| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Dog Eat Dog | CJ | Directed by Moody Shoaibi |
| 2005 | A Sound of Thunder | Payne | Directed by Peter Hyams |
| The Best Man | Graham | |
| Derailed | Patrol Officer | Crime / Drama / Thriller |
| 2006 | As You Like It | Orlando De Boys | Comedy / Drama / Romance |
| The Last King of Scotland | Dr. Junju | Directed by Kevin Macdonald |
| 2008 | Who Do You Love? | Muddy Waters | Biography / Drama |
| 2009 | Rage | Homer | |
| 2011 | Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Steven Jacobs | |
| The Help | Preacher Green | |
| 96 Minutes | Duane | |
| 2012 | Red Tails | 1st Lt. Joe "Lightning" Little | |
| The Paperboy | Yardley Acheman | |
| Middle of Nowhere | Brian | Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male |
| Lincoln | Ira Clark | |
| Jack Reacher | Emerson | |
| 2013 | The Butler | Louis Gaines | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 2014 | Nightingale | Peter Snowden | Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatic Special Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
| Interstellar | School Principal | |
| Default | Atlas | |
| Selma | Martin Luther King Jr. | Black Reel Award for Best Actor African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Kermode Award for Best Actor NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Palm Springs International Film Festival Breakthrough Performance Award Nominated – Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Actor Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Nominated – Village Voice Film Poll Award for Best Actor Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor |
| A Most Violent Year | Lawrence | Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2015 | Captive | Brian Nichols | |
| Five Nights in Maine | Sherwin | |
| 2016 | Nina | Clifton Henderson | |
| Queen of Katwe | Robert Katende | Nominated—Evening Standard British Film Awards for Best ActorNominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for Best ActorNominated—NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor |
| A United Kingdom | Seretse Khama | |
| 2018 | The Cloverfield Paradox | Kiel | |
| A Wrinkle in Time | The It | Cameo |
| Gringo | Harold Soyinka | |
| 2019 | Don't Let Go | Detective Jack Radcliff | |
| 2020 | Come Away | Jack Littleton | |
| The Water Man | Amos Boone | Directorial debut |
| The Midnight Sky | Commander Tom Adewole | |
| 2021 | Chaos Walking | Aaron | Directed by Doug Liman |
| Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway | Nigel Basil-Jones | |
| 2022 | See How They Run | Mervyn Cocker-Norris | Directed by Tom George |
| 2023 | The Book of Clarence | John the Baptist | Directed by Jeymes Samuel |
| The After | Dayo | Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2024 Academy Awards. |
| 2024 | Role Play | Dave | Directed by Thomas Vincent |
| The Strange Case | Louis | Podcast Series |
| TBA | Solitary | Chris Newborn | Post-production |