Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1779
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Frankie Faison represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 40 years in, and Frankie is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Frankie Faison appears in 28 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Frankie. Killing Castro is the clearest case: a film rated 10.0 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 drama, history, mystery. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Eif Rivera, Paul Weitz, Max Mayer and others, Frankie Faison 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.
Killing Castro (2026) · The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as Barney · The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as Barney
Career snapshot
Ranked #1779 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
28
1986–2026
Career length
40 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
10.0
Killing Castro
Average Nutevio score
6.8
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
10.0
Killing Castro
Most frequent director
Paul Weitz
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Paul Weitz
Most common genre
Drama
15 titles
Average runtime
1h 42m
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
7.3
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
1990s
7.5 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. The Thomas Crown Affair, Freejack, The Silence of the Lambs — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.5
Across 4 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
7.4
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1980s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Do the Right Thing, Coming to America, Mississippi Burning.
Most productive era
2000s
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 | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.52 films | 6.93 films | 6.54 films | — | 7.46 films |
| Action | — | 5.51 film | 5.73 films | — | — |
| Thriller | 7.22 films | 8.82 films | 6.44 films | — | 7.21 film |
| Comedy | 6.82 films | — | 6.25 films | — | 7.51 film |
| Crime | 7.22 films | 7.54 films | 6.74 films | — | 5.91 film |
| Romance | 6.82 films | 6.81 film | 6.35 films | — | — |
| Horror | 6.81 film | 9.21 film | 6.42 films | 5.41 film | 7.11 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1986The Money Pit
Where our catalogue meets this career, as James.
First Nutevio masterpiece
The first film here to clear 9.0 on our scale — a threshold fewer than one film in ten reaches.
Highest rated performance · Career peak · Most recent film
2026Killing Castro
10.0 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. 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.
28 of 28 films
Directed by Eif Rivera
as Barney
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Barney
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
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.
Showing 24 of 35 titles · 35 total credits · active 1986–2026
Killing Castro
2026 · Actor
Ripple
2025 · TV · Walter
Ballard
2025 · TV
Hello Tomorrow!
2023 · TV · Buck Manzell
Till
2022 · John Carthan
The Rookie: Feds
2022 · TV · Christopher 'Cutty' Clark
Redemption in Cherry Springs
2021 · Joe
Fatherhood
2021 · Mike
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
2021 · Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
The Timekeepers of Eternity
2021 · Don Gaffney (archive footage)
I'm Your Woman
2020 · Art
The Grudge
2019 · William Matheson
Marvel's Luke Cage
2016 · TV · Henry 'Pop' Hunter
Banshee
2013 · TV · Sugar Bates
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
2009 · Rhamus Twobellies
Adam
2009 · Harlan
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
2008 · Ticket Salesman
My Blueberry Nights
2007 · Travis
White Chicks
2004 · Chief Elliott Gordon
Highwaymen
2004 · Will Macklin
In Good Company
2004 · Corwin
Red Dragon
2002 · Barney
Showtime
2002 · Lt. Winship
The Wire
2002 · TV · Ervin Burrell
The defining work
#1
Killing Castro
Killing Castro (2026)
Performance score9.5
The performance the rest of the career is read through. The role gives Frankie Faison a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Barney
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Performance score8.8
The Silence of the Lambs asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Barney is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Barney
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Performance score8.2
The Silence of the Lambs asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Barney is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2021)
Performance score7.8
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. 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
Start here. Killing Castro is the clearest statement of what Frankie Faison does — accessible, 0 minutes, and rated 10.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Frankie 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.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
A deliberate change of key after Killing Castro — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Same director as The Silence of the Lambs, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2021)
Keeps the drama register of The Silence of the Lambs but asks for a colder reading of it.
