[1][2] He has regularly appeared in films by French director Christophe Honoré, including Ma Mère, Dans Paris, Love Songs, The Beautiful Person and Making Plans for Lena.

He has also been in films directed by his father, Philippe Garrel, including Regular Lovers, Frontier of the Dawn, A Burning Hot Summer, and Jealousy.

He usually plays similar characters such as men in the middle of love triangles or important historical figures such as Jacques de Bascher in Saint Laurent, Jean-Luc Godard in Le Redoutable, and Alfred Dreyfus in An Officer and a Spy.

He is also known for working with different female directors such as Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Brigitte Sy, Maïwenn, and Nicole Garcia.

[1][3] Garrel has collaborated five times with filmmaker Christophe Honoré in the feature films Ma Mère (2004), an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Georges Bataille; Dans Paris (2006); Love Songs (2007);[9] The Beautiful Person (2008); Making Plans for Lena (2009); and Two Friends (2015).

He also appeared in Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's Actrices (2007), Rachid Hami's Choisir d'aimer (2008) and Philipe Garrel's Frontier of the Dawn (2008).

In 2011, Garrel directed the short film La Règle de trois, with Vincent Macaigne and Golshifteh Farahani, which he presented at the Locarno Festival.