Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#391
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Justin Theroux represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 26 years in, and Justin is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Justin Theroux appears in 26 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Justin. Joker is the clearest case: a film rated 8.4 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 comedy, drama, horror. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with David Frankel, Tim Burton, Justine Bateman and others, Justin Theroux 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.
Joker (2019) as Ethan Chase (uncredited) · Mulholland Drive (2001) as Adam · American Psycho (2000) as Timothy Bryce
Career snapshot
Ranked #391 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
26
2000–2026
Career length
26 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.4
Joker
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.1
Joker
Most frequent director
Ben Stiller
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Ben Stiller
Most common genre
Comedy
14 titles
Average runtime
1h 52m
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
6.4
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
6.4 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Joker, On the Basis of Sex, Mute — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.4
Across 12 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.4
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. Tropic Thunder, The Ten, Inland Empire.
Most productive era
2010s
12 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 | 7.53 films | 7.82 films | 7.02 films |
| Action | 6.13 films | 6.37 films | — |
| Thriller | 7.14 films | 6.83 films | 5.61 film |
| Comedy | 5.95 films | 5.96 films | 4.73 films |
| Crime | 6.82 films | 7.42 films | — |
| Romance | — | 5.42 films | — |
| Horror | 7.01 film | — | 6.32 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2000American Psycho
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Timothy Bryce.
Career peak
2001Mulholland Drive
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2019Joker
8.4 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
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.
26 of 26 films
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
Directed by Todd Phillips
as Adam
Directed by David Lynch
as Timothy Bryce
Directed by Mary Harron
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
Ethan Chase (uncredited)
Joker (2019)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Ethan Chase (uncredited) gives Justin Theroux a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Adam
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Performance score8.1
Mulholland Drive asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Adam is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Timothy Bryce
American Psycho (2000)
Performance score7.9
American Psycho asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Timothy Bryce is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Mel Wulf
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
Performance score7.6
On the Basis of Sex asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mel Wulf 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 Ethan Chase (uncredited)
Start here. Joker is the clearest statement of what Justin Theroux does — accessible, 122 minutes, and rated 8.4 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Justin 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.
American Psycho (2000)
Keeps the crime register of Joker but asks for a colder reading of it.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Keeps the drama register of American Psycho but asks for a colder reading of it.
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
Keeps the drama register of Mulholland Drive but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)
Keeps the drama register of On the Basis of Sex but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Ben Stiller
Director
3 films together
Notably Tropic Thunder
David Lynch
Director
2 films together
Notably Mulholland Drive
David Wain
Director
2 films together
Notably Wanderlust
Mary Harron
Director
1 film together
Notably American Psycho
Danny DeVito
Director
1 film together
Notably Duplex
McG
Director
1 film together
Notably Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
Michael Mann
Director
1 film together
Notably Miami Vice
Tom McGrath
Director
1 film together
Notably Megamind
David Gordon Green
Director
1 film together
Notably Your Highness
Tate Taylor
Director
1 film together
Notably The Girl on the Train
Charlie Bean
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lego Ninjago Movie
Rian Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Susanna Fogel
Director
1 film together
Notably The Spy Who Dumped Me
Travis Knight
Director
1 film together
Notably Bumblebee
Duncan Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Mute
Mimi Leder
Director
1 film together
Notably On the Basis of Sex
Todd Phillips
Director
1 film together
Notably Joker
John Lee
Director
1 film together
Notably False Positive
Justine Bateman
Director
1 film together
Notably Violet
Tim Burton
Director
1 film together
Notably Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
David Frankel
Director
1 film together
Notably The Devil Wears Prada 2
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Ben Stiller
Director
3 films together · 5.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Tropic ThunderDavid Lynch
Director
2 films together · 7.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Mulholland DriveDavid Wain
Director
2 films together · 5.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
WanderlustTodd Phillips
Director
1 film together · 8.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
JokerMary Harron
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
American PsychoDavid Frankel
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 Devil Wears Prada 2Mimi Leder
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
On the Basis of SexRian Johnson
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Star Wars: The Last JediTom McGrath
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MegamindTim Burton
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceJustine Bateman
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
VioletTravis Knight
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BumblebeeCharlie Bean
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 Lego Ninjago MovieSusanna Fogel
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 Spy Who Dumped MeTate Taylor
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 Girl on the TrainDanny DeVito
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DuplexMichael Mann
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Miami ViceJohn Lee
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
False PositiveDuncan Jones
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MuteMcG
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Charlie's Angels: Full ThrottleDavid Gordon Green
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Your HighnessSix 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
Joker
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
On the Basis of Sex
as Mel Wulf
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Joker
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Tropic Thunder
as UH-1 Huey Gunner (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Joker
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
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. Justin Theroux 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
26 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
14 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
Mulholland Drive
as Adam
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Joker
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Your Highness
as Leezar
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Inland Empire
as Devon Berk / Billy Side
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Joker
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Bumblebee
as Dropkick (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Lego Ninjago Movie
as Garmadon (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Joker
as Ethan Chase (uncredited)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
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
Ted Levine
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Robert De Niro
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Have your say
Community
Which Justin Theroux performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
Join the conversation
Reference
Continue exploring
Trending performers
Directors they work with
Collections to read next
