Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1797
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Paul Sorvino represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 50 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 Sorvino appears in 20 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Paul. 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 crime, thriller, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Warren Beatty, Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, Jonathan Hensleigh and others, Paul Sorvino 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 Paul Cicero · GoodFellas (1990) as Paul Cicero · Romeo + Juliet (1996) as Fulgencio Capulet
Career snapshot
Ranked #1797 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
20
1971–2021
Career length
50 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
9.3
Goodfellas
Average Nutevio score
6.1
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.7
Goodfellas
Most frequent director
Warren Beatty
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Warren Beatty
Most common genre
Drama
13 titles
Average runtime
1h 56m
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
7.0
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
1990s
7.1 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. Knock Off, Romeo + Juliet, Nixon — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.1
Across 8 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
6.9
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. Knock Off, Romeo + Juliet, Nixon.
Most productive era
1990s
8 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 | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.71 film | 6.71 film | 7.75 films | 6.62 films | 6.23 films | 2.61 film |
| Action | — | — | 5.41 film | — | 6.12 films | — |
| Thriller | — | — | 6.12 films | 6.51 film | 6.13 films | 5.11 film |
| Comedy | — | — | 6.21 film | 6.51 film | 5.62 films | 2.61 film |
| Crime | 6.71 film | — | 7.44 films | — | 6.81 film | 5.11 film |
| Romance | 6.71 film | 6.71 film | 6.91 film | 6.71 film | 5.81 film | — |
| Horror | — | — | — | 6.31 film | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Samuels.
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
The current state of the argument, as Uncle Carmine.
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.
20 of 20 films
as Paul Cicero
Directed by Martin Scorsese
as Paul Cicero
Directed by Martin Scorsese
as Buddy Stafford
Directed by Wayne Kramer
as Louis Fraina
Directed by Warren Beatty
as Rotti Largo
Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman
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 24 of 24 titles · 24 total credits · active 1971–2021
The Birthday Cake
2021 · Uncle Carmine
Most Guys Are Losers
2020 · Grandpa Paul
GoodFellas: Behind Closed Doors
2020 · Self
Welcome to Acapulco
2019 · Senator Campbell
Godfather of Harlem
2019 · TV · Frank Costello
Rules Don't Apply
2016 · Vernon Scott
Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders
2016 · TV · Dr. Dominico Scarpa
Careful What You Wish For
2015 · Sheriff Big Jack
Cosmos
2014 · TV · Augustin Mouchot (voice)
Kill the Irishman
2011 · Tony Salerno
Repo! The Genetic Opera
2008 · Rotti Largo
The Cooler
2003 · Buddy Stafford
Hey Arnold! The Movie
2002 · Scheck (voice)
Knock Off
1998 · Harry Johanson
Romeo + Juliet
1996 · Fulgencio Capulet
Nixon
1995 · Henry Kissinger
The Firm
1993 · Tommy Morolto (uncredited)
The Rocketeer
1991 · Eddie Valentine
GoodFellas
1990 · Paul Cicero
Dick Tracy
1990 · Lips Manlis
Law & Order
1990 · TV · Phil Cerreta
Moonlighting
1985 · TV · David Addison Sr.
Reds
1981 · Louis Fraina
The Panic in Needle Park
1971 · Samuels
The defining work
#1
Paul Cicero
Goodfellas (1990)
Performance score9.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Paul Cicero gives Paul Sorvino a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Paul Cicero
GoodFellas (1990)
Performance score8.6
GoodFellas asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Paul Cicero is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Buddy Stafford
The Cooler (2003)
Performance score6.9
The Cooler asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Buddy Stafford is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Louis Fraina
Reds (1981)
Performance score6.9
Reds asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Louis Fraina 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 Paul Cicero
Start here. Goodfellas is the clearest statement of what Paul Sorvino 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 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.
Reds (1981)
Keeps the drama register of Goodfellas but asks for a colder reading of it.
GoodFellas (1990)
Keeps the drama register of Reds but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Cooler (2003)
Keeps the drama register of GoodFellas but asks for a colder reading of it.
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
A deliberate change of key after The Cooler — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Warren Beatty
Director
3 films together
Notably Reds
Martin Scorsese
Director
2 films together
Notably Goodfellas
Jerry Schatzberg
Director
1 film together
Notably The Panic in Needle Park
Joe Johnston
Director
1 film together
Notably The Rocketeer
Sydney Pollack
Director
1 film together
Notably The Firm
Oliver Stone
Director
1 film together
Notably Nixon
Baz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together
Notably Romeo + Juliet
Tsui Hark
Director
1 film together
Notably Knock Off
Tuck Tucker
Director
1 film together
Notably Hey Arnold! The Movie
Wayne Kramer
Director
1 film together
Notably The Cooler
Darren Lynn Bousman
Director
1 film together
Notably Repo! The Genetic Opera
Jonathan Hensleigh
Director
1 film together
Notably Kill the Irishman
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Director
1 film together
Notably Careful What You Wish For
Robert De Niro
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Ray Liotta
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Joe Pesci
Actor
1 film together
Notably Goodfellas
Lorraine Bracco
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.
Warren Beatty
Director
3 films together · 6.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
RedsMartin Scorsese
Director
2 films together · 9.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
GoodfellasBaz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Romeo + JulietJonathan Hensleigh
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Kill the IrishmanSydney Pollack
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 FirmWayne Kramer
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The CoolerOliver Stone
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NixonJerry Schatzberg
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Panic in Needle ParkTuck 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 MovieJoe Johnston
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 RocketeerDarren Lynn Bousman
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Repo! The Genetic OperaElizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Careful What You Wish ForTsui Hark
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Knock OffSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
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 Paul Cicero
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Romeo + Juliet
as Fulgencio Capulet
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 Paul Cicero
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Firm
as Tommy Morolto (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Goodfellas
as Paul Cicero
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 Sorvino 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 | 8.2 | 9.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Career ranking | #206 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 | Paul Cicero — 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
50 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
13 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 Paul Cicero
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Goodfellas
as Paul Cicero
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Cooler
as Buddy Stafford
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Firm
as Tommy Morolto (uncredited)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Goodfellas
as Paul Cicero
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Kill the Irishman
as Tony Salerno
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Hey Arnold! The Movie
as Scheck (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Goodfellas
as Paul Cicero
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
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Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
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Reference
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