Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#748
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Clark Gregg represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 31 years in, and Clark is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Clark Gregg appears in 37 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Clark. The Avengers 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 science fiction, thriller, action. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Rich Lee, Patricia Riggen, Grant Heslov and others, Clark Gregg 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 Avengers (2012) as Agent Phil Coulson · The Usual Suspects (1995) as Dr. Walters · Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020) as Self - Actor, "The Avengers"
Career snapshot
Ranked #748 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
37
1994–2025
Career length
31 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
The Avengers
Average Nutevio score
6.5
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
The Usual Suspects
Most frequent director
Joss Whedon
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Joss Whedon
Most common genre
Drama
20 titles
Average runtime
1h 48m
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
6.6
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
7.6 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. Magnolia, The Usual Suspects, Clear and Present Danger — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.6
Across 3 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
7.5
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. Magnolia, The Usual Suspects, Clear and Present Danger.
Most productive era
2000s
13 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 | 7.63 films | 6.410 films | 6.43 films | 6.84 films |
| Action | 6.71 film | 7.13 films | 7.15 films | 6.52 films |
| Thriller | 7.52 films | 6.43 films | 6.33 films | 5.32 films |
| Comedy | — | 6.45 films | 6.23 films | 7.02 films |
| Crime | 8.31 film | 6.32 films | 5.92 films | — |
| Romance | — | 6.34 films | 6.42 films | — |
| Horror | — | 5.71 film | — | 5.51 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Staff Sergeant.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
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
The current state of the argument, as Don Hollenbeck.
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.
37 of 37 films
as Agent Phil Coulson
Directed by Joss Whedon
as Dr. Walters
Directed by Bryan Singer
as Self - Actor, "The Avengers"
Directed by Unknown
as Agent Coulson
Directed by Jon Favreau
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
Agent Phil Coulson
The Avengers (2012)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Agent Phil Coulson gives Clark Gregg a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Dr. Walters
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Performance score8.0
The Usual Suspects asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dr. Walters is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self - Actor, "The Avengers"
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
Performance score7.8
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self - Actor, "The Avengers" is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Self - Host
Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee (2019)
Performance score7.7
Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self - Host 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 Agent Phil Coulson
Start here. The Avengers is the clearest statement of what Clark Gregg does — accessible, 143 minutes, and rated 8.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Clark 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 Usual Suspects (1995)
A deliberate change of key after The Avengers — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Iron Man (2008)
A deliberate change of key after The Usual Suspects — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee (2019)
A deliberate change of key after Iron Man — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
Same director as Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
David Mamet
Director
2 films together
Notably State and Main
Jon Favreau
Director
2 films together
Notably Iron Man
Joss Whedon
Director
2 films together
Notably The Avengers
Phillip Noyce
Director
1 film together
Notably Clear and Present Danger
Bryan Singer
Director
1 film together
Notably The Usual Suspects
Paul Thomas Anderson
Director
1 film together
Notably Magnolia
Steven Spielberg
Director
1 film together
Notably A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Mark Romanek
Director
1 film together
Notably One Hour Photo
Randall Wallace
Director
1 film together
Notably We Were Soldiers
Robert Benton
Director
1 film together
Notably The Human Stain
Paul Weitz
Director
1 film together
Notably In Good Company
Simon West
Director
1 film together
Notably When a Stranger Calls
Jon Kasdan
Director
1 film together
Notably In the Land of Women
Clark Gregg
Director
1 film together
Notably Choke
Marc Webb
Director
1 film together
Notably (500) Days of Summer
Mark Waters
Director
1 film together
Notably Mr. Popper's Penguins
Kenneth Branagh
Director
1 film together
Notably Thor
Maggie Carey
Director
1 film together
Notably The To Do List
Jason Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably Labor Day
Ben Affleck
Director
1 film together
Notably Live by Night
Ryan Fleck
Director
1 film together
Notably Captain Marvel
Aaron Sorkin
Director
1 film together
Notably Being the Ricardos
Amy Poehler
Director
1 film together
Notably Moxie
Josh Margolin
Director
1 film together
Notably Thelma
Bobby Roth
Director
1 film together
Notably Good Men
Grant Heslov
Director
1 film together
Notably Good Night, and Good Luck
Patricia Riggen
Director
1 film together
Notably G20
Rich Lee
Director
1 film together
Notably War of the Worlds
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Joss Whedon
Director
2 films together · 7.6 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The AvengersJon Favreau
Director
2 films together · 7.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Iron ManDavid Mamet
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
State and MainBryan Singer
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Usual SuspectsPaul Thomas Anderson
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MagnoliaMarc Webb
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
(500) Days of SummerGrant Heslov
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Good Night, and Good LuckAmy Poehler
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MoxieJason Reitman
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Labor DayRandall Wallace
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
We Were SoldiersSteven Spielberg
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A.I. Artificial IntelligenceKenneth Branagh
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ThorJosh Margolin
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ThelmaRyan Fleck
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Captain MarvelMark Romanek
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
One Hour PhotoPhillip Noyce
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Clear and Present DangerAaron Sorkin
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Being the RicardosPatricia Riggen
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
G20Ben Affleck
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Live by NightClark Gregg
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ChokePaul Weitz
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In Good CompanyMark Waters
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mr. Popper's PenguinsRobert Benton
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 Human StainJon Kasdan
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In the Land of WomenMaggie Carey
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The To Do ListSimon West
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
When a Stranger CallsRich Lee
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
War of the WorldsBobby Roth
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Good MenSix 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
The Avengers
as Agent Phil Coulson
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Good Night, and Good Luck
as Don Hollenbeck
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 Usual Suspects
as Dr. Walters
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Magnolia
as WDKK Floor Director
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Avengers
as Agent Phil Coulson
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. Clark Gregg 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
31 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
20 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 Avengers
as Agent Phil Coulson
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Usual Suspects
as Dr. Walters
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Good Night, and Good Luck
as Don Hollenbeck
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Spinning Man
as Paul
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Avengers
as Agent Phil Coulson
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Avengers
as Agent Phil Coulson
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Moxie
as John
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
War of the Worlds
as NSA Director Donald Briggs
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
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: family and comedy
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: family and comedy
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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