Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1347
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Molly Shannon represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 28 years in, and Molly is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Molly Shannon appears in 43 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Molly. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the clearest case: a film rated 7.5 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, comedy, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Peter Farrelly, Brett Haley, Bobby Farrelly and others, Molly Shannon 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.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) as Denise Kushner · Will & Harper (2024) as Self · Promising Young Woman (2020) as Mrs. Fisher
Career snapshot
Ranked #1347 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
43
1998–2026
Career length
28 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.5
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.5
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Most frequent director
Bobby Farrelly
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Bobby Farrelly
Most common genre
Comedy
39 titles
Average runtime
1h 41m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.9
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
6.4
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
6.4 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Igor, Evan Almighty, Marie Antoinette — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.4
Across 11 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.4
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. Analyze This, Superstar, Never Been Kissed.
Most productive era
2010s
16 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 | 6.21 film | 6.73 films | 6.74 films | 6.73 films |
| Action | — | 6.51 film | 5.71 film | 5.81 film |
| Thriller | — | — | — | 7.41 film |
| Comedy | 6.14 films | 6.310 films | 6.215 films | 5.910 films |
| Crime | 6.51 film | — | — | 7.41 film |
| Romance | 6.03 films | 6.62 films | 5.63 films | 6.02 films |
| Horror | — | 6.01 film | 5.51 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Emily Sanderson.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2015Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
7.5 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
2026People We Meet on Vacation
The current state of the argument, as Wanda Wright.
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 Denise Kushner
Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
as Diane
Directed by Zach Braff
as Self
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
as Mrs. Fisher
Directed by Emerald Fennell
as Wanda (voice)
Directed by Derek Drymon
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
Denise Kushner
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Performance score7.6
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Denise Kushner gives Molly Shannon a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Diane
A Good Person (2023)
Performance score7.4
A Good Person asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Diane is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self
Will & Harper (2024)
Performance score7.2
Will & Harper asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Mrs. Fisher
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Performance score7.2
Promising Young Woman asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mrs. Fisher 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 Denise Kushner
Start here. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the clearest statement of what Molly Shannon does — accessible, 105 minutes, and rated 7.5 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Molly 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.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Keeps the drama register of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl but asks for a colder reading of it.
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)
A deliberate change of key after Promising Young Woman — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
A Good Person (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania but asks for a colder reading of it.
Will & Harper (2024)
Keeps the comedy register of A Good Person but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Genndy Tartakovsky
Director
3 films together
Notably Hotel Transylvania
Bobby Farrelly
Director
3 films together
Notably Driver's Ed
Brent Hodge
Director
2 films together
Notably Chris Farley: Anything for a Laugh
John Fortenberry
Director
1 film together
Notably A Night at the Roxbury
Raja Gosnell
Director
1 film together
Notably Never Been Kissed
Bruce McCulloch
Director
1 film together
Notably Superstar
Harold Ramis
Director
1 film together
Notably Analyze This
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably How the Grinch Stole Christmas
David Wain
Director
1 film together
Notably Wet Hot American Summer
Shari Springer Berman
Director
1 film together
Notably American Splendor
Adam McKay
Director
1 film together
Notably Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
David Zucker
Director
1 film together
Notably Scary Movie 4
Sofia Coppola
Director
1 film together
Notably Marie Antoinette
Tom Shadyac
Director
1 film together
Notably Evan Almighty
Jake Kasdan
Director
1 film together
Notably Bad Teacher
Matt Piedmont
Director
1 film together
Notably Casa de Mi Padre
Nicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together
Notably The Five-Year Engagement
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Director
1 film together
Notably Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Chris Kelly
Director
1 film together
Notably Other People
William H. Macy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Layover
Alethea Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Fun Mom Dinner
Michael Tiddes
Director
1 film together
Notably Sextuplets
Kevin Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
Emerald Fennell
Director
1 film together
Notably Promising Young Woman
Jeff Tomsic
Director
1 film together
Notably Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special
Derek Drymon
Director
1 film together
Notably Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
Zach Braff
Director
1 film together
Notably A Good Person
Josh Greenbaum
Director
1 film together
Notably Will & Harper
Beth McCarthy-Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
Brett Haley
Director
1 film together
Notably People We Meet on Vacation
Peter Farrelly
Director
1 film together
Notably Balls Up
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Genndy Tartakovsky
Director
3 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Hotel TransylvaniaBobby Farrelly
Director
3 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Driver's EdBrent Hodge
Director
2 films together · 3.6 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Chris Farley: Anything for a LaughAlfonso Gomez-Rejon
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Me and Earl and the Dying GirlJosh Greenbaum
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Will & HarperEmerald Fennell
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Promising Young WomanShari Springer Berman
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
American SplendorBrett Haley
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
People We Meet on VacationZach Braff
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Good PersonDerek Drymon
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hotel Transylvania: TransformaniaRon 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 ChristmasSofia Coppola
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Marie AntoinetteJeff Tomsic
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Norm Macdonald: Nothing SpecialHarold Ramis
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Analyze ThisJohn Fortenberry
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Night at the RoxburyBeth McCarthy-Miller
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SNL50: The Homecoming ConcertChris Kelly
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Other PeopleAdam McKay
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyMichael Tiddes
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SextupletsDavid Wain
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wet Hot American SummerRaja Gosnell
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Never Been KissedNicholas Stoller
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 Five-Year EngagementPeter Farrelly
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Balls UpKevin Smith
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jay and Silent Bob RebootAlethea Jones
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fun Mom DinnerJake Kasdan
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bad TeacherTom Shadyac
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Evan AlmightyDavid Zucker
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scary Movie 4William H. Macy
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The LayoverMatt Piedmont
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Casa de Mi PadreBruce McCulloch
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SuperstarSix 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
Will & Harper
as Self
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Shallow Hal
as Mrs. Mary Larson (uncredited)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
as Denise Kushner
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
as Self
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
as Denise Kushner
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. Molly Shannon 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
28 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
39 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
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
as Denise Kushner
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Promising Young Woman
as Mrs. Fisher
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Shallow Hal
as Mrs. Mary Larson (uncredited)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Promising Young Woman
as Mrs. Fisher
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Osmosis Jones
as Mrs. Boyd
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Osmosis Jones
as Mrs. Boyd
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Shallow Hal
as Mrs. Mary Larson (uncredited)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
as Betty Lou Who
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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