Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#169
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Susan Sarandon represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 51 years in, and Susan is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Susan Sarandon appears in 58 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Susan. Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror 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 drama, documentary, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Stephen Chbosky, Brian Ward, Jocelyn Moorhouse and others, Susan Sarandon 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.
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025) as Self · Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024) as Self · The Six Triple Eight (2024) as Eleanor Roosevelt
Career snapshot
Ranked #169 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
58
1975–2026
Career length
51 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.3
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Most frequent director
John Turturro
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With John Turturro
Most common genre
Drama
32 titles
Average runtime
1h 45m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.1
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
7.3 average MV
The 1970s are where the work and the material meet. The Rocky Horror Picture Show — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1970s
7.3
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1970s
7.4
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 Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Most productive era
2010s
17 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 | — | — | 6.98 films | 6.38 films | 6.311 films | 5.15 films |
| Action | — | — | — | 5.92 films | 6.11 film | 6.52 films |
| Thriller | — | — | 6.11 film | 6.42 films | 6.13 films | 6.51 film |
| Comedy | 7.31 film | 6.62 films | 6.63 films | 6.18 films | 5.89 films | 6.08 films |
| Crime | — | — | 6.83 films | 6.42 films | 5.83 films | 6.51 film |
| Romance | — | 6.61 film | 6.84 films | 6.36 films | 4.41 film | 5.51 film |
| Horror | 7.31 film | 6.61 film | — | — | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1975The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Janet Weiss.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2025Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
8.3 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
2026LOVE
The current state of the argument, as The Art Teacher.
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.
58 of 58 films
as Louise
Directed by Ridley Scott
as Eleanor Roosevelt
Directed by Tyler Perry
as Sister Helen Prejean
Directed by Tim Robbins
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
Self
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (2025)
Performance score8.5
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Susan Sarandon a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Louise
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Performance score8.1
Thelma & Louise asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Louise is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Eleanor Roosevelt
The Six Triple Eight (2024)
Performance score7.9
The Six Triple Eight asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Eleanor Roosevelt is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Sister Helen Prejean
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Performance score7.9
Dead Man Walking asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Sister Helen Prejean 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. Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror is the clearest statement of what Susan Sarandon does — accessible, 90 minutes, and rated 8.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Susan 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.
Thelma & Louise (1991)
A deliberate change of key after Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Keeps the drama register of Thelma & Louise but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Six Triple Eight (2024)
Keeps the drama register of Dead Man Walking but asks for a colder reading of it.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
A deliberate change of key after The Six Triple Eight — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Tim Robbins
Director
2 films together
Notably Dead Man Walking
Lilly Wachowski
Director
2 films together
Notably Cloud Atlas
John Turturro
Director
2 films together
Notably Romance & Cigarettes
Jim Sharman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Rocky Horror Picture Show
George Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably The Witches of Eastwick
Ron Shelton
Director
1 film together
Notably Bull Durham
Luis Mandoki
Director
1 film together
Notably White Palace
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Thelma & Louise
Paul Schrader
Director
1 film together
Notably Light Sleeper
Henry Selick
Director
1 film together
Notably James and the Giant Peach
Robert Benton
Director
1 film together
Notably Twilight
Chris Columbus
Director
1 film together
Notably Stepmom
Brad Silberling
Director
1 film together
Notably Moonlight Mile
Chazz Palminteri
Director
1 film together
Notably Noel
Charles Shyer
Director
1 film together
Notably Alfie
Cameron Crowe
Director
1 film together
Notably Elizabethtown
Paul Haggis
Director
1 film together
Notably In the Valley of Elah
Kevin Lima
Director
1 film together
Notably Enchanted
Peter Jackson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lovely Bones
Barry Levinson
Director
1 film together
Notably You Don't Know Jack
Oliver Stone
Director
1 film together
Notably Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Jake Schreier
Director
1 film together
Notably Robot & Frank
Robert Redford
Director
1 film together
Notably The Company You Keep
Ric Roman Waugh
Director
1 film together
Notably Snitch
Ben Falcone
Director
1 film together
Notably Tammy
Ross Shuman
Director
1 film together
Notably Hell and Back
Gaby Dellal
Director
1 film together
Notably 3 Generations
Lorene Scafaria
Director
1 film together
Notably The Meddler
Jon Lucas
Director
1 film together
Notably A Bad Moms Christmas
Xavier Dolan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
Roger Michell
Director
1 film together
Notably Blackbird
Trent O'Donnell
Director
1 film together
Notably Ride the Eagle
Michael Jacobs
Director
1 film together
Notably Maybe I Do
Ángel Manuel Soto
Director
1 film together
Notably Blue Beetle
Yassir Lester
Director
1 film together
Notably The Gutter
Tyler Perry
Director
1 film together
Notably The Six Triple Eight
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Director
1 film together
Notably The Fabulous Four
Brian Ward
Director
1 film together
Notably What is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of Cloud Atlas
Stephen Chbosky
Director
1 film together
Notably Nonnas
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Tim Robbins
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Dead Man WalkingLilly Wachowski
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
Cloud AtlasJohn Turturro
Director
2 films together · 5.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Romance & CigarettesTyler Perry
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Six Triple EightRidley Scott
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Thelma & LouiseJim Sharman
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 Rocky Horror Picture ShowChris Columbus
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
StepmomPeter Jackson
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lovely BonesBarry Levinson
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
You Don't Know JackXavier Dolan
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Death & Life of John F. DonovanJake 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 & FrankKevin Lima
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EnchantedStephen Chbosky
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NonnasRoger Michell
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BlackbirdPaul Haggis
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In the Valley of ElahPaul Schrader
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Light SleeperÁngel Manuel Soto
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blue BeetleHenry Selick
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
James and the Giant PeachLuis Mandoki
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
White PalaceRon Shelton
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bull DurhamGeorge Miller
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Witches of EastwickGaby Dellal
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
3 GenerationsJon Lucas
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Bad Moms ChristmasBrad Silberling
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Moonlight MileTrent O'Donnell
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ride the EagleRobert Redford
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Company You KeepCameron Crowe
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ElizabethtownRic Roman Waugh
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SnitchOliver Stone
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wall Street: Money Never SleepsRobert 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
TwilightJocelyn Moorhouse
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 Fabulous FourLorene Scafaria
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 MeddlerCharles Shyer
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AlfieChazz Palminteri
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NoelMichael Jacobs
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Maybe I DoRoss Shuman
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hell and BackBen Falcone
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TammyYassir Lester
Director
1 film together · 4.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The GutterBrian Ward
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
What is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of Cloud AtlasSix 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
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
as Self
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Little Women
as Mrs. March
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
as Self
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
VHYes
as Tracy Beth
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
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. Susan Sarandon 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
51 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
32 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
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
as Self
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
In the Valley of Elah
as Joan Deerfield
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Enchanted
as Queen Narissa
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
In the Valley of Elah
as Joan Deerfield
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
as Self
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Blue Beetle
as Victoria Kord
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Jesus Rolls
as Jean
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
3 Generations
as Dolly
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Harry Dean Stanton
Works with the same directors — Ridley Scott
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Have your say
Community
Which Susan Sarandon performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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