Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1311
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Denis O'Hare represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 25 years in, and Denis is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Denis O'Hare appears in 33 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Denis. Dallas Buyers Club is the clearest case: a film rated 8.0 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, quiet performance, transformation. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for action, adventure, thriller. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Carlo Mirabella-Davis, Gustave Kervern, Nisha Ganatra and others, Denis O'Hare 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.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) as Dr. Sevard · The Normal Heart (2014) as Hiram Keebler · Changeling (2008) as Dr. Jonathan Steele
Career snapshot
Ranked #1311 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
33
1999–2024
Career length
25 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.0
Dallas Buyers Club
Average Nutevio score
6.5
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.9
Dallas Buyers Club
Most frequent director
Clint Eastwood
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Clint Eastwood
Most common genre
Drama
26 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
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
6.5
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
2010s
6.7 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Late Night, The Goldfinch, The Day Shall Come — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
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
6.8
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. Sweet and Lowdown.
Most productive era
2000s
14 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 | 6.71 film | 6.811 films | 6.811 films | 6.23 films |
| Action | — | — | — | 5.81 film |
| Thriller | — | 6.56 films | 6.32 films | 6.14 films |
| Comedy | 6.71 film | 6.84 films | 6.33 films | 5.01 film |
| Crime | — | 7.14 films | 6.33 films | — |
| Romance | — | 6.83 films | — | — |
| Horror | — | 5.81 film | — | 6.61 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Jake.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
8.0 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
2024Largo Winch: The Price of Money
The current state of the argument, as Dwight Cochrane.
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.
33 of 33 films
as Hiram Keebler
Directed by Ryan Murphy
as Dr. Jonathan Steele
Directed by Clint Eastwood
as Mr. Gilbertson
Directed by Anne Fletcher
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
Dr. Sevard
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Dr. Sevard gives Denis O'Hare a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Hiram Keebler
The Normal Heart (2014)
Performance score7.5
The Normal Heart asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Hiram Keebler is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Dr. Jonathan Steele
Changeling (2008)
Performance score7.4
Changeling asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dr. Jonathan Steele is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Doc Morris
The Judge (2014)
Performance score7.2
The Judge asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Doc Morris 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 Dr. Sevard
Start here. Dallas Buyers Club is the clearest statement of what Denis O'Hare does — accessible, 117 minutes, and rated 8.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Denis 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.
Changeling (2008)
Keeps the drama register of Dallas Buyers Club but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Proposal (2009)
Keeps the drama register of Changeling but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Normal Heart (2014)
Keeps the drama register of The Proposal but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Judge (2014)
Keeps the drama register of The Normal Heart but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Clint Eastwood
Director
2 films together
Notably Changeling
Woody Allen
Director
1 film together
Notably Sweet and Lowdown
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Director
1 film together
Notably 21 Grams
Zach Braff
Director
1 film together
Notably Garden State
Mikael Håfström
Director
1 film together
Notably Derailed
Ryan Fleck
Director
1 film together
Notably Half Nelson
Tony Gilroy
Director
1 film together
Notably Michael Clayton
Joby Harold
Director
1 film together
Notably Awake
Mike Nichols
Director
1 film together
Notably Charlie Wilson's War
John Erick Dowdle
Director
1 film together
Notably Quarantine
Michael McCullers
Director
1 film together
Notably Baby Mama
Gus Van Sant
Director
1 film together
Notably Milk
Anne Fletcher
Director
1 film together
Notably The Proposal
Martin Campbell
Director
1 film together
Notably Edge of Darkness
Kevin Macdonald
Director
1 film together
Notably The Eagle
Jean-Marc Vallée
Director
1 film together
Notably Dallas Buyers Club
Ryan Murphy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Normal Heart
David Dobkin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Judge
Craig William Macneill
Director
1 film together
Notably Lizzie
Chris Morris
Director
1 film together
Notably The Day Shall Come
John Crowley
Director
1 film together
Notably The Goldfinch
Nisha Ganatra
Director
1 film together
Notably Late Night
Gustave Kervern
Director
1 film together
Notably Delete History
Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Director
1 film together
Notably Swallow
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Clint Eastwood
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
ChangelingJean-Marc Vallée
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dallas Buyers ClubRyan Murphy
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Normal HeartDavid Dobkin
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 JudgeAnne Fletcher
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 ProposalAlejandro G. Iñárritu
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
21 GramsJohn Crowley
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The GoldfinchGus Van Sant
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MilkZach Braff
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Garden StateTony Gilroy
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Michael ClaytonWoody Allen
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sweet and LowdownCarlo Mirabella-Davis
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SwallowMike Nichols
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Charlie Wilson's WarJoby Harold
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AwakeRyan Fleck
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Half NelsonNisha Ganatra
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Late NightMartin Campbell
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Edge of DarknessMikael Håfström
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DerailedCraig William Macneill
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LizzieKevin Macdonald
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 EagleMichael McCullers
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Baby MamaJohn Erick Dowdle
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
QuarantineChris Morris
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Day Shall ComeGustave Kervern
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Delete HistorySix 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
Dallas Buyers Club
as Dr. Sevard
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Dallas Buyers Club
as Dr. Sevard
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Dallas Buyers Club
as Dr. Sevard
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
21 Grams
as Dr. Rothberg
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Dallas Buyers Club
as Dr. Sevard
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. Denis O'Hare 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
25 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
26 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
Changeling
as Dr. Jonathan Steele
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Changeling
as Dr. Jonathan Steele
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Dallas Buyers Club
as Dr. Sevard
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Edge of Darkness
as Moore
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Dallas Buyers Club
as Dr. Sevard
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Largo Winch: The Price of Money
as Dwight Cochrane
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Charlie Wilson's War
as Harold Holt
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Proposal
as Mr. Gilbertson
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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