Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#312
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
David Paymer represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 35 years in, and David is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
David Paymer appears in 30 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without David. The Hurricane is the clearest case: a film rated 7.3 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, comedy, romance. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with William Teitler, David Wnendt, Jesse V. Johnson and others, David Paymer 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 Hurricane (1999) as Myron Bedlock · Quiz Show (1994) as Dan Enright · Amistad (1997) as Secretary John Forsyth
Career snapshot
Ranked #312 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
30
1985–2020
Career length
35 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.3
The Hurricane
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.4
The Hurricane
Most frequent director
David Mamet
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With David Mamet
Most common genre
Drama
19 titles
Average runtime
1h 53m
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
6.7 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. The Hurricane, Payback, Mighty Joe Young — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
6.7
Across 12 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
6.7
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1980s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. No Way Out, Howard the Duck, Perfect.
Most productive era
1990s
12 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 | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.42 films | 6.87 films | 6.25 films | 6.22 films | 5.83 films |
| Action | — | 6.62 films | 6.31 film | 6.32 films | — |
| Thriller | 6.81 film | 6.53 films | 6.63 films | 6.32 films | — |
| Comedy | 5.81 film | 6.44 films | 6.32 films | 6.13 films | 5.82 films |
| Crime | — | 6.72 films | 6.52 films | 6.41 film | — |
| Romance | 6.01 film | 6.81 film | 6.12 films | 6.11 film | 6.01 film |
| Horror | — | — | 6.61 film | 5.61 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1985Perfect
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Managing Editor.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
1999The Hurricane
7.3 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
2020The Sunlit Night
The current state of the argument, as Levi.
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.
30 of 30 films
as Myron Bedlock
Directed by Norman Jewison
as Secretary John Forsyth
Directed by Steven Spielberg
as Dan Enright
Directed by Robert Redford
as Arthur Stegman
Directed by Brian Helgeland
as Hal the Bus Driver
Directed by Ron Underwood
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
Myron Bedlock
The Hurricane (1999)
Performance score7.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Myron Bedlock gives David Paymer a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Secretary John Forsyth
Amistad (1997)
Performance score7.1
Amistad asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Secretary John Forsyth is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Dan Enright
Quiz Show (1994)
Performance score7.1
Quiz Show asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dan Enright is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Arthur Stegman
Payback (1999)
Performance score7.0
Payback asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Arthur Stegman 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 Myron Bedlock
Start here. The Hurricane is the clearest statement of what David Paymer does — accessible, 146 minutes, and rated 7.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet David 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.
Heart and Souls (1993)
A deliberate change of key after The Hurricane — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Quiz Show (1994)
A deliberate change of key after Heart and Souls — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Amistad (1997)
Keeps the drama register of Quiz Show but asks for a colder reading of it.
Payback (1999)
Keeps the drama register of Amistad but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Ron Underwood
Director
3 films together
Notably Heart and Souls
David Mamet
Director
3 films together
Notably Redbelt
James Bridges
Director
1 film together
Notably Perfect
Willard Huyck
Director
1 film together
Notably Howard the Duck
Roger Donaldson
Director
1 film together
Notably No Way Out
Steven Zaillian
Director
1 film together
Notably Searching for Bobby Fischer
Robert Redford
Director
1 film together
Notably Quiz Show
Paul Weiland
Director
1 film together
Notably City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
Barry Sonnenfeld
Director
1 film together
Notably Get Shorty
Oliver Stone
Director
1 film together
Notably Nixon
Steven Spielberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Amistad
Brian Helgeland
Director
1 film together
Notably Payback
Norman Jewison
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hurricane
Don Roos
Director
1 film together
Notably Bounce
Paul Weitz
Director
1 film together
Notably In Good Company
Sam Raimi
Director
1 film together
Notably Drag Me to Hell
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
1 film together
Notably Twixt
Jake Kasdan
Director
1 film together
Notably Bad Teacher
Nicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together
Notably The Five-Year Engagement
Kenneth Branagh
Director
1 film together
Notably Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Jesse V. Johnson
Director
1 film together
Notably Accident Man
David Wnendt
Director
1 film together
Notably The Sunlit Night
William Teitler
Director
1 film together
Notably Bad Therapy
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Ron Underwood
Director
3 films together · 6.6 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Heart and SoulsDavid Mamet
Director
3 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
RedbeltNorman Jewison
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 HurricaneRobert Redford
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Quiz ShowSteven Spielberg
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AmistadSteven Zaillian
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Searching for Bobby FischerBrian Helgeland
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PaybackRoger Donaldson
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
No Way OutOliver Stone
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
NixonSam Raimi
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Drag Me to HellBarry Sonnenfeld
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Get ShortyJesse V. Johnson
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Accident ManKenneth Branagh
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jack Ryan: Shadow RecruitPaul Weitz
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In Good CompanyNicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Five-Year EngagementDavid Wnendt
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 Sunlit NightDon Roos
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BounceJames Bridges
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PerfectJake 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
Bad TeacherWillard Huyck
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Howard the DuckPaul Weiland
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's GoldWilliam Teitler
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bad TherapyFrancis Ford Coppola
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TwixtSix 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 Hurricane
as Myron Bedlock
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Quiz Show
as Dan Enright
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 Hurricane
as Myron Bedlock
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Perfect
as Managing Editor
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Hurricane
as Myron Bedlock
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. David Paymer 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
35 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
19 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
Amistad
as Secretary John Forsyth
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Ocean's Thirteen
as The V.U.P.
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Bounce
as Prosecuting Attorney Mandel (uncredited)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Twixt
as Sam
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Payback
as Arthur Stegman
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Accident Man
as Milton
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Sunlit Night
as Levi
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Bad Therapy
as Dr. Edward Kingsley
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
Al Pacino
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
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
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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