Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1955
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Joe Pesci represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 43 years in, and Joe is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Joe Pesci appears in 22 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Joe. Goodfellas is the clearest case: a film rated 9.3 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 documentary, drama, history. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Robert De Niro, Richard Donner, Christopher Cain and others, Joe Pesci 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.
Goodfellas (1990) as Tommy DeVito · GoodFellas (1990) as Tommy DeVito · Once Upon a Time in America (1984) as Frankie
Career snapshot
Ranked #1955 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
22
1980–2023
Career length
43 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
9.3
Goodfellas
Average Nutevio score
6.9
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.7
Goodfellas
Most frequent director
Martin Scorsese
4 films together
Longest collaboration
4×
With Martin Scorsese
Most common genre
Drama
10 titles
Average runtime
1h 59m
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
7.2
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
7.5 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Lethal Weapon 2, Moonwalker, Once Upon a Time in America — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
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
1980s
7.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
1 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Lethal Weapon 4, Gone Fishin', 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag.
Most productive era
1990s
13 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 | 8.12 films | 7.97 films | 6.41 film | — | — |
| Action | 7.11 film | 6.72 films | — | — | — |
| Thriller | 7.11 film | 6.93 films | 6.41 film | — | — |
| Comedy | — | 6.46 films | — | — | — |
| Crime | 7.82 films | 7.47 films | — | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1980Raging Bull
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Joey LaMotta.
First Nutevio masterpiece · Highest rated performance · Career peak
1990Goodfellas
The first film here to clear 9.0 on our scale — a threshold fewer than one film in ten reaches. 9.3 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
2023Yellow Door: '90s Lo-fi Film Club
The current state of the argument, as Joey LaMotta (archive footage) (uncredited).
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.
22 of 22 films
as Tommy DeVito
Directed by Martin Scorsese
as Tommy DeVito
Directed by Martin Scorsese
as Frankie
Directed by Sergio Leone
as Nicky Santoro
Directed by Martin Scorsese
as Joey LaMotta
Directed by Martin Scorsese
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 22 of 22 titles · 22 total credits · active 1980–2023
Yellow Door: '90s Lo-fi Film Club
2023 · Joey LaMotta (archive footage) (uncredited)
Making 'The Irishman'
2020 · Self
GoodFellas: Behind Closed Doors
2020 · Self (Archive Footage)
The Irishman: In Conversation
2019 · Self
The Movies That Made Us
2019 · TV · Self
The Good Shepherd
2006 · Joseph Palmi
Lethal Weapon 4
1998 · Leo Getz
Gone Fishin'
1997 · Joe Waters
8 Heads in a Duffel Bag
1997 · Tommy
Casino
1995 · Nicky Santoro
With Honors
1994 · Simon Wilder
A Bronx Tale
1993 · Carmine
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
1992 · Harry
My Cousin Vinny
1992 · Vinny Gambini
Lethal Weapon 3
1992 · Leo Getz
JFK
1991 · David Ferrie
Home Alone
1990 · Harry
GoodFellas
1990 · Tommy DeVito
Lethal Weapon 2
1989 · Leo Getz
Moonwalker
1988 · Mr. Big
Once Upon a Time in America
1984 · Frankie
Raging Bull
1980 · Joey LaMotta
The defining work
#1
Tommy DeVito
Goodfellas (1990)
Performance score9.4
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Tommy DeVito gives Joe Pesci a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Tommy DeVito
GoodFellas (1990)
Performance score8.8
GoodFellas asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Tommy DeVito is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Frankie
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Performance score8.3
Once Upon a Time in America asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Frankie is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Nicky Santoro
Casino (1995)
Performance score8.2
Casino asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Nicky Santoro 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 Tommy DeVito
Start here. Goodfellas is the clearest statement of what Joe Pesci does — accessible, 145 minutes, and rated 9.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Joe 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.
Raging Bull (1980)
Same director as Goodfellas, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Keeps the drama register of Raging Bull but asks for a colder reading of it.
