Movies like You were born to do this (2025)
The best movies like You were born to do this (2025) are A Different Man (2024), The Lady in the Van (2015) and A Thousand Words (2012). If You were born to do this hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)7.4/10 from 13,997 votes
- NewestThe Smashing Machine (2025)Released 2025
A Different Man (2024)
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady in the Van (2015)
The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Thousand Words (2012)
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollywood Shuffle (1987)
Aspiring actor and hot-dog stand employee Bobby Taylor catches the ire of his grandmother for auditioning for a role in the regrettably titled exploitation film "Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge." When Tinseltown Studios casts Taylor in the title role, he has a series of conflicted dreams satirizing African-American stereotypes in Hollywood, and must reconcile his career goals with his desire to remain a positive role model for his little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeriously Single (2020)
While her free-living bestie urges her to embrace singlehood, a commitment-craving social media expert can't stop following the life of a former love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Joined on his quest by his best friend Mont, Jimmie searches for belonging in a rapidly changing city that seems to have left them behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaps to the Stars (2014)
Driven by an intense need for fame and validation, members of a dysfunctional Hollywood family chase celebrity, one another, and the relentless ghosts of their pasts. Their fragile ecosystem is disrupted by the arrival of Agatha, the scarred and estranged pyromaniac daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStuart: A Life Backwards (2007)
Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBox of Moonlight (1996)
Al Fountain, a middle-aged electrical engineer, is on the verge of a mid-life crisis, when he decides to take his time coming home from a business trip, rents a car, and heads out looking for a lake he remembers from his childhood. But his wandering takes him into the life of Kid, a free-spirited young man who helps Al escape from the routine of everyday life and find freedom to enjoy himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTaking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMay (2003)
A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwingers (1996)
After 6 years together, Mike's girlfriend leaves him, so he travels to LA to be a star. Six months on, he's still not doing very well— so a few of his friends try to reconnect him to the social scene and hopefully help him forget his failed relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hoax (2006)
In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wave (2019)
A man on the verge of a promotion takes a mysterious hallucinogenic drug that begins to tear down his reality and expose his life for what it really is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Smashing Machine (2025)
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Butcher Boy (1998)
Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWish I Was Here (2014)
Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, is 35 years old and still trying to find a purpose for his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he'd always dreamed he'd be as a little kid. When his ailing father can no longer afford to pay for private school for his two kids and the only available public school is on its last legs, Aidan reluctantly agrees to attempt to home-school them. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like You were born to do this and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like You were born to do this?
The closest matches to You were born to do this are A Different Man (2024), The Lady in the Van (2015) and A Thousand Words (2012). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after You were born to do this?
Start with A Different Man (2024), the closest match to You were born to do this.
What is the highest-rated movie like You were born to do this?
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), rated 7.4/10 by 13,997 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like You were born to do this?
The Smashing Machine (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to You were born to do this chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside You were born to do this, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.