Emile Davenport Hirsch made his acting debut in the "Romeo and Juliet" episode of the American television series ‘Kindred: The Embraced’ in 1996. He next appeared in several television series and shows such as ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’ (1997), ‘Players’ (1998), ‘Gargantua’ (1998), ‘Sabrina, the Teenage Witch’ (1999), and ‘ER’ (1999), before making his big-screen debut in the 2002 American comedy-drama film ‘The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys’ directed by Peter Care. The film was based on Chris Fuhrman's semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel of the same name and received positive reviews from critics. That same year, Hirsch also starred as ‘Sedgewick Bell’ in the drama film ‘The Emperor's Club’ for which he earned the ‘Young Artist Award’ nomination for ‘Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor.’
Thereafter, he starred in films like ‘The Mudge Boy’ (2003), ‘The Girl Next Door’ (2004), ‘Lords of Dogtown’ (2005), ‘Alpha Dog’ (2006), and ‘The Air I Breathe’ (2007). In 2007, he starred in the American biographical adventure drama film ‘Into the Wild’ directed by Sean Penn. He portrayed ‘Chris McCandless’ in the film which earned him several award nominations, including 2 ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ nominations. The following year, he appeared in the sports action-comedy film ‘Speed Racer.’ While the film failed to garner success at the time of its release, it amassed a strong cult following in the subsequent years.
In 2013, Hirsch portrayed ‘Gunner's mate Second Class Danny Dietz’ in the American biographical war film ‘Lone Survivor.’ The film received rave reviews upon release and was a major box office success. He next appeared in films like ‘Ten Thousand Saints’ (2015), ‘Vincent N Roxxy’ (2016), ‘I Am Heath Ledger’ (2017), ‘The Chinese Widow’ (2017), ‘An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn’ (2018), ‘The Outsider’ (2018), ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (2019), and ‘The Comeback Trail’ (2020). Hirsch was last seen in the 2021 neo-noir film ‘American Night’ directed by Alessio Della Valle. The film garnered positive reviews from critics. He is all set to appear in the upcoming American psychological thriller film ‘The Immaculate Room.’ He will also be seen in the upcoming horror film ‘Dig’ directed by K. Asher Levin.