Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#181
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Reese Witherspoon represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 34 years in, and Reese is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Reese Witherspoon appears in 43 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Reese. Sing 2 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 romance, comedy, documentary. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Nicholas Stoller, Aline Brosh McKenna, James Adolphus and others, Reese Witherspoon 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.
Sing 2 (2021) as Rosita (voice) · Friends: The Reunion (2021) as Self · American Psycho (2000) as Evelyn Williams
Career snapshot
Ranked #181 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
43
1991–2025
Career length
34 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.8
Sing 2
Average Nutevio score
6.6
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.8
Sing 2
Most frequent director
Garth Jennings
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Garth Jennings
Most common genre
Comedy
24 titles
Average runtime
1h 41m
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
6.7
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
2020s
7.1 average MV
The 2020s are where the work and the material meet. You're Cordially Invited, Your Place or Mine, Being Mary Tyler Moore — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2020s
7.1
Across 9 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
7.1
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. Cruel Intentions, Election, Pleasantville.
Most productive era
2000s
14 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 | 7.05 films | 6.66 films | 6.68 films | — |
| Action | — | — | 6.02 films | — |
| Thriller | 6.43 films | 7.02 films | 6.21 film | — |
| Comedy | 6.93 films | 6.49 films | 6.16 films | 7.16 films |
| Crime | 6.32 films | 7.61 film | 6.21 film | — |
| Romance | 7.22 films | 6.58 films | 6.14 films | 6.43 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Danielle "Dani" Trant.
Career peak
2014The Good Lie
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2021Sing 2
7.8 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Margot.
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.
43 of 43 films
as Rosita (voice)
Directed by Garth Jennings
as Rosita (voice)
Directed by Scott Mosier
as Danielle "Dani" Trant
Directed by Robert Mulligan
as June Carter
Directed by James Mangold
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
Rosita (voice)
Sing 2 (2021)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Rosita (voice) gives Reese Witherspoon a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Carrie Davis
The Good Lie (2014)
Performance score8.1
The Good Lie asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Carrie Davis is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Rosita (voice)
Minions & More 2 (2022)
Performance score8.0
Minions & More 2 asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Rosita (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Danielle "Dani" Trant
The Man in the Moon (1991)
Performance score8.0
The Man in the Moon asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Danielle "Dani" Trant 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 Rosita (voice)
Start here. Sing 2 is the clearest statement of what Reese Witherspoon does — accessible, 110 minutes, and rated 7.8 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Reese 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.
The Man in the Moon (1991)
A deliberate change of key after Sing 2 — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Walk the Line (2005)
Keeps the romance register of The Man in the Moon but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Good Lie (2014)
Keeps the drama register of Walk the Line but asks for a colder reading of it.
Minions & More 2 (2022)
A deliberate change of key after The Good Lie — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Garth Jennings
Director
3 films together
Notably Sing 2
Robert Mulligan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Man in the Moon
James Foley
Director
1 film together
Notably Fear
Robert Benton
Director
1 film together
Notably Twilight
Gary Ross
Director
1 film together
Notably Pleasantville
Alexander Payne
Director
1 film together
Notably Election
Roger Kumble
Director
1 film together
Notably Cruel Intentions
Steven Brill
Director
1 film together
Notably Little Nicky
Mary Harron
Director
1 film together
Notably American Psycho
Robert Luketic
Director
1 film together
Notably Legally Blonde
Andy Tennant
Director
1 film together
Notably Sweet Home Alabama
Oliver Parker
Director
1 film together
Notably The Importance of Being Earnest
Mira Nair
Director
1 film together
Notably Vanity Fair
James Mangold
Director
1 film together
Notably Walk the Line
Mark Waters
Director
1 film together
Notably Just Like Heaven
Mark Palansky
Director
1 film together
Notably Penelope
Gavin Hood
Director
1 film together
Notably Rendition
Seth Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably Four Christmases
Peter Ramsey
Director
1 film together
Notably Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space
Rob Letterman
Director
1 film together
Notably Monsters vs Aliens
James L. Brooks
Director
1 film together
Notably How Do You Know
Francis Lawrence
Director
1 film together
Notably Water for Elephants
McG
Director
1 film together
Notably This Means War
Atom Egoyan
Director
1 film together
Notably Devil's Knot
Jean-Marc Vallée
Director
1 film together
Notably Wild
Paul Thomas Anderson
Director
1 film together
Notably Inherent Vice
Anne Fletcher
Director
1 film together
Notably Hot Pursuit
Hallie Meyers-Shyer
Director
1 film together
Notably Home Again
Ava DuVernay
Director
1 film together
Notably A Wrinkle in Time
Nadia Hallgren
Director
1 film together
Notably Becoming
Ben Winston
Director
1 film together
Notably Friends: The Reunion
Scott Mosier
Director
1 film together
Notably Minions & More 2
James Adolphus
Director
1 film together
Notably Being Mary Tyler Moore
Aline Brosh McKenna
Director
1 film together
Notably Your Place or Mine
Nicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together
Notably You're Cordially Invited
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Garth Jennings
Director
3 films together · 7.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Sing 2Ben Winston
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Friends: The ReunionMary 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 PsychoJames Mangold
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Walk the LineScott Mosier
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Minions & More 2Robert Mulligan
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Man in the MoonGary Ross
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PleasantvilleNadia Hallgren
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BecomingJean-Marc Vallée
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WildMark Waters
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Just Like HeavenFrancis Lawrence
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Water for ElephantsRoger Kumble
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cruel IntentionsAlexander Payne
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ElectionMark Palansky
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PenelopeOliver Parker
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 Importance of Being EarnestRobert Luketic
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Legally BlondeJames Adolphus
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Being Mary Tyler MooreJames Foley
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FearPaul Thomas Anderson
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Inherent ViceRob Letterman
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Monsters vs AliensGavin 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
RenditionAndy Tennant
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sweet Home AlabamaAline Brosh McKenna
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Your Place or MineAtom Egoyan
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Devil's KnotMcG
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
This Means WarHallie Meyers-Shyer
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Home AgainPeter Ramsey
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mutant Pumpkins from Outer SpaceRobert Benton
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TwilightNicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
You're Cordially InvitedSeth Gordon
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Four ChristmasesMira Nair
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Vanity FairSteven Brill
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Little NickyAnne Fletcher
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hot PursuitJames L. Brooks
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
How Do You KnowAva DuVernay
Director
1 film together · 5.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Wrinkle in TimeSix 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
Sing 2
as Rosita (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
Walk the Line
as June Carter
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Sing 2
as Rosita (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Friends: The Reunion
as Self
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Sing 2
as Rosita (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. Reese Witherspoon 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
34 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
24 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
Friends: The Reunion
as Self
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
American Psycho
as Evelyn Williams
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Water for Elephants
as Marlena Rosenbluth
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Inherent Vice
as Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Friends: The Reunion
as Self
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Hot Pursuit
as Officer Rose 'Coop' Cooper
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Importance of Being Earnest
as Cecily Cardew
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Monsters vs Aliens
as Susan Murphy / Ginormica (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Have your say
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Reference
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