Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#2176
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Toni Collette represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 29 years in, and Toni is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Toni Collette appears in 42 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Toni. The Sixth Sense is the clearest case: a film rated 8.1 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, science fiction, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Kate Winslet, Bong Joon Ho, Clint Eastwood and others, Toni Collette 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 Sixth Sense (1999) as Lynn Sear · Knives Out (2019) as Joni Thrombey · Mary and Max (2009) as Mary (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #2176 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
42
1996–2025
Career length
29 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
The Sixth Sense
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.0
The Sixth Sense
Most frequent director
Catherine Hardwicke
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Catherine Hardwicke
Most common genre
Drama
28 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
7.0
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
7.1 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. The Sixth Sense, Velvet Goldmine, Emma — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.1
Across 3 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
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. The Sixth Sense, Velvet Goldmine, Emma.
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 | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.13 films | 6.69 films | 6.79 films | 6.57 films |
| Action | — | 6.01 film | 6.31 film | 6.11 film |
| Thriller | 8.11 film | 6.13 films | 6.33 films | 6.64 films |
| Comedy | 6.61 film | 7.04 films | 6.611 films | 6.46 films |
| Crime | — | 6.02 films | 7.32 films | 6.52 films |
| Romance | 6.61 film | 6.23 films | 6.71 film | 5.71 film |
| Horror | — | — | 6.33 films | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1996Emma
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Harriet Smith.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
1999The Sixth Sense
8.1 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
2025Clint Eastwood : la légende
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.
42 of 42 films
as Lynn Sear
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
as Mary (voice)
Directed by Adam Elliot
as Sheryl Hoover
Directed by Jonathan Dayton
as Annie Graham
Directed by Ari Aster
as Joni Thrombey
Directed by Rian Johnson
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
Lynn Sear
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Performance score8.3
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Lynn Sear gives Toni Collette a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Mary (voice)
Mary and Max (2009)
Performance score8.2
Mary and Max asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mary (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Sheryl Hoover
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Performance score8.0
Little Miss Sunshine asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Sheryl Hoover is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Annie Graham
Hereditary (2018)
Performance score7.9
Hereditary asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Annie Graham 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 Lynn Sear
Start here. The Sixth Sense is the clearest statement of what Toni Collette does — accessible, 107 minutes, and rated 8.1 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Toni 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.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Keeps the drama register of The Sixth Sense but asks for a colder reading of it.
Mary and Max (2009)
Keeps the comedy register of Little Miss Sunshine but asks for a colder reading of it.
Hereditary (2018)
A deliberate change of key after Mary and Max — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Knives Out (2019)
Keeps the mystery register of Hereditary but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Catherine Hardwicke
Director
2 films together
Notably Miss You Already
Douglas McGrath
Director
1 film together
Notably Emma
Todd Haynes
Director
1 film together
Notably Velvet Goldmine
M. Night Shyamalan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Sixth Sense
John Singleton
Director
1 film together
Notably Shaft
Stephen Daldry
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hours
Roger Michell
Director
1 film together
Notably Changing Lanes
Chris Weitz
Director
1 film together
Notably About a Boy
Karen Moncrieff
Director
1 film together
Notably The Dead Girl
Jonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together
Notably Little Miss Sunshine
Lajos Koltai
Director
1 film together
Notably Evening
Alan Ball
Director
1 film together
Notably Towelhead
Robert B. Weide
Director
1 film together
Notably How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Adam Elliot
Director
1 film together
Notably Mary and Max
Craig Gillespie
Director
1 film together
Notably Fright Night
Sacha Gervasi
Director
1 film together
Notably Hitchcock
Nicole Holofcener
Director
1 film together
Notably Enough Said
Jim Rash
Director
1 film together
Notably The Way Way Back
Ben Falcone
Director
1 film together
Notably Tammy
Alethea Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Fun Mom Dinner
Michael Apted
Director
1 film together
Notably Unlocked
Ben Lewin
Director
1 film together
Notably Please Stand By
Ari Aster
Director
1 film together
Notably Hereditary
Rian Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Knives Out
Charlie Kaufman
Director
1 film together
Notably I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Guillermo del Toro
Director
1 film together
Notably Nightmare Alley
Euros Lyn
Director
1 film together
Notably Dream Horse
Kirk DeMicco
Director
1 film together
Notably Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Clint Eastwood
Director
1 film together
Notably Juror #2
Bong Joon Ho
Director
1 film together
Notably Mickey 17
Kate Winslet
Director
1 film together
Notably Goodbye June
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Catherine Hardwicke
Director
2 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Miss You AlreadyM. Night Shyamalan
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Sixth SenseRian Johnson
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Knives OutAdam Elliot
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mary and MaxJonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Little Miss SunshineAri Aster
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HereditaryStephen Daldry
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 HoursKirk DeMicco
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ruby Gillman, Teenage KrakenJim Rash
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 Way Way BackEuros Lyn
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dream HorseClint Eastwood
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Juror #2Guillermo del Toro
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Nightmare AlleyBong Joon Ho
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mickey 17Ben Lewin
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Please Stand ByNicole Holofcener
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Enough SaidChris Weitz
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
About a BoyTodd Haynes
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Velvet GoldmineKate Winslet
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Goodbye JuneSacha Gervasi
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HitchcockDouglas McGrath
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EmmaCharlie Kaufman
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I'm Thinking of Ending ThingsMichael Apted
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
UnlockedCraig Gillespie
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fright NightRoger Michell
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Changing LanesAlan Ball
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TowelheadRobert B. Weide
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
How to Lose Friends & Alienate PeopleKaren Moncrieff
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 Dead GirlJohn Singleton
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ShaftLajos Koltai
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EveningAlethea Jones
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fun Mom DinnerBen 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
TammySix 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
Knives Out
as Joni Thrombey
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Velvet Goldmine
as Mandy Slade
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 Sixth Sense
as Lynn Sear
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
as Toni Collette (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Sixth Sense
as Lynn Sear
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. Toni Collette 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
29 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
28 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 Sixth Sense
as Lynn Sear
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Sixth Sense
as Lynn Sear
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Evening
as Nina Mars
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Sixth Sense
as Lynn Sear
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Sixth Sense
as Lynn Sear
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Shaft
as Diane Palmieri
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Mary and Max
as Mary (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Knives Out
as Joni Thrombey
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
David Krumholtz
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Morgan Freeman
Built a career in the same territory: action and crime
Have your say
Community
Which Toni Collette performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
Join the conversation
Reference
Continue exploring
Trending performers
Directors they work with
Collections to read next