Till (2022)
Same director as The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Paul Weitz
Director
3 films together
Notably Fatherhood
Jonathan Demme
Director
2 films together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Michael Mann
Director
1 film together
Notably Manhunter
Richard Benjamin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Money Pit
Alan Parker
Director
1 film together
Notably Mississippi Burning
John Landis
Director
1 film together
Notably Coming to America
Spike Lee
Director
1 film together
Notably Do the Right Thing
Geoff Murphy
Director
1 film together
Notably Freejack
John McTiernan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Thomas Crown Affair
Chris Weitz
Director
1 film together
Notably Down to Earth
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Hannibal
Brett Ratner
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Dragon
Robert Harmon
Director
1 film together
Notably Highwaymen
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Director
1 film together
Notably White Chicks
Wong Kar-Wai
Director
1 film together
Notably My Blueberry Nights
Peter Sollett
Director
1 film together
Notably Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Max Mayer
Director
1 film together
Notably Adam
Eif Rivera
Director
1 film together
Notably Killing Castro
Jodie Foster
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Scott Glenn
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Ted Levine
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Heald
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Brooke Smith
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Diane Baker
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Kasi Lemmons
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Tracey Walter
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Charles Napier
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Danny Darst
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Alex Coleman
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Paul Weitz
Director
3 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
FatherhoodJonathan Demme
Director
2 films together · 8.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Silence of the LambsEif Rivera
Director
1 film together · 10.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Killing CastroSpike Lee
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Do the Right ThingAlan Parker
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mississippi BurningKeenen Ivory Wayans
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
White ChicksBrett Ratner
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red DragonJohn Landis
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Coming to AmericaMax Mayer
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AdamRidley Scott
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HannibalJohn McTiernan
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 Thomas Crown AffairMichael Mann
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ManhunterRichard Benjamin
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 Money PitPeter Sollett
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Nick and Norah's Infinite PlaylistWong Kar-Wai
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
My Blueberry NightsRobert Harmon
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HighwaymenChris Weitz
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Down to EarthGeoff Murphy
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FreejackSix 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
The Silence of the Lambs
as Barney
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Killing Castro
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Killing Castro
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Money Pit
as James
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Killing Castro
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. Frankie Faison has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
| Nutevio Performer Score | 8.1 | 7.9 |
|---|---|---|
| Career ranking | #349 of 681 | #486 of 681 |
| Awards on file | Unknown | Unknown |
| Oscar wins | Unknown | Unknown |
| Oscar nominations | Unknown | Unknown |
| Average Nutevio score | 9.2 | 9.1 |
| Genres | Thriller, Crime, Horror | Crime, Thriller, Action, Horror |
| Directors | Jonathan Demme | Michael Mann, Jonathan Demme |
| Performance DNA | Intensity, Screen presence, Villain presence | Intensity, Villain presence, Screen presence |
| Career timeline | 1991–1991 | 1991–1995 |
| Most iconic role | Barney — The Silence of the Lambs | Jame Gumb — The Silence of the Lambs |
| Most rewatchable film | The Silence of the Lambs | The Silence of the Lambs |
| Filmography | 1 catalogue film | 2 catalogue films |
Films together
The Silence of the Lambs
Shared directors
jonathan-demme
Shared collections
Best Psychological Thrillers, Best Horror Movies, Horror Movies, Thriller Movies, Crime Movies
Collaborators in common
Jonathan Demme · Jodie Foster · Anthony Hopkins · Scott Glenn · Anthony Heald · Brooke Smith · Diane Baker · Kasi Lemmons
Our editors cannot separate them on the catalogue as it stands. Frankie Faison and Ted Levine score within a rounding error of each other.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
40 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
15 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
Killing Castro
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Silence of the Lambs
as Barney
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Killing Castro
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Mississippi Burning
as Eulogist
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Killing Castro
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
as Rhamus Twobellies
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
In Good Company
as Corwin
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Silence of the Lambs
as Barney
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
Across the library
Every Nutevio collection this name turns up in, and how high they rank there.
Collection footprint
Appears in 5 Nutevio collections
Keep reading
genre
Best Psychological Thrillers
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #1
Read the collectiongenre
Best Horror Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Horror Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Thriller Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #3
Read the collectiongenre
Crime Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs
Read the collectionFrom the magazine
If you like this performer
Ted Levine
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
Harry Dean Stanton
Works with the same directors — Ridley Scott
Robert De Niro
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Al Pacino
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Have your say
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