In 2015, Shotwell made his acting debut with the war-drama Man Down, playing the son of Shia LaBeouf and Kate Mara's character; Dito Montiel directed the film.
[3] He then starred as the youngest member of a survivalist left-wing philosophers' family in the Matt Ross directed comedy-drama Captain Fantastic.
Shotwell soon gained further recognition as a young John Paul Getty III in the 2017 Ridley Scott thriller All the Money in the World.
[16] Commenting on Charlie Shotwell's performance in Variety, Peter Debruge said that "child actor (...) goes deep in creepy family portrait [a] remarkable new talent Pascual Sisto's feature debut offers an unsettling look at a kid with something missing where his conscience should be.
[18] In February 2022, a short film "Whiskey Pete" was released on YouTube, directed by Stefan Colson, in which Shotwell plays the kid.