Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1718
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Steve Martin represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 47 years in, and Steve is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Steve Martin appears in 32 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Steve. Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love is the clearest case: a film rated 8.3 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 documentary, comedy, music. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Morgan Neville, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Showalter and others, Steve Martin 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.
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love (2023) as Self - Guest · Marty, Life Is Short (2026) as Self · John Candy: I Like Me (2025) as Self - Actor, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'
Career snapshot
Ranked #1718 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
32
1979–2026
Career length
47 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.3
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Most frequent director
Frank Oz
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Frank Oz
Most common genre
Comedy
24 titles
Average runtime
1h 39m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.2
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
1970s
6.9 average MV
The 1970s are where the work and the material meet. The Jerk, The Muppet Movie — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1970s
6.9
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1970s
7.0
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1970s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Jerk, The Muppet Movie.
Most productive era
2000s
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 | 6.32 films | 6.31 film | 6.02 films | — |
| Action | — | 6.41 film | — | — | — | — |
| Thriller | — | — | — | 6.01 film | — | — |
| Comedy | 6.92 films | 6.86 films | 6.03 films | 6.18 films | 6.33 films | 7.02 films |
| Crime | — | 6.82 films | — | 6.02 films | — | — |
| Romance | — | — | 6.02 films | 6.32 films | — | — |
| Horror | — | 6.91 film | — | — | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1979The Jerk
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Navin R. Johnson.
Highest rated performance
2023Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
8.3 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Career peak
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 Self.
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.
32 of 32 films
as Self - Actor, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'
Directed by Colin Hanks
as Self - Guest
Directed by Paul Miller
as Self (archive footage)
Directed by Ron Howard
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
Self
Marty, Life Is Short (2026)
Performance score8.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Steve Martin a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Self - Actor, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'
John Candy: I Like Me (2025)
Performance score8.2
John Candy: I Like Me asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self - Actor, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self - Guest
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love (2023)
Performance score8.0
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self - Guest is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Neal Page
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Performance score7.8
Planes, Trains and Automobiles asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Neal Page 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 Self
Start here. Marty, Life Is Short is the clearest statement of what Steve Martin does — accessible, 102 minutes, and rated 8.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Steve 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.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
A deliberate change of key after Marty, Life Is Short — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of Planes, Trains and Automobiles but asks for a colder reading of it.
Jim Henson Idea Man (2024)
Keeps the documentary register of Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love but asks for a colder reading of it.
John Candy: I Like Me (2025)
Keeps the documentary register of Jim Henson Idea Man but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Frank Oz
Director
3 films together
Notably Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Carl Reiner
Director
2 films together
Notably The Jerk
Shawn Levy
Director
2 films together
Notably Cheaper by the Dozen
Ron Howard
Director
2 films together
Notably Jim Henson Idea Man
James Frawley
Director
1 film together
Notably The Muppet Movie
John Landis
Director
1 film together
Notably ¡Three Amigos!
John Hughes
Director
1 film together
Notably Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Mick Jackson
Director
1 film together
Notably L.A. Story
Nora Ephron
Director
1 film together
Notably Mixed Nuts
Brenda Chapman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Prince of Egypt
Joe Dante
Director
1 film together
Notably Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Adam Shankman
Director
1 film together
Notably Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Michael McCullers
Director
1 film together
Notably Baby Mama
Nancy Meyers
Director
1 film together
Notably It's Complicated
David Frankel
Director
1 film together
Notably The Big Year
Tim Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Home
Jessie Nelson
Director
1 film together
Notably Love the Coopers
Ang Lee
Director
1 film together
Notably Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
Paul Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Colin Hanks
Director
1 film together
Notably John Candy: I Like Me
Michael Showalter
Director
1 film together
Notably Oh. What. Fun.
Lawrence Kasdan
Director
1 film together
Notably Marty, Life Is Short
Morgan Neville
Director
1 film together
Notably Lorne
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Frank Oz
Director
3 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsRon Howard
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Jim Henson Idea ManCarl Reiner
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 JerkShawn Levy
Director
2 films together · 6.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Cheaper by the DozenPaul Miller
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + LoveLawrence Kasdan
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Marty, Life Is ShortColin Hanks
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
John Candy: I Like MeBrenda Chapman
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Prince of EgyptJohn Hughes
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Planes, Trains and AutomobilesJames Frawley
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Muppet MovieMorgan Neville
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LorneTim Johnson
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HomeNancy Meyers
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
It's ComplicatedMick Jackson
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
L.A. StoryJoe Dante
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Looney Tunes: Back in ActionJohn Landis
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
¡Three Amigos!Adam Shankman
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cheaper by the Dozen 2Ang Lee
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime WalkJessie Nelson
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Love the CoopersDavid Frankel
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Big YearMichael McCullers
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Baby MamaMichael Showalter
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Oh. What. Fun.Nora Ephron
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mixed NutsSix 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
John Candy: I Like Me
as Self - Actor, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'
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 Prince of Egypt
as Hotep (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
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
as Self - Guest
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Jim Henson Idea Man
as Self (archive footage)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Marty, Life Is Short
as Self
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. Steve Martin 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
47 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
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
as Self - Guest
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
as Self - Guest
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Prince of Egypt
as Hotep (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Pink Panther
as Clouseau
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
as Self - Guest
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
¡Three Amigos!
as Lucky Day
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Prince of Egypt
as Hotep (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
¡Three Amigos!
as Lucky Day
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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Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Morgan Freeman
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Jamie Harris
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Have your say
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Reference
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