Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1488
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Kevin Pollak represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 38 years in, and Kevin is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Kevin Pollak appears in 32 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Kevin. The Usual Suspects 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 comedy, drama, mystery. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Nora Kirkpatrick, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, Adam Countee and others, Kevin Pollak 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 Usual Suspects (1995) as Hockney · Casino (1995) as Phillip Green · A Few Good Men (1992) as Lt. Sam Weinberg
Career snapshot
Ranked #1488 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
32
1988–2026
Career length
38 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
The Usual Suspects
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
The Usual Suspects
Most frequent director
Nora Kirkpatrick
1 film together
Longest collaboration
1×
With Nora Kirkpatrick
Most common genre
Comedy
15 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
6.7
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
1980s
7.0 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Willow — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
7.0
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1980s
7.0
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. Willow.
Most productive era
2020s
10 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 | — | 7.45 films | — | 6.54 films | 6.64 films |
| Action | 7.01 film | 6.22 films | 6.22 films | 5.61 film | 7.31 film |
| Thriller | — | 7.22 films | 6.22 films | — | 5.61 film |
| Comedy | — | 6.54 films | 5.94 films | 6.23 films | 6.04 films |
| Crime | — | 7.53 films | 6.33 films | 6.32 films | — |
| Romance | — | 6.42 films | 5.62 films | — | — |
| Horror | — | 6.31 film | — | 4.91 film | 6.33 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1988Willow
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Rool.
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
2026Couples Weekend
The current state of the argument, as Gary.
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.
32 of 32 films
as Hockney
Directed by Bryan Singer
as Phillip Green
Directed by Martin Scorsese
as Lt. Sam Weinberg
Directed by Rob Reiner
as Joker / Jonathan Kent (voice)
Directed by Matt Peters
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
Hockney
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Performance score8.3
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Hockney gives Kevin Pollak a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Phillip Green
Casino (1995)
Performance score7.8
Casino asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Phillip Green is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Lt. Sam Weinberg
A Few Good Men (1992)
Performance score7.7
A Few Good Men asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Lt. Sam Weinberg is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Joker / Jonathan Kent (voice)
Injustice (2021)
Performance score7.2
Injustice asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Joker / Jonathan Kent (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 Hockney
Start here. The Usual Suspects is the clearest statement of what Kevin Pollak does — accessible, 106 minutes, and rated 8.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Kevin 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.
A Few Good Men (1992)
Keeps the drama register of The Usual Suspects but asks for a colder reading of it.
Casino (1995)
Keeps the drama register of A Few Good Men but asks for a colder reading of it.
Injustice (2021)
A deliberate change of key after Casino — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Notorious Nick (2021)
A deliberate change of key after Injustice — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Willow
Russell Mulcahy
Director
1 film together
Notably Ricochet
Mick Jackson
Director
1 film together
Notably L.A. Story
Rob Reiner
Director
1 film together
Notably A Few Good Men
Stephen Surjik
Director
1 film together
Notably Wayne's World 2
Bryan Singer
Director
1 film together
Notably The Usual Suspects
Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together
Notably Casino
Tom Hanks
Director
1 film together
Notably That Thing You Do!
Robert Iscove
Director
1 film together
Notably She's All That
Peter Hyams
Director
1 film together
Notably End of Days
Jonathan Lynn
Director
1 film together
Notably The Whole Nine Yards
Adam Shankman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Wedding Planner
Kevin Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Cop Out
David Frankel
Director
1 film together
Notably The Big Year
Todd Phillips
Director
1 film together
Notably War Dogs
Jon Avnet
Director
1 film together
Notably Three Christs
Jason Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Front Runner
Matt Peters
Director
1 film together
Notably Injustice
Adam Countee
Director
1 film together
Notably Willow: Behind the Magic
Hallie Meyers-Shyer
Director
1 film together
Notably Goodrich
Nora Kirkpatrick
Director
1 film together
Notably Couples Weekend
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Bryan 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 SuspectsMartin Scorsese
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
CasinoRob Reiner
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Few Good MenMatt Peters
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
InjusticeTodd Phillips
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
War DogsRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WillowTom Hanks
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
That Thing You Do!Jon Avnet
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Three ChristsHallie Meyers-Shyer
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GoodrichJonathan Lynn
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Whole Nine YardsMick Jackson
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
L.A. StoryPeter Hyams
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
End of DaysRobert Iscove
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
She's All ThatNora Kirkpatrick
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Couples WeekendStephen Surjik
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wayne's World 2Russell Mulcahy
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RicochetDavid Frankel
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 Big YearJason Reitman
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Front RunnerAdam Shankman
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Wedding PlannerKevin Smith
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cop OutAdam Countee
Director
1 film together · 4.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Willow: Behind the MagicSix 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 Usual Suspects
as Hockney
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Dr. Dolittle 2
as Riley / Alligator
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 Hockney
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Wayne's World 2
as Jerry Segel
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Usual Suspects
as Hockney
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. Kevin Pollak 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
38 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
15 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
The Usual Suspects
as Hockney
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Usual Suspects
as Hockney
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Dr. Dolittle 2
as Riley / Alligator
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Time of Death
as Warden Beau LaRue
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Usual Suspects
as Hockney
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Willow
as Rool
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
That Thing You Do!
as Boss Vic Koss
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
End of Days
as Bobby Chicago
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
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
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
Leonardo DiCaprio
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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