Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#422
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Kelsey Grammer represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 29 years in, and Kelsey is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Kelsey Grammer appears in 35 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Kelsey. Young Washington is the clearest case: a film rated 8.2 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, science fiction, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Anthony Russo, Jon Erwin, Claudio Fäh and others, Kelsey Grammer 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.
Young Washington (2026) as Lord Fairfax · Toy Story 2 (1999) as Prospector (voice) · Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021) as Blinky (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #422 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
35
1997–2026
Career length
29 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.2
Young Washington
Average Nutevio score
5.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
Young Washington
Most frequent director
Jon Erwin
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Jon Erwin
Most common genre
Comedy
13 titles
Average runtime
1h 39m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
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
6.3
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. Toy Story 2, Bartok the Magnificent, Anastasia — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
7.2
Across 3 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
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Toy Story 2, Bartok the Magnificent, Anastasia.
Most productive era
2020s
19 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 | — | 5.81 film | 5.93 films | 6.27 films |
| Action | — | 6.22 films | 5.83 films | 6.47 films |
| Thriller | — | 5.91 film | 5.82 films | 6.33 films |
| Comedy | 7.02 films | 5.32 films | 6.04 films | 4.05 films |
| Crime | — | 5.91 film | — | 5.32 films |
| Romance | — | — | 5.21 film | 6.31 film |
| Horror | — | — | 5.31 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio · Career peak
1997Anastasia
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Vladimir (voice). Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance · Most recent film
2026Young Washington
8.2 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. The current state of the argument, as Lord Fairfax.
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 Lord Fairfax
Directed by Jon Erwin
as Vladimir (voice)
Directed by Gary Goldman
as Prospector (voice)
Directed by John Lasseter
as Blinky (voice)
Directed by Francisco Ruiz Velasco
as Chuck Smith
Directed by Jon Erwin
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
Lord Fairfax
Young Washington (2026)
Performance score7.9
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Lord Fairfax gives Kelsey Grammer a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Vladimir (voice)
Anastasia (1997)
Performance score7.9
Anastasia asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Vladimir (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Prospector (voice)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Performance score7.8
Toy Story 2 asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Prospector (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Blinky (voice)
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021)
Performance score7.7
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Blinky (voice) 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 Lord Fairfax
Start here. Young Washington is the clearest statement of what Kelsey Grammer does — accessible, 122 minutes, and rated 8.2 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Kelsey 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.
Anastasia (1997)
A deliberate change of key after Young Washington — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Keeps the family register of Anastasia but asks for a colder reading of it.
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021)
Keeps the family register of Toy Story 2 but asks for a colder reading of it.
Jesus Revolution (2023)
A deliberate change of key after Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Gary Goldman
Director
2 films together
Notably Anastasia
Nicholas Stoller
Director
2 films together
Notably Storks
Jon Erwin
Director
2 films together
Notably Young Washington
John Lasseter
Director
1 film together
Notably Toy Story 2
Jean-Marie Poiré
Director
1 film together
Notably Just Visiting
John Herzfeld
Director
1 film together
Notably 15 Minutes
Brett Ratner
Director
1 film together
Notably X-Men: The Last Stand
Douglas McGrath
Director
1 film together
Notably I Don't Know How She Does It
Patrick Hughes
Director
1 film together
Notably The Expendables 3
Michael Bay
Director
1 film together
Notably Transformers: Age of Extinction
Doug Ellin
Director
1 film together
Notably Entourage
Lauren Miller Rogen
Director
1 film together
Notably Like Father
Stephen S. Campanelli
Director
1 film together
Notably Grand Isle
Andrew Lawrence
Director
1 film together
Notably Money Plane
Rachel Winter
Director
1 film together
Notably The Space Between
Lonny Price
Director
1 film together
Notably Show of Titles
Francisco Ruiz Velasco
Director
1 film together
Notably Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
Nia DaCosta
Director
1 film together
Notably The Marvels
Dolph Lundgren
Director
1 film together
Notably Wanted Man
Gary Walkow
Director
1 film together
Notably Lars Shrike Walks The Night
Julia Stiles
Director
1 film together
Notably Wish You Were Here
Claudio Fäh
Director
1 film together
Notably Turbulence
Anthony Russo
Director
1 film together
Notably Avengers: Doomsday
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Jon Erwin
Director
2 films together · 7.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Young WashingtonGary Goldman
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
AnastasiaNicholas Stoller
Director
2 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
StorksJohn Lasseter
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Toy Story 2Francisco Ruiz Velasco
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Trollhunters: Rise of the TitansClaudio Fäh
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TurbulenceAnthony Russo
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Avengers: DoomsdayDolph Lundgren
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wanted ManBrett Ratner
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
X-Men: The Last StandJulia Stiles
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wish You Were HereLauren Miller Rogen
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Like FatherDoug Ellin
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EntouragePatrick Hughes
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 Expendables 3Michael Bay
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Transformers: Age of ExtinctionNia DaCosta
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 MarvelsJohn Herzfeld
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
15 MinutesAndrew Lawrence
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Money PlaneStephen S. Campanelli
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Grand IsleDouglas McGrath
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I Don't Know How She Does ItRachel Winter
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Space BetweenJean-Marie Poiré
Director
1 film together · 4.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Just VisitingGary Walkow
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lars Shrike Walks The NightLonny Price
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Show of TitlesSix 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
Young Washington
as Lord Fairfax
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 Vladimir (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
Young Washington
as Lord Fairfax
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Entourage
as Kelsey Grammer
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Young Washington
as Lord Fairfax
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. Kelsey Grammer 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
29 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
13 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
Anastasia
as Vladimir (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
as Blinky (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Wish You Were Here
as Dad
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop
as Robert Thompson
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
as Blinky (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
as Blinky (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Bartok the Magnificent
as Zozi (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Avengers: Doomsday
as Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy / Beast
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
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
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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