Biographical Dramas on Netflix
Last updated March 09, 2025
The Damned United
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDirector Tom Hooper's fictionalized biopic chronicles the colorful career of Brian Clough, the fiercely strong-willed and outspoken soccer manager who served a famously short tenure at the helm of England's reigning champs, Leeds United, in 1974.
Details about The Damned United
The Agony and the Ecstasy
1965 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCharlton Heston stars as Renaissance artist Michelangelo, who begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison) in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's novel directed by Carol Reed. While the novel covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the film focuses on the battle of wills between the perfectionist artist and the impatient Pope who commissions (and eventually commands) him to paint the famed chapel.
Details about The Agony and the Ecstasy
Carlos
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIlich Ramírez Sánchez -- aka Carlos the Jackal -- is an elusive Venezuelan terrorist who executed scores of assassination plots, abductions and bombings across Europe and the Middle East. This biopic follows Carlos from 1973 to 1994.
Details about Carlos
Christopher and His Kind
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis intimate adaptation of acclaimed novelist Christopher Isherwood's memoir conjures the young explorer's 1931 arrival, with poet W.H. Auden, on Berlin's decadent cabaret scene, along with the hearts he gained and lost in that anything-goes era.
Details about Christopher and His Kind
The Buddy Holly Story
1978 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsOscar nominee Gary Busey does his own singing in this chronicle of the rise and untimely death of rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly. The biopic covers Holly's beginnings, his first hit singles, his marriage and his rocky relationship with his band.
Details about The Buddy Holly Story
Bronson
2008 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsNicolas Winding Refn's vivid and unflinching biopic delves into the life of Britain's most notorious prisoner, Charlie Bronson -- who's been jailed for nearly 35 years -- and attempts to dissect the real man behind the deranged persona.
Details about Bronson
Julia
1977 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsA case of writer's block and a chance to reconnect with lifelong friend Julia prompt American dramatist Lillian Hellman to journey to 1930s Europe. Julia, once a young woman of privilege, recruits Lillian for a risky undertaking.
Details about Julia
Hoffa
1992 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsJack Nicholson stars as infamous Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa in this biopic that traces Hoffa's rise through labor's ranks to create the most powerful union in the country and posits a guess as to what happened to him when he vanished without a trace.
Details about Hoffa
Charlie Wilson's War
2007 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsTexas congressman Charlie Wilson sets a series of earth-shaking events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in an Oscar-nominated role) to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels in their fight against the Soviet Red Army.
Details about Charlie Wilson's War
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
1951 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis classic World War II drama chronicles the life of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (nicknamed the Desert Fox), focusing on his military career in North Africa, his connection to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and his lonely demise.
Details about The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story
2001 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsBased on a true story, this inspiring made-for-TV biopic spotlights Canadian swimmer Marilyn Bell (Caroline Dhavernas), a 16-year-old phenom who defeats top-ranked American swimmer Florence Chadwick (Claudia Besso), stunning the world in the process. In a thrilling race across frigid Lake Ontario, Bell's perseverance and pluck help her make it to the other side while her seasoned competitor struggles.
Details about Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story
Guilty
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn this gripping drama based on a true story, family man Alain Marécaux battles to prove his innocence after he's wrongly accused of an unspeakable crime. Jailed and entangled in a legal morass, Marécaux sees his whole life turned upside down.
Details about Guilty
The People vs. Larry Flynt
1996 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsNotorious pornographer Larry Flynt carries his free-speech campaign from lowly strip clubs to the U.S. Supreme Court in this Oscar-nominated biopic, which blends details of the publisher's legal battles with scenes from his personal life.
Details about The People vs. Larry Flynt
Hitchcock
2012 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsIconic filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock struggles with his marriage, the censors and the financiers of his 1960 film Psycho in this biopic. Driven to prove he still has an edge, Hitchcock crafts what would become one of the greatest thrillers of all time.
