Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#244
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Patrick Wilson 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.
Patrick Wilson appears in 47 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Patrick. The Conjuring is the clearest case: a film rated 7.7 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, horror. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Michael Chaves, Noah Baumbach, Edward Burns and others, Patrick Wilson 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 Conjuring (2013) as Ed Warren · Watchmen (2009) as Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II · The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) as Ed Warren
Career snapshot
Ranked #244 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
47
2004–2026
Career length
22 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.7
The Conjuring
Average Nutevio score
6.1
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.5
The Conjuring
Most frequent director
James Wan
6 films together
Longest collaboration
6×
With James Wan
Most common genre
Drama
22 titles
Average runtime
1h 50m
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
2000s
6.3 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Watchmen, Passengers, Lakeview Terrace — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.3
Across 8 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.3
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. Watchmen, Passengers, Lakeview Terrace.
Most productive era
2010s
27 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 | 6.27 films | 6.111 films | 4.74 films |
| Action | 7.41 film | 6.35 films | 6.52 films |
| Thriller | 6.33 films | 6.211 films | 6.92 films |
| Comedy | 5.81 film | 5.98 films | 2.13 films |
| Crime | 6.01 film | 5.83 films | — |
| Romance | 6.33 films | 6.32 films | — |
| Horror | — | 6.611 films | 6.95 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2004The Alamo
Where our catalogue meets this career, as William Travis.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2013The Conjuring
7.7 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
2026Run Amok
The current state of the argument, as Mr. Shelby.
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.
47 of 47 films
as Ed Warren
Directed by James Wan
as Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II
Directed by Zack Snyder
as Ed Warren
Directed by Michael Chaves
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
Ed Warren
The Conjuring (2013)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Ed Warren gives Patrick Wilson a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Self
Faith & Fear: The Conjuring Universe (2020)
Performance score7.9
Faith & Fear: The Conjuring Universe asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II
Watchmen (2009)
Performance score7.7
Watchmen asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Ed Warren
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Performance score7.6
The Conjuring: Last Rites asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Ed Warren 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 Ed Warren
Start here. The Conjuring is the clearest statement of what Patrick Wilson does — accessible, 112 minutes, and rated 7.7 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Patrick 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.
Watchmen (2009)
A deliberate change of key after The Conjuring — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Faith & Fear: The Conjuring Universe (2020)
A deliberate change of key after Watchmen — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Keeps the horror register of Faith & Fear: The Conjuring Universe but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Same director as The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, 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.
James Wan
Director
6 films together
Notably The Conjuring
Michael Chaves
Director
3 films together
Notably The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Joe Carnahan
Director
2 films together
Notably The A-Team
John Lee Hancock
Director
2 films together
Notably The Founder
Roland Emmerich
Director
2 films together
Notably Midway
David Slade
Director
1 film together
Notably Hard Candy
Ryan Murphy
Director
1 film together
Notably Running with Scissors
Todd Field
Director
1 film together
Notably Little Children
Lajos Koltai
Director
1 film together
Notably Evening
Neil LaBute
Director
1 film together
Notably Lakeview Terrace
Rodrigo García
Director
1 film together
Notably Passengers
Zack Snyder
Director
1 film together
Notably Watchmen
Josh Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably The Switch
Roger Michell
Director
1 film together
Notably Morning Glory
Jason Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably Young Adult
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Prometheus
Jack Plotnick
Director
1 film together
Notably Space Station 76
Scott Foley
Director
1 film together
Notably Let's Kill Ward's Wife
Andy Goddard
Director
1 film together
Notably A Kind of Murder
Alejandro Brugués
Director
1 film together
Notably Nightmare Cinema
Jaume Collet-Serra
Director
1 film together
Notably The Commuter
Corin Hardy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Nun
Gary Dauberman
Director
1 film together
Notably Annabelle Comes Home
Vincenzo Natali
Director
1 film together
Notably In the Tall Grass
Kitty Green
Director
1 film together
Notably The Assistant
Lonny Price
Director
1 film together
Notably Show of Titles
Patrick Wilson
Director
1 film together
Notably Insidious: The Red Door
Edward Burns
Director
1 film together
Notably Millers in Marriage
Noah Baumbach
Director
1 film together
Notably Jay Kelly
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
James Wan
Director
6 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 6 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The ConjuringMichael Chaves
Director
3 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do ItRoland Emmerich
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
MidwayJohn Lee Hancock
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The FounderJoe Carnahan
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
The A-TeamZack Snyder
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WatchmenTodd Field
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Little ChildrenDavid Slade
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hard CandyRidley Scott
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PrometheusPatrick Wilson
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Insidious: The Red DoorGary Dauberman
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Annabelle Comes HomeJaume Collet-Serra
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The CommuterRoger Michell
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Morning GloryKitty Green
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The AssistantNoah Baumbach
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jay KellyJosh Gordon
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The SwitchEdward Burns
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Millers in MarriageRodrigo García
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PassengersNeil LaBute
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lakeview TerraceCorin Hardy
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 NunAlejandro Brugués
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Nightmare CinemaJason Reitman
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Young AdultLajos 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
EveningRyan Murphy
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Running with ScissorsVincenzo Natali
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In the Tall GrassScott Foley
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Let's Kill Ward's WifeAndy Goddard
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Kind of MurderJack Plotnick
Director
1 film together · 4.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Space Station 76Lonny Price
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Show of TitlesSix 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 Conjuring
as Ed Warren
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
The Founder
as Rollie Smith
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 Conjuring
as Ed Warren
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Assistant
as Man In Elevator (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Conjuring
as Ed Warren
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. Patrick Wilson 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
22 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
22 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 Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
as Ed Warren
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Conjuring
as Ed Warren
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Founder
as Rollie Smith
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
as Ed Warren
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Watchmen
as Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Aquaman
as King Orm Marius / Ocean Master
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Morning Glory
as Adam Bennett
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
as Orm
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
Harry Dean Stanton
Works with the same directors — Ridley Scott
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
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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