Sharlto Copley first appeared in the 2006 futuristic short film ‘Yellow’ directed by Neill Blomkamp. In 2009, he made his big-screen debut in the science fiction action film ‘District 9’ where he played the role of ‘Wikus van der Merwe.’ His performance in the film earned him several nominations, including a ‘MTV Movie Award’ nomination and a ‘Teen Choice Award’ nomination. The following year, he starred as ‘Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock’ in the Joe Carnahan-directed action thriller ‘The A-Team.’ The film opened to mixed reviews from critics and was a moderate success at the box office. A sequel was planned but the idea was later dropped after the film underperformed at the box office.
In 2013, Copley appeared in 4 movies, including ‘Elysium’ and ‘Oldboy.’ In 2014, he starred as ‘King Stefan’ in the dark fantasy adventure film ‘Maleficent’ directed by Robert Stromberg. While the film opened to mixed reviews from critics, it was a massive box office success and went on to become the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2014. The following year, he made his television debut in the American online streaming series, ‘Powers’ in which he played the role of ‘Christian Walker.‘ The series aired its final episode in 2016.
Copley has also starred in films like ‘Hardcore Henry’ (2016), ‘God: Serengeti’ (2017), ‘Gringo’ (2018), ‘God: City’ (2018), and ‘The Last Days of American Crime’ (2020). He was last seen in the role of ‘Ted Kaczynski’ in the 2021 American historical crime drama film ‘Ted K.’ The film received positive response from critics. Copley is all set to appear in the upcoming action thriller ‘Monkey Man’ directed by Dev Patel.