Details about Hitchcock
The Last Station
2009 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsSet during the last year of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy's life, this biopic explores the fractious relationship between Tolstoy (Oscar nominee Christopher Plummer) and his wife (Oscar nominee Helen Mirren), as he embraces a life of asceticism. Paul Giamatti co-stars as impassioned Tolstoy devotee Vladimir Chertkov, with James McAvoy playing the aging writer's assistant, Valentin, who is caught in the middle of various struggles.
Details about The Last Station
Quills
2000 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThe Marquis de Sade was a provocateur so addicted to words that he used his own blood to write salacious stories while locked away in an asylum. A doctor tries to prevent the Marquis from writing, but a worker is lured into taking his dictation.
Details about Quills
Monster
2003 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsCharlize Theron took home the Best Actress Oscar for her electrifying performance as Aileen Wuornos, an emotionally scarred highway hooker who shoots a sadistic client and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.
Details about Monster
Agora
2009 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsAs Christianity gains steam in Roman Egypt toward the end of the fourth century A.D., a young slave weighs his desire for freedom against his growing love for his mistress, an atheist and professor of philosophy.
Details about Agora
Phantom Punch
2008 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis biopic explores the life of boxer Sonny Liston, particularly his relationships with his manager, his wife and his lover. After his talent emerges in jail, Liston punches through poverty, Mafia entanglements and legendary bouts with Cassius Clay.
Details about Phantom Punch
Howl
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsJames Franco steps into the shoes of famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in this star-studded biopic centered around Ginsberg's poem "Howl" and the widely publicized obscenity trial that followed its publication in 1957.
Details about Howl
Riding in Cars with Boys
2001 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsDrew Barrymore stars as Beverly D'Onofrio, an unlucky teen who gets pregnant while still in high school, in this coming-of-age drama from director Penny Marshall that's based on D'Onofrio's autobiography by the same name. After sleeping with a boy she barely knew, Beverly gets married on a whim and discovers that her newborn isn't the only one who has a lot of growing up to do. Her teenage husband is a still a kid -- and so is she.
Details about Riding in Cars with Boys
The Countess
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsBlaming her advancing age for a failed romance with a younger man, 16th-century Hungarian countess Erzebet Báthory begins murdering virgin girls and bathing in their blood, believing that the grim ritual will restore her youthful beauty.
Details about The Countess
An Englishman in New York
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsJohn Hurt plays celebrated, iconic gay author-artist Quentin Crisp (the subject of Sting's song, "Englishman in New York") in this pseudo biopic that chronicles Crisp's high-profile move from London to New York's Bowery in the 1980s. Cynthia Nixon, Swoosie Kurtz, Denis O'Hare and Jonathan Tucker also star in Richard Laxton's long-anticipated sequel to the groundbreaking, made-for-television adaptation of "The Naked Civil Servant."
Details about An Englishman in New York
A Matador's Mistress
2008 | NR | 3.3 out of 5 StarsIn the 1940s, Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez, known to the world as Manolete, owned the Spanish bullring. This searing biopic follows his notorious affair with movie siren Lupe Sino at the height of his fame, and his death in the ring at age 30.
Details about A Matador's Mistress
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
2002 | NR | 3.3 out of 5 StarsTrash-TV maven Chuck Barris has it all -- the hit series "The Gong Show" and the love of a good woman. But he also has a big, dark secret: He's a CIA assassin who kills while purportedly escorting his game show winners on their vacation prizes.
Details about Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
About Best on Netflix Canada
Best on Netflix is the place to discover the best TV shows and movies available on Netflix. Find the newest releases of your favorite movies and TV shows available for streaming on Netflix today. This site lists all the amazing content available to Netflix members. If you want to watch a movie or TV shows, you must go to the official Netflix website. Best on Netflix is not related to Netflix and its purpose is to highlight the great content already available on Netflix since we're such huge fans of their service. We love Netflix just as much as you do! We hope you enjoy this movie and tv show discovery tool.
We have a lot of great features coming up in the next few weeks to help highlight the best movies and TV shows on Netflix, so stay tuned!