Jeff Daniels in the context of "Dumb and Dumber To"

Atticus Finch is a fictional character and the protagonist of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel Go Set a Watchman, written in the mid-1950s but not published until 2015. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. He represents the African-American man Tom Robinson in his trial where he is charged with rape of Mayella Ewell. Through his unwavering dedication to upholding justice and fighting for what is right, Atticus becomes an iconic symbol of moral integrity and justice. Lee based the character on her own father, Amasa Coleman Lee, an Alabama lawyer, who, like Atticus, represented black defendants in a highly publicized criminal trial. Book magazine's list of The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 names Finch as the seventh-best fictional character of 20th-century literature. In 2003, the American Film Institute voted Atticus Finch, as portrayed in an Academy Award–winning performance by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation, as the greatest hero of all American cinema. In the 2018 Broadway stage play adapted by Aaron Sorkin, Finch has been portrayed by various actors including Jeff Daniels, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Rhys Ifans, and Richard Thomas.

The Martian is a 2015 epic science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Drew Goddard. Based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel, and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film stars Matt Damon, alongside an ensemble cast featuring Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, and Mackenzie Davis. The film depicts an astronaut's struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind and NASA's efforts to return him to Earth.

Producer Simon Kinberg began developing the film after Fox optioned the novel in March 2013. Goddard, who adapted the novel into a screenplay, was initially attached to direct, but production was only approved after Scott replaced Goddard as director and Damon was cast as the main character. Filming began in November 2014 and lasted about 70 days, on a $108 million budget. Twenty sets were built on one of the largest sound stages in the world in Budapest, Hungary. Wadi Rum in Jordan was also used for exterior filming.

The Hours is a 2002 psychological period drama film directed by Stephen Daldry from a screenplay by David Hare, based on the 1998 novel by Michael Cunningham. It stars Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep as three women whose lives are connected by Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway. In 2001 New York, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) prepares an award party for her AIDS-stricken friend and poet, Richard (Ed Harris). In 1951 California, Laura Brown (Moore) is a pregnant housewife in an unhappy marriage. In 1920s England, Virginia Woolf (Kidman) battles with depression while writing Mrs Dalloway. Supporting roles are played by Ed Harris, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, Jeff Daniels, Miranda Richardson, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, and Eileen Atkins.

The Hours premiered in Los Angeles and New York City on Christmas Day 2002 and was given a limited release in the United States two days later, before expanding in January 2003. A commercial success, it grossed $108 million on a $25 million production budget, and received generally favorable reviews with praise towards the performances of the lead trio. At the 75th Academy Awards, it received nine nominations, including Best Picture, with Kidman winning Best Actress. The film and novel were adapted into an opera in 2022.