because of small, decisive choices. The role rewards attention; gestures and timing matter more than long speeches, so a few measured moves create lasting texture. For those drawn to crisp physicality and an uncanny, controlled presence in Honey Don’t, this cameo offers a familiar echo without repeating the same trick.

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3) The Leftovers (2014)

a still from The Leftovers (image via Warner Bros. Television)

The Leftovers is an HBO drama from Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta that imagines life after a mysterious event removes two percent of the planet, and the survivors are left to wrestle with grief, belief, and social fracture. The series centers on Justin Theroux’s Kevin Garvey and an ensemble including Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Carrie Coon, and Ann Dowd.

Margaret Qualley appears as Jill Garvey, Kevin and Laurie’s daughter, first sketched as a sullen, searching teenager and later given sharper arcs across the three seasons. The role asks for economy: small looks, abrupt shifts in mood, a teenage tension that reads as both fragile and defiant. For those who liked crisp physical acting in Honey Don’t, this performance offers that same concentrated attention to detail.

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4) Maid (2021)

a still from Maid (image via Netflix)

Margaret Qualley inhabits Alex, an unmarried young mother escaping an abusive union and struggling to afford her child by doing odd labor as a domestic. Author Stephanie Land’s book of the same name inspired Maid to tag along on welfare interviews, late nights, and tense family confrontations, interweaving bleak realities with snappy, poignant moments.

Alex’s distant mother is played by Andie MacDowell, the absent father by Nick Robinson, whose shadow falls long, and the devoted child Maddy by Rylea Nevaeh Whittet. Qualley acts with guarded fragility alongside scheming and brings the story alive with small moves and glimmers of lively vitality. Those who appreciated the same cringe and emotional subtlety and delicate strength she invested into Honey Don't! might.

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5) Sanctuary (2022)

a still from Sanctuary (image via Universal Pictures)

Sanctuary unfolds across one night in a single hotel room, where Rebecca, a professional dominatrix, meets Hal, a wealthy heir attempting to end the arrangement and reclaim control. Margaret Qualley plays Rebecca, delivering a performance that pairs poised control with simmering ambiguity; this role demands precision in physicality and timing, and Qualley meets it with intensity.

Christopher Abbott co-stars as Hal, while Zachary Wigon directs a taut screenplay that prefers psychological power plays to spectacle. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and reached wider audiences in 2023, earning notice for its claustrophobic staging and sharp dialogue. Fans who liked Margaret Qualley in Honey Don't! may appreciate similar awkward charm and emotional precision, transplanted into a darker, more confrontational drama.

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6) Blue Moon (2025)

a still from the official trailer for Blue Moon (image via Sony Pictures Classics)

Blue Moon centers on lyricist Lorenz Hart on the opening night of Oklahoma!, a vignette of a man struggling with fame, remorse, and desire. Ethan Hawke plays Hart, alongside Andrew Scott as Richard Rodgers and Bobby Cannavale. There is a sweet appearance by Margaret Qualley as Elizabeth Weiland, a bright, elusive college student who captivates Hart, displaying tenderness and sharp self-consciousness.

Richard Linklater structures the story through private talk, favoring humanity over hothouse spectacle, and the film had its world premiere in competition at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival on 18 February. Scenes play out like theater miniatures, combining laughter with tears. The role requires subtle movements, acute pulse, and silent emotional punch, qualities familiar to Margaret Qualley fans from Honey Don't!.

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7) The Nice Guys (2016)

a still from The Nice Guys (image via Warner Bros. Pictures)

Set in 1970s Los Angeles, The Nice Guys casts private eye Holland March and thug Jackson Healy to investigate the disappearance of Amelia Kuttner, a young woman whose disappearance leads to a larger cover-up. The film casts Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in top spots, supported by Kim Basinger, Matt Bomer, and Angourie Rice, supporting the investigation.

Amelia Kuttner is played by Margaret Qualley, the free-spirited and inscrutable woman whose brief cameo causes the story to spring into action. The script by Shane Black intersperses snappy comedies and noirish turns, and the period precision and slapstick action bring vitality to the scenes and a melancholy undertone. Fans who've seen Margaret Qualley in Honey Don't! may recognize the same offbeat character and quick, sharp comedic timing in this.

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From the quirky rhythms of Honey Don’t! to her most daring performances, each project highlights a new layer of her craft. Margaret Qualley continues to carve out a path that feels unpredictable yet endlessly compelling.