Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#2792
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Ben Foster represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 25 years in, and Ben is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Ben Foster appears in 36 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Ben. Emancipation is the clearest case: a film rated 7.8 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 action, comedy, drama. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Michael Dowse, Potsy Ponciroli, David Michôd and others, Ben Foster 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.
Emancipation (2022) as Jim Fassel · Hustle (2022) as Vince Merrick · Love, Antosha (2019) as Self
Career snapshot
Ranked #2792 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
36
2001–2026
Career length
25 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.8
Emancipation
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.8
Emancipation
Most frequent director
Michael Dowse
1 film together
Longest collaboration
1×
With Michael Dowse
Most common genre
Drama
23 titles
Average runtime
1h 52m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
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
6.5
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
2010s
6.5 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Love, Antosha, Leave No Trace, Galveston — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.5
Across 16 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.5
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Messenger, 3:10 to Yuma, 30 Days of Night.
Most productive era
2010s
16 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 | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.44 films | 6.411 films | 6.38 films |
| Action | 6.43 films | 6.65 films | 5.35 films |
| Thriller | 6.53 films | 6.45 films | 6.45 films |
| Comedy | 5.61 film | 5.21 film | 4.53 films |
| Crime | 6.53 films | 6.45 films | 6.73 films |
| Romance | 6.22 films | 6.33 films | — |
| Horror | 6.41 film | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2001Get Over It
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Berke Landers.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2022Emancipation
7.8 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
2026Motor City
The current state of the argument, as Reynolds.
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.
36 of 36 films
as Jim Fassel
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
as Vince Merrick
Directed by Jeremiah Zagar
as Jim V. Martin
Directed by David Michôd
as Tanner Howard
Directed by David Mackenzie
as Tom Eldridge
Directed by Brian Helgeland
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
Jim Fassel
Emancipation (2022)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Jim Fassel gives Ben Foster a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Vince Merrick
Hustle (2022)
Performance score7.7
Hustle asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Vince Merrick is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Jim V. Martin
Christy (2025)
Performance score7.6
Christy asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Jim V. Martin is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Tanner Howard
Hell or High Water (2016)
Performance score7.6
Hell or High Water asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Tanner Howard 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 Jim Fassel
Start here. Emancipation is the clearest statement of what Ben Foster does — accessible, 132 minutes, and rated 7.8 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Ben 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.
Hell or High Water (2016)
Keeps the drama register of Emancipation but asks for a colder reading of it.
Hustle (2022)
Keeps the drama register of Hell or High Water but asks for a colder reading of it.
Finestkind (2023)
Keeps the drama register of Hustle but asks for a colder reading of it.
Christy (2025)
Keeps the drama register of Finestkind but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Tommy O'Haver
Director
1 film together
Notably Get Over It
Asia Argento
Director
1 film together
Notably The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
Jonathan Hensleigh
Director
1 film together
Notably The Punisher
Nick Cassavetes
Director
1 film together
Notably Alpha Dog
Brett Ratner
Director
1 film together
Notably X-Men: The Last Stand
David Slade
Director
1 film together
Notably 30 Days of Night
James Mangold
Director
1 film together
Notably 3:10 to Yuma
Simon West
Director
1 film together
Notably The Mechanic
Fernando Meirelles
Director
1 film together
Notably 360
Baltasar Kormákur
Director
1 film together
Notably Contraband
John Krokidas
Director
1 film together
Notably Kill Your Darlings
Peter Berg
Director
1 film together
Notably Lone Survivor
David Lowery
Director
1 film together
Notably Ain't Them Bodies Saints
Stephen Frears
Director
1 film together
Notably The Program
David Mackenzie
Director
1 film together
Notably Hell or High Water
Duncan Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Warcraft
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Inferno
Scott Cooper
Director
1 film together
Notably Hostiles
Mélanie Laurent
Director
1 film together
Notably Galveston
Debra Granik
Director
1 film together
Notably Leave No Trace
Garret Price
Director
1 film together
Notably Love, Antosha
Barry Levinson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Survivor
Antoine Fuqua
Director
1 film together
Notably Emancipation
Tarik Saleh
Director
1 film together
Notably The Contractor
Jeremiah Zagar
Director
1 film together
Notably Hustle
Brian Helgeland
Director
1 film together
Notably Finestkind
David Michôd
Director
1 film together
Notably Christy
Potsy Ponciroli
Director
1 film together
Notably Motor City
Michael Dowse
Director
1 film together
Notably The Stunt Driver
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Antoine Fuqua
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EmancipationJeremiah Zagar
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HustleGarret Price
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Love, AntoshaPeter Berg
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lone SurvivorDavid Mackenzie
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hell or High WaterDavid Michôd
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ChristyJames Mangold
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
3:10 to YumaScott Cooper
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HostilesJohn Krokidas
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kill Your DarlingsBrian Helgeland
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FinestkindBarry Levinson
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The SurvivorDebra Granik
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Leave No TraceNick Cassavetes
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Alpha DogSimon West
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 MechanicBrett Ratner
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
X-Men: The Last StandTarik Saleh
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The ContractorDuncan Jones
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WarcraftStephen Frears
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The ProgramBaltasar Kormákur
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ContrabandDavid Slade
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
30 Days of NightJonathan Hensleigh
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The PunisherPotsy Ponciroli
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Motor CityMélanie Laurent
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GalvestonRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
InfernoDavid Lowery
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ain't Them Bodies SaintsAsia Argento
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All ThingsFernando Meirelles
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
360Tommy O'Haver
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Get Over ItMichael Dowse
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Stunt DriverSix 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
Emancipation
as Jim Fassel
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Christy
as Jim V. Martin
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Emancipation
as Jim Fassel
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Love, Antosha
as Self
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Emancipation
as Jim Fassel
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. Ben Foster 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
25 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.
Drama Legend
Awarded
23 catalogue titles in drama, 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
Emancipation
as Jim Fassel
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Finestkind
as Tom Eldridge
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Christy
as Jim V. Martin
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Inferno
as Bertrand Zobrist
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Hostiles
as Philip Wills
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
X-Men: The Last Stand
as Warren Worthington III / Angel
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Emancipation
as Jim Fassel
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Motor City
as Reynolds
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Morgan Freeman
Built a career in the same territory: action and crime
Robert Downey Jr.
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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