Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#2932
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Pete Postlethwaite represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 33 years in, and Pete is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Pete Postlethwaite appears in 22 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Pete. Inception is the clearest case: a film rated 9.3 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 sci-fi, thriller, action. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Christopher Nolan, Ben Affleck, Louis Leterrier and others, Pete Postlethwaite 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.
Inception (2010) as Maurice Fischer · Inception (2010) as Maurice Fischer · The Usual Suspects (1995) as Kobayashi
Career snapshot
Ranked #2932 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
22
1977–2010
Career length
33 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
9.3
Inception
Average Nutevio score
6.9
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.8
Inception
Most frequent director
Christopher Nolan
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Christopher Nolan
Most common genre
Drama
12 titles
Average runtime
1h 59m
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
7.2
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
2010s
7.8 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Inception, Inception, The Town — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
7.8
Across 4 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
7.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2010s
4 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Inception, Inception, The Town.
Most productive era
1990s
13 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 | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.01 film | 7.28 films | 6.72 films | 7.21 film |
| Action | — | 6.63 films | 5.61 film | 8.03 films |
| Thriller | — | 8.31 film | 6.32 films | 8.32 films |
| Comedy | — | 7.01 film | — | — |
| Sci-Fi | — | — | — | 9.31 film |
| Crime | — | 8.31 film | — | 7.21 film |
| Romance | — | 7.02 films | 6.41 film | — |
| Horror | — | 6.61 film | 5.71 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1977The Duellists
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Orderly shaving Gen. Treillard.
First Nutevio masterpiece · Highest rated performance · Career peak
2010Inception
The first film here to clear 9.0 on our scale — a threshold fewer than one film in ten reaches. 9.3 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
The current state of the argument, as Spyros.
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.
22 of 22 films
as Maurice Fischer
Directed by Christopher Nolan
as Maurice Fischer
Directed by Christopher Nolan
as Kobayashi
Directed by Bryan Singer
as Danny
Directed by Mark Herman
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Showing 22 of 22 titles · 22 total credits · active 1977–2010
Inception
2010 · Maurice Fischer
The Town
2010 · Fergus "Fergie" Colm
Clash of the Titans
2010 · Spyros
Æon Flux
2005 · Keeper
The Constant Gardener
2005 · Lorbeer
Dark Water
2005 · Veeck
The Shipping News
2001 · Tert Card
Alice in Wonderland
1999 · Carpenter
Amistad
1997 · Holabird
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
1997 · Roland Tembo
Romeo + Juliet
1996 · Father Laurence
James and the Giant Peach
1996 · The Magic Man
DragonHeart
1996 · Gilbert
Brassed Off
1996 · Danny
The Usual Suspects
1995 · Kobayashi
In the Name of the Father
1993 · Giuseppe Conlon
Alien³
1992 · David
The Last of the Mohicans
1992 · Captain Beams
Hamlet
1990 · Player King
Treasure Island
1990 · George Merry
Zorro
1990 · TV · Bandit
The Duellists
1977 · Orderly shaving Gen. Treillard
The defining work
#1
Maurice Fischer
Inception (2010)
Performance score8.9
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Maurice Fischer gives Pete Postlethwaite a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Maurice Fischer
Inception (2010)
Performance score8.4
Inception asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Maurice Fischer is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Kobayashi
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Performance score8.0
The Usual Suspects asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Kobayashi is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Giuseppe Conlon
In the Name of the Father (1993)
Performance score8.0
In the Name of the Father asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Giuseppe Conlon 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 Maurice Fischer
Start here. Inception is the clearest statement of what Pete Postlethwaite does — accessible, 148 minutes, and rated 9.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Pete 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.
In the Name of the Father (1993)
A deliberate change of key after Inception — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Keeps the drama register of In the Name of the Father but asks for a colder reading of it.
Brassed Off (1996)
Keeps the drama register of The Usual Suspects but asks for a colder reading of it.
