Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#3624
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
John Cusack represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 41 years in, and John is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
John Cusack appears in 43 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without John. Stand by Me is the clearest case: a film rated 7.9 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 action, mystery, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Andrew McCarthy, David Cronenberg, Scott Coffey and others, John Cusack 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.
Stand by Me (1986) as Denny Lachance · Anastasia (1997) as Dimitri (voice) · Being John Malkovich (1999) as Craig Schwartz
Career snapshot
Ranked #3624 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
43
1984–2025
Career length
41 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.9
Stand by Me
Average Nutevio score
6.3
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.8
Stand by Me
Most frequent director
Lee Daniels
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Lee Daniels
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
7.2
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
6.7
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
1980s
6.8 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Say Anything..., Eight Men Out, Stand by Me — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
6.8
Across 6 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1980s
6.8
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. Say Anything..., Eight Men Out, Stand by Me.
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 | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.04 films | 6.78 films | 6.84 films | 6.34 films | 5.62 films |
| Action | — | 6.91 film | 5.82 films | 6.41 film | 5.72 films |
| Thriller | — | 6.73 films | 6.13 films | 6.04 films | 5.73 films |
| Comedy | 6.54 films | 6.84 films | 6.38 films | 6.02 films | 6.31 film |
| Crime | — | 6.74 films | 6.62 films | 6.31 film | 5.01 film |
| Romance | 6.54 films | — | 6.44 films | — | — |
| Horror | — | — | 6.32 films | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1984Sixteen Candles
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Bryce.
Highest rated performance
1986Stand by Me
7.9 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Career peak
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2025Fog of War
The current state of the argument, as Bob Duncolm.
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.
43 of 43 films
as Craig Schwartz
Directed by Spike Jonze
as Dimitri (voice)
Directed by Gary Goldman
as Rob Gordon
Directed by Stephen Frears
as Denny Lachance
Directed by Rob Reiner
as Nick Easter
Directed by Gary Fleder
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
Craig Schwartz
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Craig Schwartz gives John Cusack a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Dimitri (voice)
Anastasia (1997)
Performance score7.9
Anastasia asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dimitri (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Rob Gordon
High Fidelity (2000)
Performance score7.7
High Fidelity asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Rob Gordon is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Denny Lachance
Stand by Me (1986)
Performance score7.7
Stand by Me asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Denny Lachance 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 Craig Schwartz
Start here. Being John Malkovich is the clearest statement of what John Cusack does — accessible, 113 minutes, and rated 7.4 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet John 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.
Stand by Me (1986)
Keeps the drama register of Being John Malkovich but asks for a colder reading of it.
Anastasia (1997)
Keeps the adventure register of Stand by Me but asks for a colder reading of it.
High Fidelity (2000)
A deliberate change of key after Anastasia — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Runaway Jury (2003)
Keeps the drama register of High Fidelity but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Rob Reiner
Director
2 films together
Notably Stand by Me
Stephen Frears
Director
2 films together
Notably High Fidelity
Spike Jonze
Director
2 films together
Notably Being John Malkovich
Mikael Håfström
Director
2 films together
Notably 1408
Lee Daniels
Director
2 films together
Notably The Butler
John Hughes
Director
1 film together
Notably Sixteen Candles
Savage Steve Holland
Director
1 film together
Notably One Crazy Summer
John Sayles
Director
1 film together
Notably Eight Men Out
Cameron Crowe
Director
1 film together
Notably Say Anything...
Tim Robbins
Director
1 film together
Notably Bob Roberts
Robert Altman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Player
Clint Eastwood
Director
1 film together
Notably Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Simon West
Director
1 film together
Notably Con Air
Gary Goldman
Director
1 film together
Notably Anastasia
Terrence Malick
Director
1 film together
Notably The Thin Red Line
Mike Newell
Director
1 film together
Notably Pushing Tin
Joe Roth
Director
1 film together
Notably America's Sweethearts
Gary Fleder
Director
1 film together
Notably Runaway Jury
Gary David Goldberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Must Love Dogs
Harold Ramis
Director
1 film together
Notably The Ice Harvest
Roland Emmerich
Director
1 film together
Notably 2012
Steve Pink
Director
1 film together
Notably Hot Tub Time Machine
Scott Coffey
Director
1 film together
Notably Adult World
David Cronenberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Maps to the Stars
Andrew McCarthy
Director
1 film together
Notably BRATS
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Spike Jonze
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Being John MalkovichRob Reiner
Director
2 films together · 7.2 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Stand by MeStephen Frears
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
High FidelityLee Daniels
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
The ButlerMikael Håfström
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
1408Gary Goldman
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AnastasiaTerrence Malick
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Thin Red LineRobert Altman
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 PlayerGary Fleder
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Runaway JurySimon West
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Con AirCameron Crowe
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Say Anything...John Hughes
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sixteen CandlesJohn Sayles
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Eight Men OutTim Robbins
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bob RobertsClint Eastwood
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Midnight in the Garden of Good and EvilDavid Cronenberg
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Maps to the StarsSteve Pink
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hot Tub Time MachineRoland Emmerich
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
2012Andrew McCarthy
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BRATSScott Coffey
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Adult WorldSavage Steve Holland
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
One Crazy SummerHarold Ramis
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 Ice HarvestGary David Goldberg
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Must Love DogsMike Newell
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pushing TinJoe Roth
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
America's SweetheartsSix 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
Stand by Me
as Denny Lachance
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Anastasia
as Dimitri (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
Stand by Me
as Denny Lachance
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Player
as John Cusack
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Being John Malkovich
as Craig Schwartz
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. John Cusack 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.
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
Anastasia
as Dimitri (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Player
as John Cusack
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
High Fidelity
as Rob Gordon
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Shanghai
as Paul Soames
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Stand by Me
as Denny Lachance
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Dragon Blade
as Lucius
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
High Fidelity
as Rob Gordon
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
2012
as Jackson Curtis
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Have your say
Community
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Reference
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