Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1908
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Alan Arkin represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 55 years in, and Alan is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Alan Arkin appears in 32 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Alan. Edward Scissorhands is the clearest case: a film rated 7.9 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for science fiction, comedy, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Kyle Balda, Chris Smith, Peter Berg and others, Alan Arkin helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) as Bill · Little Miss Sunshine (2006) as Edwin Hoover · Gattaca (1997) as Detective Hugo
Career snapshot
Ranked #1908 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
32
1967–2022
Career length
55 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.9
Edward Scissorhands
Average Nutevio score
6.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.7
Edward Scissorhands
Most frequent director
Tim Burton
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Tim Burton
Most common genre
Comedy
19 titles
Average runtime
1h 45m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.2
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
7.0
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1960s
7.0 average MV
The 1960s are where the work and the material meet. Wait Until Dark — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1960s
7.0
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1960s
7.3
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1960s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Wait Until Dark.
Most productive era
2010s
11 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | — | — | 7.05 films | 6.65 films | 6.74 films | — |
| Action | — | — | — | — | 6.32 films | 6.21 film | 6.61 film |
| Thriller | 7.01 film | — | — | — | 6.33 films | 6.82 films | 6.61 film |
| Comedy | — | 6.61 film | — | 6.12 films | 6.76 films | 6.48 films | 6.92 films |
| Crime | 7.01 film | — | — | 7.21 film | 6.11 film | 6.53 films | 7.31 film |
| Romance | — | — | — | 7.91 film | 6.02 films | — | — |
| Horror | 7.01 film | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1967Wait Until Dark
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Roat / Roat Jr. / Roat Sr..
Highest rated performance · Career peak
7.9 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2022"Sr."
The current state of the argument, as Self.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
32 of 32 films
as Lester Siegel
Directed by Ben Affleck
as Detective Hugo
Directed by Andrew Niccol
as Wild Knuckles (voice)
Directed by Kyle Balda
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Lester Siegel
Argo (2012)
Performance score7.7
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Lester Siegel gives Alan Arkin a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Edwin Hoover
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Performance score7.7
Little Miss Sunshine asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Edwin Hoover is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Detective Hugo
Gattaca (1997)
Performance score7.7
Gattaca asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Detective Hugo is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Bill
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Performance score7.7
Edward Scissorhands asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Bill is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Lester Siegel
Start here. Argo is the clearest statement of what Alan Arkin does — accessible, 120 minutes, and rated 7.4 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Alan at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Keeps the drama register of Argo but asks for a colder reading of it.
Gattaca (1997)
Keeps the drama register of Edward Scissorhands but asks for a colder reading of it.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Keeps the drama register of Gattaca but asks for a colder reading of it.
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Keeps the comedy register of Little Miss Sunshine but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Peter Segal
Director
2 films together
Notably Get Smart
Tim Burton
Director
2 films together
Notably Edward Scissorhands
Terence Young
Director
1 film together
Notably Wait Until Dark
Mike Nichols
Director
1 film together
Notably Catch-22
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Director
1 film together
Notably The Last Unicorn
Joe Johnston
Director
1 film together
Notably The Rocketeer
James Foley
Director
1 film together
Notably Glengarry Glen Ross
Rob Reiner
Director
1 film together
Notably North
Andrew Niccol
Director
1 film together
Notably Gattaca
Peter Kassovitz
Director
1 film together
Notably Jakob the Liar
Joe Roth
Director
1 film together
Notably America's Sweethearts
Chazz Palminteri
Director
1 film together
Notably Noel
Richard Loncraine
Director
1 film together
Notably Firewall
Jonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together
Notably Little Miss Sunshine
Gavin Hood
Director
1 film together
Notably Rendition
David Frankel
Director
1 film together
Notably Marley & Me
Rebecca Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
David Dobkin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Change-Up
James Bobin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Muppets
Jill Sprecher
Director
1 film together
Notably Thin Ice
Fisher Stevens
Director
1 film together
Notably Stand Up Guys
Ben Affleck
Director
1 film together
Notably Argo
Don Scardino
Director
1 film together
Notably The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Craig Gillespie
Director
1 film together
Notably Million Dollar Arm
Jessie Nelson
Director
1 film together
Notably Love the Coopers
Zach Braff
Director
1 film together
Notably Going in Style
Peter Berg
Director
1 film together
Notably Spenser Confidential
Chris Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably "Sr."
Kyle Balda
Director
1 film together
Notably Minions: The Rise of Gru
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Tim Burton
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Edward ScissorhandsPeter Segal
Director
2 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Get SmartJonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Little Miss SunshineAndrew Niccol
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GattacaBen Affleck
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ArgoKyle Balda
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Minions: The Rise of GruDavid Frankel
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Marley & MeJames Foley
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Glengarry Glen RossArthur Rankin, Jr.
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Last UnicornTerence Young
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wait Until DarkZach Braff
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Going in StyleCraig Gillespie
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Million Dollar ArmJames Bobin
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The MuppetsChris Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
"Sr."Peter Berg
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Spenser ConfidentialPeter Kassovitz
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jakob the LiarMike Nichols
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Catch-22Jill Sprecher
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Thin IceGavin Hood
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RenditionJoe Johnston
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The RocketeerDavid Dobkin
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Change-UpJessie Nelson
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Love the CoopersFisher Stevens
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Stand Up GuysRebecca Miller
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Private Lives of Pippa LeeRichard Loncraine
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FirewallChazz Palminteri
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NoelDon Scardino
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Incredible Burt WonderstoneJoe Roth
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
America's SweetheartsRob Reiner
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NorthSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Argo
as Lester Siegel
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Alan Arkin has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
55 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
19 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Glengarry Glen Ross
as George Aaronow
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Glengarry Glen Ross
as George Aaronow
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Edward Scissorhands
as Bill
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Get Smart
as The Chief
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Jakob the Liar
as Max Frankfurter
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
North
as Judge Buckle
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
David Krumholtz
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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