Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#7701
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
David Jensen represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 30 years in, and David is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
David Jensen appears in 31 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without David. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 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 horror, thriller, drama. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Gigi Saul Guerrero, Ron Howard, Scott Teems and others, David Jensen 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.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) as Doctor at Benjamin's Birth · Ocean's Eleven (2001) as Eye-in-the-Sky Technician #2 · The Best of Me (2014) as Dr. Pundt
Career snapshot
Ranked #7701 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
31
1991–2021
Career length
30 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.8
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Average Nutevio score
6.3
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.6
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Most frequent director
Gigi Saul Guerrero
1 film together
Longest collaboration
1×
With Gigi Saul Guerrero
Most common genre
Drama
17 titles
Average runtime
1h 48m
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
2000s
7.0 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reaping, Déjà Vu — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
7.0
Across 6 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.9
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Newton Boys, King of the Hill, Reservoir Dogs.
Most productive era
2010s
18 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 | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.83 films | 7.23 films | 6.69 films | 6.32 films |
| Action | 6.11 film | 6.91 film | 5.99 films | 6.01 film |
| Thriller | — | 7.23 films | 5.96 films | 4.92 films |
| Comedy | — | — | 6.34 films | — |
| Crime | 6.82 films | 7.61 film | 6.41 film | 5.31 film |
| Romance | — | 7.81 film | 6.84 films | — |
| Horror | — | 5.81 film | 6.11 film | 4.61 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio · Career peak
1991Reservoir Dogs
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Joe Cabot. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2008The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7.8 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
2021Bingo Hell
The current state of the argument, as Mario.
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.
31 of 31 films
as Joe Cabot
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
as Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
Directed by David Fincher
as Eye-in-the-Sky Technician #2
Directed by Unknown
as Dr. Pundt
Directed by Michael Hoffman
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Joe Cabot
Reservoir Dogs (1991)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Joe Cabot gives David Jensen a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Performance score7.6
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Doctor at Benjamin's Birth is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Eye-in-the-Sky Technician #2
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Performance score7.4
Ocean's Eleven asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Eye-in-the-Sky Technician #2 is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Dr. Pundt
The Best of Me (2014)
Performance score7.3
The Best of Me asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dr. Pundt 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 Joe Cabot
Start here. Reservoir Dogs is the clearest statement of what David Jensen does — accessible, 12 minutes, and rated 7.5 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet David 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.
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Keeps the crime register of Reservoir Dogs but asks for a colder reading of it.
A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
Same director as Ocean's Eleven, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Keeps the drama register of A Love Song for Bobby Long but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Best of Me (2014)
Keeps the romance register of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Quentin Tarantino
Director
1 film together
Notably Reservoir Dogs
Richard Linklater
Director
1 film together
Notably The Newton Boys
Gary Fleder
Director
1 film together
Notably Runaway Jury
Tony Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Déjà Vu
Stephen Hopkins
Director
1 film together
Notably The Reaping
David Fincher
Director
1 film together
Notably The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Glenn Ficarra
Director
1 film together
Notably I Love You Phillip Morris
Roger Donaldson
Director
1 film together
Notably Seeking Justice
Jonathan Liebesman
Director
1 film together
Notably Battle: Los Angeles
Peter Berg
Director
1 film together
Notably Battleship
Rian Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Looper
John Hyams
Director
1 film together
Notably Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
Evan Goldberg
Director
1 film together
Notably This Is the End
Michael Hoffman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Best of Me
Andrew Fleming
Director
1 film together
Notably Barefoot
Anne Fletcher
Director
1 film together
Notably Hot Pursuit
Mike Binder
Director
1 film together
Notably Black or White
Gary Ross
Director
1 film together
Notably Free State of Jones
Tom Wright
Director
1 film together
Notably Walkaway Joe
Scott Teems
Director
1 film together
Notably The Quarry
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Hillbilly Elegy
Gigi Saul Guerrero
Director
1 film together
Notably Bingo Hell
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
David Fincher
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonMichael Hoffman
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Best of MeQuentin Tarantino
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Reservoir DogsGary Fleder
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Runaway JuryRian Johnson
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LooperTony Scott
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Déjà VuGary Ross
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Free State of JonesMike Binder
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Black or WhiteRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hillbilly ElegyAndrew Fleming
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BarefootGlenn Ficarra
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I Love You Phillip MorrisEvan Goldberg
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
This Is the EndRichard Linklater
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 Newton BoysTom Wright
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Walkaway JoePeter Berg
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BattleshipRoger Donaldson
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Seeking JusticeJonathan Liebesman
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Battle: Los AngelesStephen Hopkins
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 ReapingAnne Fletcher
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hot PursuitJohn Hyams
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Universal Soldier: Day of ReckoningScott Teems
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The QuarryGigi Saul Guerrero
Director
1 film together · 4.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bingo HellSix 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
Ocean's Eleven
as Eye-in-the-Sky Technician #2
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
as Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
as Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Battleship
as NASA Director
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Reservoir Dogs
as Joe Cabot
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. David Jensen 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
30 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
17 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
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
as Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Ocean's Eleven
as Eye-in-the-Sky Technician #2
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Loving
as Judge Bazile
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Quarry
as Judge
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Déjà Vu
as Ferry Official
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Battleship
as NASA Director
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
I Love You Phillip Morris
as Judge
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
as Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
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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Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Robert Downey Jr.
Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Edward Norton
Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Zach Grenier
Works with the same directors — David Fincher
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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