One reviewer said that she played her part in Notes on a Scandal (2006) with "petulance and angst",[7] while her performance as Lola Quincey in Atonement (2007) was called "impressive".

[8] She auditioned to play Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007),[9] though the role ultimately went to Evanna Lynch.

In 2009, Temple played Eema in the comedy Year One alongside Jack Black and Michael Cera, Anna in Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody, and Di Radfield in the film adaptation of Sheila Kohler's novel, Cracks.

In 2011, Temple appeared in Paul W. S. Anderson's 3D film adaptation of The Three Musketeers, as Anne of Austria, the Queen Consort of France.

That same year she played Dottie in Killer Joe, a role Temple received after sending an unsolicited audition tape to the movie's casting director.

James offered her the choice of playing either of the two female leads and she chose to portray Lily, citing that she connected with the character more and "wanted to set her free".

[20][21] Temple had a supporting role as Deborah Hussey in the true-crime film Black Mass (2015), which starred Johnny Depp; and played Jamie Vine, an A&R assistant for the fictional American Century record company, in the 2016 HBO series Vinyl.

[22] In 2018–2019, Temple played a focal role as the protagonist's daughter in the Bravo series Dirty John, which was later acquired by Netflix.