Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#4038
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Roddy McDowall represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 83 years in, and Roddy is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Roddy McDowall appears in 25 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Roddy. Paul Newman: The Restless is the clearest case: a film rated 7.7 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 documentary, comedy, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Nanette Burstein, Jean Lauritano, John Lasseter and others, Roddy McDowall 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.
Paul Newman: The Restless (2023) as Self · Planet of the Apes (1968) as Cornelius · The Longest Day (1962) as Pvt. Morris
Career snapshot
Ranked #4038 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
25
1941–2024
Career length
83 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.7
Paul Newman: The Restless
Average Nutevio score
6.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.7
Paul Newman: The Restless
Most frequent director
J. Lee Thompson
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With J. Lee Thompson
Most common genre
Drama
10 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
7.1
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
2020s
7.3 average MV
The 2020s are where the work and the material meet. Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, Paul Newman: The Restless — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2020s
7.3
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1950s
7.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1940s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Lassie Come Home, Man Hunt, How Green Was My Valley.
Most productive era
1970s
9 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 | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.82 films | 7.21 film | 6.85 films | 7.01 film | 6.81 film | — | — |
| Action | — | — | 7.42 films | 6.24 films | — | — | — |
| Thriller | 6.61 film | — | — | 7.01 film | 6.81 film | — | — |
| Comedy | — | — | 6.51 film | 6.32 films | 6.92 films | 7.11 film | — |
| Crime | — | — | 6.51 film | — | 6.81 film | — | — |
| Romance | — | 7.21 film | 6.52 films | — | 6.81 film | — | — |
| Horror | — | — | — | 6.61 film | 7.01 film | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1941Man Hunt
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Vaner.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
7.7 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
2024Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes
The current state of the argument, as Self (archive footage).
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.
25 of 25 films
as Cornelius
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
as Self (archive footage)
Directed by Nanette Burstein
as Mr. Jelk
Directed by Robert Stevenson
as Pvt. Morris
Directed by Andrew Marton
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
Self
Paul Newman: The Restless (2023)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Roddy McDowall a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Cornelius
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Performance score7.9
Planet of the Apes asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Cornelius is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self (archive footage)
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024)
Performance score7.3
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self (archive footage) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Mr. Jelk
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
Performance score7.3
Bedknobs and Broomsticks asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mr. Jelk 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 Self
Start here. Paul Newman: The Restless is the clearest statement of what Roddy McDowall does — accessible, 54 minutes, and rated 7.7 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Roddy 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.
The Longest Day (1962)
A deliberate change of key after Paul Newman: The Restless — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Keeps the action register of The Longest Day but asks for a colder reading of it.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
A deliberate change of key after Planet of the Apes — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024)
A deliberate change of key after Bedknobs and Broomsticks — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Robert Stevenson
Director
2 films together
Notably Bedknobs and Broomsticks
J. Lee Thompson
Director
2 films together
Notably Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
John Ford
Director
1 film together
Notably How Green Was My Valley
Fritz Lang
Director
1 film together
Notably Man Hunt
Fred M. Wilcox
Director
1 film together
Notably Lassie Come Home
William Wyler
Director
1 film together
Notably The Big Country
Andrew Marton
Director
1 film together
Notably The Longest Day
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Director
1 film together
Notably Cleopatra
George Stevens
Director
1 film together
Notably The Greatest Story Ever Told
Robert Mulligan
Director
1 film together
Notably Inside Daisy Clover
Franklin J. Schaffner
Director
1 film together
Notably Planet of the Apes
Don Taylor
Director
1 film together
Notably Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Ronald Neame
Director
1 film together
Notably The Poseidon Adventure
John Huston
Director
1 film together
Notably The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
John Hough
Director
1 film together
Notably The Legend of Hell House
Norman Tokar
Director
1 film together
Notably The Cat from Outer Space
Gary Nelson
Director
1 film together
Notably The Black Hole
Guy Hamilton
Director
1 film together
Notably Evil Under the Sun
Tom Holland
Director
1 film together
Notably Fright Night
Garry Marshall
Director
1 film together
Notably Overboard
John Lasseter
Director
1 film together
Notably A Bug's Life
Jean Lauritano
Director
1 film together
Notably Paul Newman: The Restless
Nanette Burstein
Director
1 film together
Notably Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Robert Stevenson
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Bedknobs and BroomsticksJ. Lee Thompson
Director
2 films together · 6.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Conquest of the Planet of the ApesJean Lauritano
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Paul Newman: The RestlessFranklin J. Schaffner
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Planet of the ApesAndrew Marton
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 Longest DayWilliam Wyler
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 Big CountryJohn Lasseter
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Bug's LifeTom Holland
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Fright NightRonald Neame
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 Poseidon AdventureJohn Ford
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
How Green Was My ValleyNanette Burstein
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost TapesJoseph L. Mankiewicz
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
CleopatraGarry Marshall
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
OverboardGuy Hamilton
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Evil Under the SunJohn Hough
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 Legend of Hell HouseFritz Lang
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Man HuntFred M. Wilcox
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lassie Come HomeJohn Huston
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 Life and Times of Judge Roy BeanDon Taylor
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Escape from the Planet of the ApesGeorge Stevens
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 Greatest Story Ever ToldNorman Tokar
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 Cat from Outer SpaceGary Nelson
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Black HoleRobert Mulligan
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Inside Daisy CloverSix 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
Planet of the Apes
as Cornelius
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
as Mr. Jelk
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Planet of the Apes
as Cornelius
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Longest Day
as Pvt. Morris
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Paul Newman: The Restless
as Self
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. Roddy McDowall 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
83 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
10 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
Paul Newman: The Restless
as Self
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Evil Under the Sun
as Rex Brewster
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
as Mr. Jelk
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Evil Under the Sun
as Rex Brewster
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Planet of the Apes
as Cornelius
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Black Hole
as V.I.N.CENT. (voice) (uncredited)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Big Country
as Hannassey Watchman (uncredited)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Inside Daisy Clover
as Walter Baines
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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