GoodFellas (1990)
Keeps the crime register of Once Upon a Time in America but asks for a colder reading of it.
Casino (1995)
Same director as GoodFellas, 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.
Martin Scorsese
Director
4 films together
Notably Goodfellas
Richard Donner
Director
3 films together
Notably Lethal Weapon 2
Chris Columbus
Director
2 films together
Notably Home Alone
Robert De Niro
Director
2 films together
Notably A Bronx Tale
Sergio Leone
Director
1 film together
Notably Once Upon a Time in America
Jerry Kramer
Director
1 film together
Notably Moonwalker
Oliver Stone
Director
1 film together
Notably JFK
Jonathan Lynn
Director
1 film together
Notably My Cousin Vinny
Alek Keshishian
Director
1 film together
Notably With Honors
Tom Schulman
Director
1 film together
Notably 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag
Christopher Cain
Director
1 film together
Notably Gone Fishin'
Robert De Niro
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Ray Liotta
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Lorraine Bracco
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Paul Sorvino
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Frank Sivero
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Tony Darrow
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Mike Starr
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Frank Vincent
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Chuck Low
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Frank DiLeo
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Henny Youngman
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Gina Mastrogiacomo
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Martin Scorsese
Director
4 films together · 8.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 4 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
GoodfellasRichard Donner
Director
3 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Lethal Weapon 2Chris Columbus
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Home AloneRobert De Niro
Director
2 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
A Bronx TaleSergio Leone
Director
1 film together · 8.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Once Upon a Time in AmericaJonathan Lynn
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
My Cousin VinnyOliver Stone
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
JFKJerry Kramer
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MoonwalkerAlek Keshishian
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
With HonorsTom Schulman
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
8 Heads in a Duffel BagChristopher Cain
Director
1 film together · 4.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gone Fishin'Six degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Performer
Joe Pesci
Where this journey starts
Director
Martin Scorsese
4 collaborations, averaging 8.4
Film
Goodfellas
Their highest-rated film together (1990)
Performer
Robert De Niro
Shares the frame in Goodfellas
Film
Heat
Where Robert goes next, and where you can too
Performer
Al Pacino
Three steps from where you began
Recognition
1 win
1 win · latest 1991
Goodfellas
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Raging Bull
as Joey LaMotta
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Yellow Door: '90s Lo-fi Film Club
as Joey LaMotta (archive footage) (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
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. Joe Pesci has known it for a long time.”
“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”
“Funny how? Like I'm a clown? I amuse you?”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
| Nutevio Performer Score | 8.3 | 9.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Career ranking | #110 of 681 | #1 of 681 |
| Awards on file | Unknown | 3 recorded |
| Oscar wins | Unknown | 1 |
| Oscar nominations | Unknown | 5 |
| Average Nutevio score | 9.3 | 9.1 |
| Genres | Crime, Drama | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, History |
| Directors | Martin Scorsese | Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese |
| Performance DNA | Quiet performance, Drama, Screen presence | Transformation, Drama, Screen presence |
| Career timeline | 1990–1990 | 2006–2026 |
| Most iconic role | Tommy DeVito — Goodfellas | Odysseus — The Odyssey |
| Most rewatchable film | Goodfellas | Interstellar |
| Filmography | 1 catalogue film | 4 catalogue films |
Films together
Nothing in common in the library yet.
Shared directors
Martin Scorsese
Shared collections
Top 100 Crime Movies, Top 250 Movies of All Time, Crime Movies, Drama Movies
Collaborators in common
Martin Scorsese
Matt Damon edges ahead here — a higher floor across a comparable body of work.
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.
Drama Legend
Awarded
10 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
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
JFK
as David Ferrie
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
8 Heads in a Duffel Bag
as Tommy
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Lethal Weapon 3
as Leo Getz
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Goodfellas
as Tommy DeVito
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 4 Nutevio collections
Keep reading
From the magazine
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Leonardo DiCaprio
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: family and comedy
Have your say
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Reference
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