Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#3648
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Paul Fix represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 41 years in, and Paul is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Paul Fix appears in 29 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Paul. To Kill a Mockingbird is the clearest case: a film rated 7.8 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 western, drama, history. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Sam Peckinpah, Andrew V. McLaglen, Michelangelo Antonioni and others, Paul Fix 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.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) as Judge Taylor · Giant (1956) as Horace Lynnton · El Dorado (1966) as Dr. Miller
Career snapshot
Ranked #3648 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
29
1932–1973
Career length
41 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.8
To Kill a Mockingbird
Average Nutevio score
6.6
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.0
To Kill a Mockingbird
Most frequent director
Howard Hawks
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Howard Hawks
Most common genre
Drama
15 titles
Average runtime
1h 48m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.0
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
1960s
7.1 average MV
The 1960s are where the work and the material meet. El Dorado, Nevada Smith, The Sons of Katie Elder — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1960s
7.1
Across 4 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1960s
7.3
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1930s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Prisoner of Shark Island, After the Thin Man, Scarface.
Most productive era
1940s
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 | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.82 films | 6.34 films | 6.64 films | 7.42 films | 6.73 films |
| Action | 7.11 film | 6.32 films | 6.23 films | — | — |
| Thriller | 7.11 film | — | 6.81 film | — | — |
| Comedy | 6.91 film | 6.52 films | — | — | — |
| Crime | 7.02 films | 6.21 film | — | — | — |
| Romance | — | 6.32 films | 6.01 film | — | — |
| Horror | — | 6.34 films | 6.81 film | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1932Scarface
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Hood with Gaffney (uncredited).
Highest rated performance · Career peak
7.8 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
1973Cahill: United States Marshal
The current state of the argument, as Old Man.
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.
29 of 29 films
as Cafe Owner
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
as Dr. Miller
Directed by Howard Hawks
as Horace Lynnton
Directed by George Stevens
as Hood with Gaffney (uncredited)
Directed by Howard Hawks
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
Judge Taylor
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Performance score7.6
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Judge Taylor gives Paul Fix a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Cafe Owner
Zabriskie Point (1970)
Performance score7.4
Zabriskie Point asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Cafe Owner is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Dr. Miller
El Dorado (1966)
Performance score7.2
El Dorado asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dr. Miller is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Horace Lynnton
Giant (1956)
Performance score7.2
Giant asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Horace Lynnton 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 Judge Taylor
Start here. To Kill a Mockingbird is the clearest statement of what Paul Fix does — accessible, 129 minutes, and rated 7.8 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Paul 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.
Scarface (1932)
Keeps the drama register of To Kill a Mockingbird but asks for a colder reading of it.
Giant (1956)
Keeps the drama register of Scarface but asks for a colder reading of it.
El Dorado (1966)
Keeps the western register of Giant but asks for a colder reading of it.
Zabriskie Point (1970)
Keeps the drama register of El Dorado but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Howard Hawks
Director
3 films together
Notably El Dorado
Arthur Lubin
Director
2 films together
Notably Hold That Ghost
Edward Ludwig
Director
2 films together
Notably The Fighting Seabees
John Ford
Director
2 films together
Notably She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
John Farrow
Director
2 films together
Notably Hondo
Henry Hathaway
Director
2 films together
Notably The Sons of Katie Elder
W.S. Van Dyke
Director
1 film together
Notably After the Thin Man
George Marshall
Director
1 film together
Notably The Ghost Breakers
Ernest B. Schoedsack
Director
1 film together
Notably Dr. Cyclops
Albert S. Rogell
Director
1 film together
Notably In Old Oklahoma
Edwin L. Marin
Director
1 film together
Notably Tall in the Saddle
James Edward Grant
Director
1 film together
Notably Angel and the Badman
George Waggner
Director
1 film together
Notably The Fighting Kentuckian
Nicholas Ray
Director
1 film together
Notably Johnny Guitar
William A. Wellman
Director
1 film together
Notably Blood Alley
Mervyn LeRoy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bad Seed
George Stevens
Director
1 film together
Notably Giant
Josef von Sternberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Jet Pilot
Robert Mulligan
Director
1 film together
Notably To Kill a Mockingbird
Michelangelo Antonioni
Director
1 film together
Notably Zabriskie Point
Andrew V. McLaglen
Director
1 film together
Notably Cahill: United States Marshal
Sam Peckinpah
Director
1 film together
Notably Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Howard Hawks
Director
3 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
El DoradoHenry Hathaway
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
The Sons of Katie ElderJohn Ford
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
She Wore a Yellow RibbonJohn Farrow
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
HondoArthur Lubin
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
Hold That GhostEdward Ludwig
Director
2 films together · 6.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Fighting SeabeesRobert Mulligan
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
To Kill a MockingbirdGeorge Stevens
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GiantMichelangelo Antonioni
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Zabriskie PointNicholas Ray
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Johnny GuitarSam Peckinpah
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pat Garrett & Billy the KidW.S. Van Dyke
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
After the Thin ManMervyn LeRoy
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 Bad SeedJames Edward Grant
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Angel and the BadmanEdwin L. Marin
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tall in the SaddleGeorge Marshall
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 Ghost BreakersAlbert S. Rogell
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In Old OklahomaErnest B. Schoedsack
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dr. CyclopsAndrew V. McLaglen
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cahill: United States MarshalWilliam A. Wellman
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blood AlleyGeorge Waggner
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Fighting KentuckianJosef von Sternberg
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jet PilotSix 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
To Kill a Mockingbird
as Judge Taylor
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
The Prisoner of Shark Island
as David Herold
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
To Kill a Mockingbird
as Judge Taylor
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Scarface
as Hood with Gaffney (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
To Kill a Mockingbird
as Judge Taylor
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. Paul Fix 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
41 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
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
To Kill a Mockingbird
as Judge Taylor
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Scarface
as Hood with Gaffney (uncredited)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Wake of the Red Witch
as Antonio 'Ripper' Arrezo
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Black Friday
as William Kane
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Scarface
as Hood with Gaffney (uncredited)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Blood Alley
as Mr. Tso
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
as Pete Maxwell
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Jet Pilot
as Maj. Rexford
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Morgan Freeman
Built a career in the same territory: action and crime
Robert Downey Jr.
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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