Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1304
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Jeffrey Tambor represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 41 years in, and Jeffrey is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Jeffrey Tambor appears in 33 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Jeffrey. Disclosure is the clearest case: a film rated 7.8 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, fantasy, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Mark Waters, Bille August, Stephen Sandoval and others, Jeffrey Tambor 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.
Disclosure (2020) as Self (archive footage) · Tangled (2010) as Big Nose Thug (voice) · Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo (2010) as Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #1304 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
33
1979–2020
Career length
41 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.8
Disclosure
Average Nutevio score
6.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.8
Disclosure
Most frequent director
Todd Phillips
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Todd Phillips
Most common genre
Comedy
22 titles
Average runtime
1h 42m
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
2020s
7.3 average MV
The 2020s are where the work and the material meet. Magic Camp, Disclosure — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2020s
7.3
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
7.3
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. ...And Justice for All.
Most productive era
2010s
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 | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.11 film | 6.51 film | 7.52 films | 6.71 film | 6.44 films | — |
| Action | — | — | — | 6.33 films | — | — |
| Thriller | — | — | — | — | 7.11 film | — |
| Comedy | — | 6.51 film | 6.34 films | 6.57 films | 6.49 films | 6.81 film |
| Crime | — | — | — | — | 7.11 film | — |
| Romance | — | — | 7.12 films | 6.21 film | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Jay Porter.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2010Tangled
7.8 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
2020Disclosure
The current state of the argument, as Self (archive footage).
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 Big Nose Thug (voice)
Directed by Byron Howard
as Self (archive footage)
Directed by Unknown
as Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice)
Directed by Tony Cervone
as Quince
Directed by Martin Brest
as Georgy Malenkov
Directed by Armando Iannucci
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
Big Nose Thug (voice)
Tangled (2010)
Performance score7.8
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Big Nose Thug (voice) gives Jeffrey Tambor a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Self (archive footage)
Disclosure (2020)
Performance score7.6
Disclosure asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self (archive footage) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice)
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo (2010)
Performance score7.5
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Quince
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Performance score7.5
Meet Joe Black asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Quince 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 Big Nose Thug (voice)
Start here. Tangled is the clearest statement of what Jeffrey Tambor does — accessible, 100 minutes, and rated 7.8 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Jeffrey 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.
Meet Joe Black (1998)
A deliberate change of key after Tangled — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo (2010)
Keeps the fantasy register of Meet Joe Black but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Death of Stalin (2017)
Keeps the comedy register of Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo but asks for a colder reading of it.
Disclosure (2020)
A deliberate change of key after The Death of Stalin — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Todd Phillips
Director
3 films together
Notably The Hangover
Guillermo del Toro
Director
2 films together
Notably Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Mark Waters
Director
2 films together
Notably Magic Camp
Norman Jewison
Director
1 film together
Notably ...And Justice for All
Ron Underwood
Director
1 film together
Notably City Slickers
Betty Thomas
Director
1 film together
Notably Doctor Dolittle
Bobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together
Notably There's Something About Mary
Martin Brest
Director
1 film together
Notably Meet Joe Black
James Mangold
Director
1 film together
Notably Girl, Interrupted
Tim Hill
Director
1 film together
Notably Muppets from Space
Ed Harris
Director
1 film together
Notably Pollock
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Stephen Hillenburg
Director
1 film together
Notably The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Alec Berg
Director
1 film together
Notably EuroTrip
Craig Mazin
Director
1 film together
Notably Superhero Movie
Peter Ramsey
Director
1 film together
Notably Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space
Ricky Gervais
Director
1 film together
Notably The Invention of Lying
Rob Letterman
Director
1 film together
Notably Monsters vs Aliens
Tony Cervone
Director
1 film together
Notably Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo
Byron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Tangled
Greg Mottola
Director
1 film together
Notably Paul
Tristram Shapeero
Director
1 film together
Notably A Merry Friggin' Christmas
Jarrad Paul
Director
1 film together
Notably The D Train
Gavin O'Connor
Director
1 film together
Notably The Accountant
Armando Iannucci
Director
1 film together
Notably The Death of Stalin
Stephen Sandoval
Director
1 film together
Notably Tangled: Before Ever After
Bille August
Director
1 film together
Notably 55 Steps
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Todd Phillips
Director
3 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The HangoverGuillermo del Toro
Director
2 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyMark Waters
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Magic CampByron Howard
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TangledTony Cervone
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-DooJames Mangold
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Girl, InterruptedMartin Brest
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Meet Joe BlackGavin O'Connor
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 AccountantStephen Hillenburg
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 SpongeBob SquarePants MovieNorman Jewison
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
...And Justice for AllArmando Iannucci
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Death of StalinRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
How the Grinch Stole ChristmasStephen Sandoval
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tangled: Before Ever AfterGreg Mottola
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PaulBille August
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
55 StepsEd Harris
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PollockBobby 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
There's Something About MaryAlec Berg
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EuroTripRob Letterman
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Monsters vs AliensRon Underwood
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
City SlickersRicky Gervais
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 Invention of LyingPeter Ramsey
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mutant Pumpkins from Outer SpaceTim Hill
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Muppets from SpaceBetty Thomas
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Doctor DolittleTristram Shapeero
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Merry Friggin' ChristmasCraig Mazin
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Superhero MovieJarrad Paul
Director
1 film together · 4.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The D TrainSix 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
Girl, Interrupted
as Dr. Potts
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Tangled
as Big Nose Thug (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
Tangled
as Big Nose Thug (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Disclosure
as Self (archive footage)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Tangled
as Big Nose Thug (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. Jeffrey Tambor 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
41 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
22 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
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo
as Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo
as Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Meet Joe Black
as Quince
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo
as Mr. Calvin Curdles (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Tangled
as Big Nose Thug (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Hellboy
as Tom Manning
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Death of Stalin
as Georgy Malenkov
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Doctor Dolittle
as Dr. Fish
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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