Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#644
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Will Arnett works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Will Arnett appears in 40 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Will. Ratatouille 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 music, drama, romance. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Tony Gilroy, Bradley Cooper, Taika Waititi and others, Will Arnett 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.
Ratatouille (2007) as Horst (voice) · Joker: Put on a Happy Face (2020) as Self · Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes (2021) as Dink Lockwood
Career snapshot
Ranked #644 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
40
2006–2026
Career length
20 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
Ratatouille
Average Nutevio score
6.1
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.0
Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Most frequent director
Akiva Schaffer
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Akiva Schaffer
Most common genre
Comedy
32 titles
Average runtime
1h 29m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
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
6.3
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
2010s
6.5 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Show Dogs, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.5
Across 13 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.4
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Monsters vs Aliens, G-Force, Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space.
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 | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | — | 4.33 films |
| Action | 6.33 films | 6.66 films | — |
| Thriller | 7.01 film | 5.01 film | — |
| Comedy | 6.112 films | 6.612 films | 6.68 films |
| Crime | — | 6.72 films | 7.31 film |
| Romance | — | 5.91 film | 6.61 film |
| Horror | 7.01 film | — | 4.91 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2006RV
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Todd Mallory.
Highest rated performance
2007Ratatouille
8.1 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Career peak
2020Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026Behemoth!
The current state of the argument, as Andy Serian.
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.
40 of 40 films
as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Directed by Unknown
as Horst (voice)
Directed by Brad Bird
as Mr. Perkins (voice)
Directed by Chris Renaud
as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Directed by Phil Lord
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
Joker: Put on a Happy Face (2020)
Performance score8.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Will Arnett a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Performance score7.9
The Lego Batman Movie asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Horst (voice)
Ratatouille (2007)
Performance score7.8
Ratatouille asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Horst (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Mr. Perkins (voice)
Despicable Me (2010)
Performance score7.6
Despicable Me asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mr. Perkins (voice) 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. Joker: Put on a Happy Face is the clearest statement of what Will Arnett does — accessible, 36 minutes, and rated 8.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Will 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.
Ratatouille (2007)
A deliberate change of key after Joker: Put on a Happy Face — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Despicable Me (2010)
Keeps the comedy register of Ratatouille but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Lego Movie (2014)
Keeps the comedy register of Despicable Me but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Keeps the comedy register of The Lego Movie but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Barry Sonnenfeld
Director
2 films together
Notably Men in Black 3
Akiva Schaffer
Director
2 films together
Notably Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Carlos Saldanha
Director
1 film together
Notably Ice Age: The Meltdown
Bob Odenkirk
Director
1 film together
Notably The Brothers Solomon
Tom Brady
Director
1 film together
Notably The Comebacks
Josh Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably Blades of Glory
Quentin Tarantino
Director
1 film together
Notably Grindhouse
Brad Bird
Director
1 film together
Notably Ratatouille
Peter Ramsey
Director
1 film together
Notably Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space
Rob Letterman
Director
1 film together
Notably Monsters vs Aliens
Mark Steven Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably When in Rome
Chris Renaud
Director
1 film together
Notably Despicable Me
Jonathan Liebesman
Director
1 film together
Notably Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Phil Lord
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lego Movie
Jorma Taccone
Director
1 film together
Notably Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Aaron Horvath
Director
1 film together
Notably Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
Raja Gosnell
Director
1 film together
Notably Show Dogs
Mike Mitchell
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Stephen Gaghan
Director
1 film together
Notably Dolittle
Andy Fisher
Director
1 film together
Notably Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
Kirk R. Thatcher
Director
1 film together
Notably Muppets Haunted Mansion
Kyle Balda
Director
1 film together
Notably Minions: The Rise of Gru
Michael Gracey
Director
1 film together
Notably G'day
Taika Waititi
Director
1 film together
Notably Next Goal Wins
Bradley Cooper
Director
1 film together
Notably Is This Thing On?
Tony Gilroy
Director
1 film together
Notably Behemoth!
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Akiva Schaffer
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
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue RangersBarry Sonnenfeld
Director
2 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Men in Black 3Brad Bird
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RatatouilleAndy Fisher
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Chris Renaud
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Despicable MePhil Lord
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 Lego MovieKyle Balda
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Minions: The Rise of GruAaron Horvath
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Teen Titans Go! To the MoviesQuentin Tarantino
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GrindhouseCarlos Saldanha
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ice Age: The MeltdownMike Mitchell
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 Lego Movie 2: The Second PartBradley Cooper
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Is This Thing On?Stephen Gaghan
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DolittleJorma Taccone
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Popstar: Never Stop Never StoppingRob 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 AliensTaika Waititi
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Next Goal WinsKirk R. Thatcher
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Muppets Haunted MansionPeter 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 SpaceJosh Gordon
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blades of GloryRaja Gosnell
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Show DogsJonathan Liebesman
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesMark Steven Johnson
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
When in RomeBob Odenkirk
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Brothers SolomonTom Brady
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 ComebacksTony Gilroy
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Behemoth!Michael Gracey
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
G'daySix 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
Ratatouille
as Horst (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
Is This Thing On?
as Alex Novak
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Ratatouille
as Horst (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Grindhouse
as Announcer (voice) (Segment "Don't")
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Joker: Put on a Happy Face
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. Will Arnett 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
20 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
32 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
Ratatouille
as Horst (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Grindhouse
as Announcer (voice) (Segment "Don't")
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Is This Thing On?
as Alex Novak
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
as Sweet Pete (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Lego Batman Movie
as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
as Vernon Fenwick
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Lego Movie
as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Ratatouille
as Horst (voice)
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
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Harvey Keitel
Works with the same directors — Quentin Tarantino
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
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Reference
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