Inception (2010)
A deliberate change of key after Brassed Off — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Steven Spielberg
Director
2 films together
Notably Amistad
Christopher Nolan
Director
2 films together
Notably Inception
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably The Duellists
Franco Zeffirelli
Director
1 film together
Notably Hamlet
Michael Mann
Director
1 film together
Notably The Last of the Mohicans
David Fincher
Director
1 film together
Notably Alien³
Jim Sheridan
Director
1 film together
Notably In the Name of the Father
Bryan Singer
Director
1 film together
Notably The Usual Suspects
Mark Herman
Director
1 film together
Notably Brassed Off
Rob Cohen
Director
1 film together
Notably DragonHeart
Henry Selick
Director
1 film together
Notably James and the Giant Peach
Baz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together
Notably Romeo + Juliet
Nick Willing
Director
1 film together
Notably Alice in Wonderland
Lasse Hallström
Director
1 film together
Notably The Shipping News
Walter Salles
Director
1 film together
Notably Dark Water
Fernando Meirelles
Director
1 film together
Notably The Constant Gardener
Karyn Kusama
Director
1 film together
Notably Æon Flux
Louis Leterrier
Director
1 film together
Notably Clash of the Titans
Ben Affleck
Director
1 film together
Notably The Town
Michael Caine
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Leonardo DiCaprio
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Ken Watanabe
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Tom Hardy
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Elliot Page
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Dileep Rao
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Cillian Murphy
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Tom Berenger
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Marion Cotillard
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Lukas Haas
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Talulah Riley
Actor
1 film together
Notably Inception
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Christopher Nolan
Director
2 films together · 9.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
InceptionSteven Spielberg
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
AmistadBryan Singer
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Usual SuspectsJim Sheridan
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
In the Name of the FatherMichael Mann
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 Last of the MohicansBen Affleck
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 TownFernando Meirelles
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 Constant GardenerMark Herman
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Brassed OffRidley Scott
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 DuellistsBaz Luhrmann
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Romeo + JulietHenry Selick
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
James and the Giant PeachRob Cohen
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DragonHeartDavid Fincher
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Alien³Franco Zeffirelli
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HamletLasse Hallström
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Shipping NewsNick Willing
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Alice in WonderlandLouis Leterrier
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Clash of the TitansWalter Salles
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dark WaterKaryn Kusama
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Æon FluxSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Performer
Pete Postlethwaite
Where this journey starts
Director
Christopher Nolan
2 collaborations, averaging 9.0
Film
Inception
Their highest-rated film together (2010)
Performer
Michael Caine
Shares the frame in Inception
Film
The Dark Knight
Where Michael goes next, and where you can too
Performer
Cillian Murphy
Three steps from where you began
Recognition
2 wins · 1 nomination
1 win · 1 nomination · latest 2011
Inception
as Actor
1 win · latest 2004
as Actor
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Romeo + Juliet
as Father Laurence
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Duellists
as Orderly shaving Gen. Treillard
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
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. Pete Postlethwaite has known it for a long time.”
“You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”
“An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
| Nutevio Performer Score | 8.1 | 9.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Career ranking | #271 of 681 | #1 of 681 |
| Awards on file | Unknown | 3 recorded |
| Oscar wins | Unknown | 1 |
| Oscar nominations | Unknown | 5 |
| Average Nutevio score | 9.3 | 9.1 |
| Genres | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, History |
| Directors | Christopher Nolan | Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese |
| Performance DNA | Screen presence, Charisma, Rewatchability | Transformation, Drama, Screen presence |
| Career timeline | 2010–2010 | 2006–2026 |
| Most iconic role | Maurice Fischer — Inception | Odysseus — The Odyssey |
| Most rewatchable film | Inception | Interstellar |
| Filmography | 1 catalogue film | 4 catalogue films |
Films together
Nothing in common in the library yet.
Shared directors
Christopher Nolan
Shared collections
Top 100 Mind-Bending Movies, Sci-Fi Movies, Thriller Movies, Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked
Collaborators in common
Christopher Nolan · Michael Caine · Leonardo DiCaprio · Cillian Murphy
Matt Damon edges ahead here — a higher floor across a comparable body of work.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
33 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
12 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
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Shipping News
as Tert Card
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Brassed Off
as Danny
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Inception
as Maurice Fischer
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
Across the library
Every Nutevio collection this name turns up in, and how high they rank there.
Collection footprint
Appears in 8 Nutevio collections
Keep reading
theme
Top 100 Mind-Bending Movies
Features Inception at #2
Read the collectiontheme
Best Heist Movies
Features Inception at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Action Movies
Features Inception at #2
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Sci-Fi Movies
Features Inception at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Thriller Movies
Features Inception at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Best Action Movies
Features Inception at #3
Read the collectionFrom the magazine
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Works with the same directors — Christopher Nolan
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Works with the same directors — Christopher Nolan
Robert Downey Jr.
Works with the same directors — Christopher Nolan
Michael Caine
Works with the same directors — Christopher Nolan
David Krumholtz
Works with the same directors — Christopher Nolan
Cillian Murphy
Works with the same directors — Christopher Nolan
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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