Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#349
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Glenn Close represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 43 years in, and Glenn is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Glenn Close appears in 42 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Glenn. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is the clearest case: a film rated 8.1 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 Andy Serkis, Javier Ambrossi, Francis Lawrence and others, Glenn Close 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.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024) as Self · Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as Nova Prime · Tarzan (1999) as Kala (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #349 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
42
1983–2026
Career length
43 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Average Nutevio score
5.9
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.1
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Most frequent director
Ron Howard
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Ron Howard
Most common genre
Comedy
16 titles
Average runtime
1h 44m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.9
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
6.6
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
1980s
6.9 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Dangerous Liaisons, Fatal Attraction, The Big Chill — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
6.9
Across 3 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1980s
7.0
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. Dangerous Liaisons, Fatal Attraction, The Big Chill.
Most productive era
2020s
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 | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.93 films | 6.64 films | 5.73 films | — | 6.86 films |
| Action | — | 6.51 film | — | 7.23 films | 4.84 films |
| Thriller | 6.81 film | 6.51 film | — | 7.11 film | 6.63 films |
| Comedy | 6.81 film | 6.55 films | 5.84 films | 5.81 film | 5.25 films |
| Crime | — | — | 6.31 film | — | 6.32 films |
| Romance | 6.92 films | 6.91 film | 5.32 films | — | — |
| Horror | — | — | 5.71 film | — | 6.01 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1983The Big Chill
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Sarah Cooper.
Highest rated performance
8.1 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Career peak
2024Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
The current state of the argument, as Drusilla Sickle.
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.
42 of 42 films
as Grandmother
Directed by Charlie McDowell
as Nova Prime
Directed by James Gunn
as Kala (voice)
Directed by Kevin Lima
as Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil
Directed by Stephen Frears
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
Self
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Glenn Close a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Grandmother
The Summer Book (2025)
Performance score7.9
The Summer Book asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Grandmother is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Nova Prime
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Performance score7.8
Guardians of the Galaxy asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Nova Prime is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Kala (voice)
Tarzan (1999)
Performance score7.8
Tarzan asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Kala (voice) 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 Self
Start here. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story is the clearest statement of what Glenn Close does — accessible, 104 minutes, and rated 8.1 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Glenn 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.
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
A deliberate change of key after Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Tarzan (1999)
A deliberate change of key after Dangerous Liaisons — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Keeps the adventure register of Tarzan but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Summer Book (2025)
A deliberate change of key after Guardians of the Galaxy — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Ron Howard
Director
2 films together
Notably Hillbilly Elegy
Lawrence Kasdan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Big Chill
Adrian Lyne
Director
1 film together
Notably Fatal Attraction
Stephen Frears
Director
1 film together
Notably Dangerous Liaisons
Franco Zeffirelli
Director
1 film together
Notably Hamlet
Steven Spielberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Hook
Bille August
Director
1 film together
Notably The House of the Spirits
Tim Burton
Director
1 film together
Notably Mars Attacks!
Stephen Herek
Director
1 film together
Notably 101 Dalmatians
Wolfgang Petersen
Director
1 film together
Notably Air Force One
Robert Altman
Director
1 film together
Notably Cookie's Fortune
Kevin Lima
Director
1 film together
Notably Tarzan
James Ivory
Director
1 film together
Notably Le Divorce
Frank Oz
Director
1 film together
Notably The Stepford Wives
Lajos Koltai
Director
1 film together
Notably Evening
James Gunn
Director
1 film together
Notably Guardians of the Galaxy
Duncan Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Warcraft
Lawrence Sher
Director
1 film together
Notably Father Figures
Billy Corben
Director
1 film together
Notably 537 Votes
Eric Darnell
Director
1 film together
Notably Baba Yaga
Jeffrey Schwarz
Director
1 film together
Notably Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
Lonny Price
Director
1 film together
Notably Show of Titles
Rodrigo García
Director
1 film together
Notably Four Good Days
Tom Harper
Director
1 film together
Notably Heart of Stone
Lee Daniels
Director
1 film together
Notably The Deliverance
Seth Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably Back in Action
Rian Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Charlie McDowell
Director
1 film together
Notably The Summer Book
Francis Lawrence
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Javier Ambrossi
Director
1 film together
Notably La Bola Negra
Andy Serkis
Director
1 film together
Notably Animal Farm
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Ron Howard
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Hillbilly ElegyJames Gunn
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Guardians of the GalaxyKevin Lima
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TarzanCharlie McDowell
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Summer BookRian Johnson
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out MysteryBilly Corben
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
537 VotesStephen Frears
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dangerous LiaisonsBille August
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The House of the SpiritsSteven Spielberg
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HookRodrigo García
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Four Good DaysAdrian Lyne
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fatal AttractionLawrence Kasdan
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 Big ChillTom Harper
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Heart of StoneTim Burton
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mars Attacks!Wolfgang Petersen
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Air Force OneFranco Zeffirelli
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HamletAndy Serkis
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Animal FarmSeth Gordon
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Back in ActionDuncan 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
WarcraftRobert Altman
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cookie's FortuneJavier Ambrossi
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
La Bola NegraJeffrey Schwarz
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Boulevard! A Hollywood StoryStephen Herek
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
101 DalmatiansLee Daniels
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 DeliveranceLawrence Sher
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Father FiguresLajos Koltai
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EveningFrank Oz
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Stepford WivesJames Ivory
Director
1 film together · 4.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Le DivorceFrancis Lawrence
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 Hunger Games: Sunrise on the ReapingLonny Price
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Show of TitlesEric Darnell
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Baba YagaSix 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
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Nova Prime
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Tarzan
as Kala (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Nova Prime
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Hook
as Gutless
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
as Self
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. Glenn Close 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
43 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
16 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
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
as Self
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Nova Prime
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Evening
as Mrs. Wittenborn
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
as Martha Delacroix
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Nova Prime
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Nova Prime
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Fatal Attraction
as Alexandra "Alex" Forrest
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Guardians of the Galaxy
as Nova Prime
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Bonnie Hunt
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Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
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Have your say
Community
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Reference
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