Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1181
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Cheech Marin represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 48 years in, and Cheech is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Cheech Marin appears in 35 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Cheech. The Lion King is the clearest case: a film rated 8.5 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 documentary, drama, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with David Alvarado, Marvin Lemus, Bobby Farrelly and others, Cheech Marin 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 Lion King (1994) as Banzai (voice) · Coco (2017) as Corrections Officer (voice) · The Book of Life (2014) as Pancho Rodriguez (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #1181 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
35
1978–2026
Career length
48 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.5
The Lion King
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.3
The Lion King
Most frequent director
Robert Rodriguez
8 films together
Longest collaboration
8×
With Robert Rodriguez
Most common genre
Comedy
20 titles
Average runtime
1h 40m
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
6.8
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
7.2 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. From Dusk Till Dawn, Tin Cup, Desperado — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.2
Across 4 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
7.1
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1970s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Up in Smoke.
Most productive era
2000s
11 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 | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 7.51 film | 8.51 film | — | 7.01 film | 5.24 films |
| Action | — | — | 7.02 films | 6.17 films | 6.31 film | 6.21 film |
| Thriller | — | 7.51 film | 6.91 film | 6.54 films | 6.31 film | — |
| Comedy | 6.61 film | 6.74 films | 6.11 film | 6.07 films | 6.32 films | 5.95 films |
| Crime | — | — | 7.02 films | 6.31 film | — | — |
| Romance | — | — | 6.11 film | 5.41 film | — | 6.21 film |
| Horror | — | — | 7.11 film | 6.73 films | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1978Up in Smoke
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Pedro.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
1994The Lion King
8.5 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
2026Campeón Gabacho
The current state of the argument.
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.
35 of 35 films
as Banzai (voice)
Directed by Rob Minkoff
as Corrections Officer (voice)
Directed by Lee Unkrich
as Pancho Rodriguez (voice)
Directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez
as Pollo
Directed by Unknown
as Ramone (voice)
Directed by John Lasseter
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
Banzai (voice)
The Lion King (1994)
Performance score8.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Banzai (voice) gives Cheech Marin a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Corrections Officer (voice)
Coco (2017)
Performance score8.1
Coco asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Corrections Officer (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Pancho Rodriguez (voice)
The Book of Life (2014)
Performance score7.6
The Book of Life asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Pancho Rodriguez (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Pollo
The Long Game (2024)
Performance score7.5
The Long Game asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Pollo 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 Banzai (voice)
Start here. The Lion King is the clearest statement of what Cheech Marin does — accessible, 89 minutes, and rated 8.5 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Cheech 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.
Cars (2006)
Keeps the family register of The Lion King but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Book of Life (2014)
Keeps the family register of Cars but asks for a colder reading of it.
Coco (2017)
Keeps the family register of The Book of Life but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Long Game (2024)
Keeps the family register of Coco but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Robert Rodriguez
Director
8 films together
Notably From Dusk Till Dawn
John Lasseter
Director
3 films together
Notably Cars
Lou Adler
Director
1 film together
Notably Up in Smoke
Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together
Notably After Hours
George Scribner
Director
1 film together
Notably Oliver & Company
Jeff Kanew
Director
1 film together
Notably Troop Beverly Hills
Ivan Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably Ghostbusters II
Rob Minkoff
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lion King
Ron Shelton
Director
1 film together
Notably Tin Cup
Joe Roth
Director
1 film together
Notably Christmas with the Kranks
Quentin Tarantino
Director
1 film together
Notably Grindhouse
Raja Gosnell
Director
1 film together
Notably Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Andy Fickman
Director
1 film together
Notably Race to Witch Mountain
Jorge R. Gutierrez
Director
1 film together
Notably The Book of Life
Brian Fee
Director
1 film together
Notably Cars 3
Lee Unkrich
Director
1 film together
Notably Coco
Tim Hill
Director
1 film together
Notably The War with Grandpa
Jason Moore
Director
1 film together
Notably Shotgun Wedding
Bobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together
Notably Champions
Marvin Lemus
Director
1 film together
Notably Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip
David Alvarado
Director
1 film together
Notably American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Robert Rodriguez
Director
8 films together · 6.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 8 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
From Dusk Till DawnJohn Lasseter
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
CarsRob Minkoff
Director
1 film together · 8.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lion KingLee Unkrich
Director
1 film together · 8.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
CocoJorge R. Gutierrez
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Book of LifeMartin Scorsese
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
After HoursBrian Fee
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cars 3Quentin 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
GrindhouseBobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ChampionsIvan Reitman
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ghostbusters IIGeorge Scribner
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Oliver & CompanyLou Adler
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Up in SmokeTim Hill
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 War with GrandpaJason Moore
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Shotgun WeddingJoe Roth
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Christmas with the KranksMarvin Lemus
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road TripRon Shelton
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tin CupAndy Fickman
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Race to Witch MountainJeff Kanew
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Troop Beverly HillsRaja Gosnell
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Beverly Hills ChihuahuaDavid Alvarado
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis ValdezSix 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
Coco
as Corrections Officer (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
The Lion King
as Banzai (voice)
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 Lion King
as Banzai (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 Padre (segment "Planet Terror")
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Lion King
as Banzai (voice)
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. Cheech Marin 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
48 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
20 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 Lion King
as Banzai (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
From Dusk Till Dawn
as Border Guard / Chet Pussy / Carlos
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain
as Self
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Book of Life
as Pancho Rodriguez (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Coco
as Corrections Officer (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Race to Witch Mountain
as Eddie
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Coco
as Corrections Officer (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Lion King
as Banzai (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
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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
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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