Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1597
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Jim Broadbent represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 45 years in, and Jim is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Jim Broadbent appears in 49 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Jim. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 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 romance, comedy, drama. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Michael Morris, Noah Baumbach, Brian Ward and others, Jim Broadbent 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.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) as Horace Slughorn · Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) as Horace Slughorn · Blackadder: A Cunning Story (2023) as Self - Contributor
Career snapshot
Ranked #1597 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
49
1980–2025
Career length
45 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Most frequent director
David Yates
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With David Yates
Most common genre
Drama
25 titles
Average runtime
1h 51m
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
2000s
6.8 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Young Victoria, The Damned United — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.8
Across 17 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.7
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. Erik the Viking, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Brazil.
Most productive era
2000s
17 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 | — | 6.52 films | 6.89 films | 6.58 films | 6.56 films |
| Action | 5.42 films | 5.32 films | 6.82 films | 5.91 film | — |
| Thriller | 5.81 film | 4.51 film | — | — | 6.21 film |
| Comedy | 6.73 films | 5.73 films | 6.47 films | 6.64 films | 6.65 films |
| Crime | — | — | 7.62 films | 6.22 films | 6.01 film |
| Romance | — | — | 6.66 films | 6.41 film | 6.41 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1980The Dogs of War
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Film Crew.
Career peak
2007Hot Fuzz
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
8.3 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
2025What is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of Cloud Atlas
The current state of the argument, as Self - Interviewee.
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.
49 of 49 films
as Horace Slughorn
Directed by David Yates
as Inspector Frank Butterman
Directed by Edgar Wright
as Horace Slughorn
Directed by David Yates
as Kempton Bunton
Directed by Roger Michell
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
Horace Slughorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Horace Slughorn gives Jim Broadbent a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Inspector Frank Butterman
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Performance score8.0
Hot Fuzz asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Inspector Frank Butterman is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Horace Slughorn
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Performance score7.9
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Horace Slughorn is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Self - Contributor
Blackadder: A Cunning Story (2023)
Performance score7.7
Blackadder: A Cunning Story asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self - Contributor 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 Horace Slughorn
Start here. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the clearest statement of what Jim Broadbent does — accessible, 130 minutes, and rated 8.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Jim 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.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
A deliberate change of key after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
A deliberate change of key after Hot Fuzz — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Duke (2021)
A deliberate change of key after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Blackadder: A Cunning Story (2023)
A deliberate change of key after The Duke — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
David Yates
Director
3 films together
Notably Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Terry Gilliam
Director
2 films together
Notably Brazil
John Irvin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Dogs of War
Sidney J. Furie
Director
1 film together
Notably Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Terry Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Erik the Viking
Richard Loncraine
Director
1 film together
Notably Richard III
Peter Hewitt
Director
1 film together
Notably The Borrowers
Jeremiah S. Chechik
Director
1 film together
Notably The Avengers
Mark Herman
Director
1 film together
Notably Little Voice
Baz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together
Notably Moulin Rouge!
Douglas McGrath
Director
1 film together
Notably Nicholas Nickleby
Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together
Notably Gangs of New York
Frank Coraci
Director
1 film together
Notably Around the World in 80 Days
Mira Nair
Director
1 film together
Notably Vanity Fair
Andrew Adamson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Chris Wedge
Director
1 film together
Notably Robots
Terry Zwigoff
Director
1 film together
Notably Art School Confidential
Edgar Wright
Director
1 film together
Notably Hot Fuzz
Tom Hooper
Director
1 film together
Notably The Damned United
Jean-Marc Vallée
Director
1 film together
Notably The Young Victoria
Lilly Wachowski
Director
1 film together
Notably Cloud Atlas
Jon S. Baird
Director
1 film together
Notably Filth
Christopher Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Get Santa
Dexter Fletcher
Director
1 film together
Notably Eddie the Eagle
James Marsh
Director
1 film together
Notably King of Thieves
Stephen Gaghan
Director
1 film together
Notably Dolittle
Andy Goddard
Director
1 film together
Notably Six Minutes to Midnight
Roger Michell
Director
1 film together
Notably The Duke
Hettie Macdonald
Director
1 film together
Notably The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Brian Ward
Director
1 film together
Notably What is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of Cloud Atlas
Noah Baumbach
Director
1 film together
Notably Jay Kelly
Michael Morris
Director
1 film together
Notably Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
David Yates
Director
3 films together · 7.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2Terry Gilliam
Director
2 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
BrazilEdgar Wright
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hot FuzzBaz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Moulin Rouge!Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gangs of New YorkAndrew Adamson
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 Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeDexter Fletcher
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Eddie the EagleJean-Marc Vallée
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Young VictoriaTom Hooper
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Damned UnitedRoger Michell
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 DukeLilly Wachowski
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cloud AtlasDouglas McGrath
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Nicholas NicklebyJon S. Baird
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FilthHettie Macdonald
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryStephen Gaghan
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DolittleChris Wedge
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RobotsRichard Loncraine
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Richard IIIMichael Morris
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bridget Jones: Mad About the BoyMark Herman
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Little VoiceNoah 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 KellyAndy Goddard
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Six Minutes to MidnightChristopher Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Get SantaTerry Zwigoff
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Art School ConfidentialPeter Hewitt
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The BorrowersFrank Coraci
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Around the World in 80 DaysTerry Jones
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Erik the VikingMira Nair
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Vanity FairJohn Irvin
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Dogs of WarJames Marsh
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
King of ThievesSidney J. Furie
Director
1 film together · 5.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Superman IV: The Quest for PeaceJeremiah S. Chechik
Director
1 film together · 4.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The AvengersBrian Ward
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
What is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of Cloud AtlasSix 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
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Horace Slughorn
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Moulin Rouge!
as Harold Zidler
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Horace Slughorn
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Horace Slughorn
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Horace Slughorn
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. Jim Broadbent 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
45 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
25 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
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Horace Slughorn
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Hot Fuzz
as Inspector Frank Butterman
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Young Victoria
as King William IV
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
as Horace Slughorn
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Hot Fuzz
as Inspector Frank Butterman
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Around the World in 80 Days
as Lord Kelvin
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Valiant
as Sergeant (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
as Jean Pierre Dubois
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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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
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Have your say
Community
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Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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