Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#301
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Emma Stone works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Emma Stone appears in 34 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Emma. The Help is the clearest case: a film rated 8.3 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 romance, comedy, documentary. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Dave McCary, Morgan Neville, Ari Aster and others, Emma Stone 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 Help (2011) as Skeeter Phelan · Cruella (2021) as Estella / Cruella · La La Land (2016) as Mia
Career snapshot
Ranked #301 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
34
2007–2027
Career length
20 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
The Help
Average Nutevio score
6.6
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
The Help
Most frequent director
Dave McCary
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Dave McCary
Most common genre
Comedy
29 titles
Average runtime
1h 47m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.0
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
6.8 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres, The Favourite, Battle of the Sexes — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.8
Across 19 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.7
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. Zombieland, Paper Man, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
Most productive era
2010s
19 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 | 6.41 film | 7.110 films | 7.32 films |
| Action | — | 6.74 films | — |
| Thriller | — | 6.51 film | 7.31 film |
| Comedy | 6.66 films | 6.715 films | 6.28 films |
| Crime | — | 6.51 film | 7.32 films |
| Romance | 6.02 films | 6.95 films | 3.92 films |
| Horror | 7.41 film | — | 6.51 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2007Superbad
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Jules.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2011The Help
8.3 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
2027The Catch
The current state of the argument.
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.
34 of 34 films
as Skeeter Phelan
Directed by Tate Taylor
as Estella / Cruella
Directed by Craig Gillespie
as Mia
Directed by Damien Chazelle
as Bella Baxter
Directed by Unknown
as Abigail
Directed by Unknown
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
Skeeter Phelan
The Help (2011)
Performance score8.7
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Skeeter Phelan gives Emma Stone a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Estella / Cruella
Cruella (2021)
Performance score8.6
Cruella asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Estella / Cruella is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Mia
La La Land (2016)
Performance score8.3
La La Land asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mia is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Bella Baxter
Poor Things (2023)
Performance score8.2
Poor Things asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Bella Baxter 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 Skeeter Phelan
Start here. The Help is the clearest statement of what Emma Stone does — accessible, 146 minutes, and rated 8.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Emma 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.
La La Land (2016)
Keeps the drama register of The Help but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Favourite (2018)
Keeps the comedy register of La La Land but asks for a colder reading of it.
Cruella (2021)
Keeps the comedy register of The Favourite but asks for a colder reading of it.
Poor Things (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of Cruella but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Will Gluck
Director
2 films together
Notably Easy A
Ruben Fleischer
Director
2 films together
Notably Zombieland
Marc Webb
Director
2 films together
Notably The Amazing Spider-Man
Woody Allen
Director
2 films together
Notably Irrational Man
Dave McCary
Director
2 films together
Notably My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres
Greg Mottola
Director
1 film together
Notably Superbad
Fred Wolf
Director
1 film together
Notably The House Bunny
Mark Waters
Director
1 film together
Notably Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Kieran Mulroney
Director
1 film together
Notably Paper Man
Glenn Ficarra
Director
1 film together
Notably Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Tate Taylor
Director
1 film together
Notably The Help
Kirk DeMicco
Director
1 film together
Notably The Croods
Brett Ratner
Director
1 film together
Notably Movie 43
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Director
1 film together
Notably Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Evan Goldberg
Director
1 film together
Notably The Interview
Cameron Crowe
Director
1 film together
Notably Aloha
Damien Chazelle
Director
1 film together
Notably La La Land
Jonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together
Notably Battle of the Sexes
Joel Crawford
Director
1 film together
Notably The Croods: A New Age
Craig Gillespie
Director
1 film together
Notably Cruella
Ari Aster
Director
1 film together
Notably Eddington
Morgan Neville
Director
1 film together
Notably Lorne
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Ruben Fleischer
Director
2 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
ZombielandMarc Webb
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Amazing Spider-ManWill Gluck
Director
2 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Easy AWoody Allen
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Irrational ManDave McCary
Director
2 films together · 3.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
My Favorite Shapes by Julio TorresTate Taylor
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The HelpCraig Gillespie
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
CruellaDamien Chazelle
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
La La LandAlejandro G. Iñárritu
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)Joel Crawford
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Croods: A New AgeGlenn Ficarra
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Crazy, Stupid, Love.Greg Mottola
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SuperbadKirk DeMicco
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The CroodsJonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Battle of the SexesAri Aster
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EddingtonMorgan Neville
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LorneEvan Goldberg
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 InterviewKieran Mulroney
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Paper ManMark Waters
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ghosts of Girlfriends PastFred Wolf
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 House BunnyCameron Crowe
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AlohaBrett Ratner
Director
1 film together · 5.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Movie 43Six degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Recognition
7 wins · 7 nominations
1 win · 6 nominations · latest 2024
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
3 wins · latest 2023
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
2 wins · latest 2024
as Actor
as Actor
1 win · latest 2016
as Actor
No wins yet · 1 nomination
as Actor
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
La La Land
as Mia
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
La La Land
as Mia
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 Help
as Skeeter Phelan
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Interview
as Self (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Help
as Skeeter Phelan
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. Emma Stone 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
20 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
29 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
The Help
as Skeeter Phelan
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Cruella
as Estella / Cruella
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
La La Land
as Mia
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Croods: A New Age
as Eep (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Help
as Skeeter Phelan
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
as Gwen Stacy
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Favourite
as Abigail
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Movie 43
as Veronica (segment "Veronica")
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
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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