Justin Long stepped into showbiz with the 1999 comic sci-fi film ‘Galaxy Quest,’ directed by Dean Parisot. The film opened to positive reviews and was a financial success. In 2001, he starred as Darius "Darry" Jenner in the American horror film ‘Jeepers Creepers’ directed by Victor Salva. The film received mixed reviews from critics who praised its beginning but were critical towards the rest of the movie. Nevertheless, ‘Jeepers Creepers’ was a box office success, managing to gross over $59.37 million against a budget of $10 million. Long made a cameo appearance as ‘Darry Jenner’ in ‘Jeepers Creepers 2’ (2003).
The year 2004 saw the release of the American sports comedy film ‘Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story’ where Long was seen playing the role of ‘Justin Redman.’ The film received mostly positive reviews and was a massive box office success. He was next seen in films like ‘Herbie: Fully Loaded’ (2005), ‘The Sasquatch Gang’ (2006), ‘Dreamland’ (2006), and ‘Idiocracy’ (2006). In 2007, he appeared in the American action-thriller film ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ directed by Len Wiseman. The film saw positive reviews upon release with critics praising its story and action. ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ was also a massive commercial success and went on to become the highest-grossing installment in the ‘Die Hard series.’
Long continued to star in films like ‘Strange Wilderness’ (2008), ‘He's Just Not That Into You’ (2009), ‘Drag Me to Hell’ (2009), ‘Going the Distance’ (2010), ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked’ (2011), ‘Ask Me Anything’ (2014), ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip’ (2015), ‘Frank & Lola’ (2016), ‘Literally, Right Before Aaron’ (2017), and ‘The Wave’ (2019).
He was last seen in the 2021 American buddy comedy film ‘Lady of the Manor’ where he played the role of ‘Max Cameron.’ The film also marked the directorial debut of Long.