Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#232
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Maurice LaMarche represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 33 years in, and Maurice is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Maurice LaMarche appears in 23 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Maurice. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 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 mystery, comedy, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Byron Howard, David Silverman, Nancy Hower and others, Maurice LaMarche 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.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2013) as Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice) · Zootopia (2016) as Mr. Big (voice) · Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O. (2006) as Father (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #232 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
23
1992–2025
Career length
33 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Average Nutevio score
6.9
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.1
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Most frequent director
Byron Howard
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Byron Howard
Most common genre
Comedy
19 titles
Average runtime
1h 27m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.1
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
6.8
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
7.6 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
7.6
Across 9 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
7.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. As Good as It Gets, Space Jam, Cool World.
Most productive era
2010s
9 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 | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.41 film | 6.51 film | — | — |
| Action | — | 8.01 film | 7.73 films | — |
| Thriller | — | 6.62 films | — | — |
| Comedy | 6.73 films | 6.65 films | 7.56 films | 6.35 films |
| Romance | 7.41 film | — | — | 6.81 film |
| Horror | — | 6.71 film | — | 4.51 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1992Cool World
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Interrogator #2 / Mash / drunken bar patron / Dr. Vincent "Vegas Vinnie" Whiskers / Jack Deebs (super hero version) (voice).
Career peak
2006Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O.
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2013Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
8.1 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
2025Zootopia 2
The current state of the argument, as Mr. Big (voice).
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.
23 of 23 films
as Mr. Big (voice)
Directed by Byron Howard
as Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice)
Directed by Jay Oliva
as Father (voice)
Directed by Tom Warburton
as Vincent Van Ghoul / Bernie Alan / Vance Linklater (voice)
Directed by Cecilia Aranovich
as Archambault (voice)
Directed by Heather A. Maxwell
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
Mr. Big (voice)
Zootopia (2016)
Performance score7.8
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Mr. Big (voice) gives Maurice LaMarche a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2013)
Performance score7.8
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Father (voice)
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O. (2006)
Performance score7.8
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O. asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Father (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Vincent Van Ghoul / Bernie Alan / Vance Linklater (voice)
Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)
Performance score7.7
Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Vincent Van Ghoul / Bernie Alan / Vance Linklater (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 Mr. Big (voice)
Start here. Zootopia is the clearest statement of what Maurice LaMarche does — accessible, 109 minutes, and rated 8.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Maurice 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.
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O. (2006)
Keeps the comedy register of Zootopia but asks for a colder reading of it.
Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012)
Keeps the mystery register of Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O. but asks for a colder reading of it.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2013)
Keeps the mystery register of Big Top Scooby-Doo! but asks for a colder reading of it.
Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)
Keeps the mystery register of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Jay Oliva
Director
2 films together
Notably Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
David Silverman
Director
2 films together
Notably The Good, the Bart, and the Loki
Byron Howard
Director
2 films together
Notably Zootopia
Ralph Bakshi
Director
1 film together
Notably Cool World
Joe Pytka
Director
1 film together
Notably Space Jam
James L. Brooks
Director
1 film together
Notably As Good as It Gets
Tuck Tucker
Director
1 film together
Notably Hey Arnold! The Movie
Jon Favreau
Director
1 film together
Notably Elf
Tom Warburton
Director
1 film together
Notably Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O.
Steve Oedekerk
Director
1 film together
Notably Barnyard
Matthew O'Callaghan
Director
1 film together
Notably Open Season 2
Chuck Patton
Director
1 film together
Notably Dead Space: Downfall
Heather A. Maxwell
Director
1 film together
Notably Big Top Scooby-Doo!
Chris Buck
Director
1 film together
Notably Frozen
Raymie Muzquiz
Director
1 film together
Notably Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie
Phil Johnston
Director
1 film together
Notably Ralph Breaks the Internet
Cecilia Aranovich
Director
1 film together
Notably Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost
Nancy Hower
Director
1 film together
Notably Zoey 102
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Jay Oliva
Director
2 films together · 7.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Batman: The Dark Knight ReturnsByron Howard
Director
2 films together · 7.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
ZootopiaDavid Silverman
Director
2 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Good, the Bart, and the LokiTom Warburton
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O.Cecilia Aranovich
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th GhostRaymie Muzquiz
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hey Arnold! The Jungle MovieHeather A. Maxwell
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Big Top Scooby-Doo!Chris Buck
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FrozenJames L. Brooks
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
As Good as It GetsPhil Johnston
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ralph Breaks the InternetJoe Pytka
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Space JamNancy Hower
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Zoey 102Chuck Patton
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dead Space: DownfallJon Favreau
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ElfTuck Tucker
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hey Arnold! The MovieSteve Oedekerk
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BarnyardMatthew O'Callaghan
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Open Season 2Ralph Bakshi
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cool WorldSix 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
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
as Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Frozen
as King (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
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
as Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
As Good as It Gets
as Fred Bishop - Simon's Dad on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Zootopia
as Mr. Big (voice)
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. Maurice LaMarche 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
33 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
19 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
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O.
as Father (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
as Dr. Willing / News Anchor (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Frozen
as King (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Zootopia 2
as Mr. Big (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O.
as Father (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation Z.E.R.O.
as Father (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Hey Arnold! The Movie
as Big Bob Pataki / Head of Security (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Frozen
as King (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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
Jamie Harris
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Elliot Page
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Have your say
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Reference
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