Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#2238
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Peter Sarsgaard represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 31 years in, and Peter is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Peter Sarsgaard appears in 39 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Peter. The Batman is the clearest case: a film rated 7.9 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 science fiction, horror, fantasy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Matt Reeves, Barry Levinson and others, Peter Sarsgaard 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.
The Batman (2022) as District Attorney Gil Colson · Dead Man Walking (1995) as Walter Delacroix · Garden State (2004) as Mark
Career snapshot
Ranked #2238 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
39
1995–2026
Career length
31 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.9
The Batman
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.7
The Batman
Most frequent director
Maggie Gyllenhaal
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Maggie Gyllenhaal
Most common genre
Drama
29 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
6.5
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
7.0 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. The Man in the Iron Mask, Dead Man Walking — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.0
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
7.0
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. The Man in the Iron Mask, Dead Man Walking.
Most productive era
2010s
15 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 | 7.02 films | 6.79 films | 6.410 films | 5.68 films |
| Action | 6.71 film | — | 6.03 films | 6.81 film |
| Thriller | — | 6.64 films | 6.44 films | 6.94 films |
| Comedy | — | 7.11 film | 6.62 films | 6.62 films |
| Crime | — | — | 6.63 films | 6.33 films |
| Romance | — | 6.83 films | — | 6.02 films |
| Horror | — | 7.01 film | 6.41 film | 6.11 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1995Dead Man Walking
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Walter Delacroix.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2022The Batman
7.9 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
2026Flesh Impact
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.
39 of 39 films
as District Attorney Gil Colson
Directed by Matt Reeves
as Roone Arledge
Directed by Unknown
as John
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
as Charles 'Chuck' Lane
Directed by Unknown
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
District Attorney Gil Colson
The Batman (2022)
Performance score7.7
The performance the rest of the career is read through. District Attorney Gil Colson gives Peter Sarsgaard a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Roone Arledge
September 5 (2024)
Performance score7.6
September 5 asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Roone Arledge is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Saul
Memory (2023)
Performance score7.4
Memory asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Saul is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
John
Orphan (2009)
Performance score7.4
Orphan asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. John 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 District Attorney Gil Colson
Start here. The Batman is the clearest statement of what Peter Sarsgaard does — accessible, 177 minutes, and rated 7.9 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Peter 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.
Shattered Glass (2003)
A deliberate change of key after The Batman — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Orphan (2009)
A deliberate change of key after Shattered Glass — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Memory (2023)
A deliberate change of key after Orphan — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
September 5 (2024)
Same director as Memory, 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.
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director
3 films together
Notably The Lost Daughter
Antoine Fuqua
Director
2 films together
Notably The Magnificent Seven
Tim Robbins
Director
1 film together
Notably Dead Man Walking
Randall Wallace
Director
1 film together
Notably The Man in the Iron Mask
Kathryn Bigelow
Director
1 film together
Notably K-19: The Widowmaker
Bill Condon
Director
1 film together
Notably Kinsey
Zach Braff
Director
1 film together
Notably Garden State
Robert Schwentke
Director
1 film together
Notably Flightplan
Sam Mendes
Director
1 film together
Notably Jarhead
Gavin Hood
Director
1 film together
Notably Rendition
Isabel Coixet
Director
1 film together
Notably Elegy
Lone Scherfig
Director
1 film together
Notably An Education
Jaume Collet-Serra
Director
1 film together
Notably Orphan
James Mangold
Director
1 film together
Notably Knight and Day
Martin Campbell
Director
1 film together
Notably Green Lantern
Jake Schreier
Director
1 film together
Notably Robot & Frank
Woody Allen
Director
1 film together
Notably Blue Jasmine
Michael Almereyda
Director
1 film together
Notably Experimenter
Edward Zwick
Director
1 film together
Notably Pawn Sacrifice
Scott Cooper
Director
1 film together
Notably Black Mass
Pablo Larraín
Director
1 film together
Notably Jackie
Veena Sud
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lie
Agnieszka Holland
Director
1 film together
Notably Mr. Jones
Barry Levinson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Survivor
Matt Reeves
Director
1 film together
Notably The Batman
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director
3 films together · 4.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Lost DaughterAntoine Fuqua
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Magnificent SevenMatt Reeves
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The BatmanTim Robbins
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dead Man WalkingZach Braff
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Garden StateWoody Allen
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blue JasmineJaume Collet-Serra
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
OrphanJake Schreier
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Robot & FrankLone Scherfig
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
An EducationBarry Levinson
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 SurvivorAgnieszka Holland
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mr. JonesEdward Zwick
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pawn SacrificeSam Mendes
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
JarheadRandall Wallace
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 Man in the Iron MaskBill Condon
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
KinseyKathryn Bigelow
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
K-19: The WidowmakerPablo Larraín
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
JackieScott Cooper
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Black MassMichael Almereyda
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ExperimenterVeena Sud
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 LieGavin Hood
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RenditionRobert Schwentke
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FlightplanIsabel Coixet
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ElegyJames Mangold
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Knight and DayMartin Campbell
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Green LanternSix 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
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
An Education
as David Goldman
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Dead Man Walking
as Walter Delacroix
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
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. Peter Sarsgaard 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
31 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
29 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
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Mr. Jones
as Walter Duranty
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Man in the Iron Mask
as Raoul
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Magnificent Seven
as Bartholomew Bogue
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Garden State
as Mark
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Batman
as District Attorney Gil Colson
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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Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
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Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
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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