Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#852
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Sarah Silverman represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 29 years in, and Sarah is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Sarah Silverman appears in 29 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Sarah. Laughing Matters is the clearest case: a film rated 8.0 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 drama, animation, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Dan Abraham, Bradley Cooper, Rob Reiner and others, Sarah Silverman 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.
Laughing Matters (2019) as Self · Once Upon a Studio (2023) as Vanellope (voice) (archive sound) · The Book of Henry (2017) as Sheila
Career snapshot
Ranked #852 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
29
1998–2027
Career length
29 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.0
Laughing Matters
Average Nutevio score
6.1
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.3
Once Upon a Studio
Most frequent director
Dan Abraham
1 film together
Longest collaboration
1×
With Dan Abraham
Most common genre
Comedy
20 titles
Average runtime
1h 42m
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
6.4
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
2010s
6.9 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Laughing Matters, Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Book of Henry — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.9
Across 8 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.9
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. There's Something About Mary.
Most productive era
2020s
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 | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 5.93 films | 6.83 films | 5.34 films |
| Action | — | 6.22 films | 7.21 film | — |
| Thriller | — | 6.31 film | 7.51 film | — |
| Comedy | 6.71 film | 6.06 films | 6.66 films | 6.87 films |
| Crime | — | 6.22 films | — | 6.91 film |
| Romance | 6.71 film | 5.73 films | 6.21 film | 6.42 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1998There's Something About Mary
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Brenda.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2019Laughing Matters
8.0 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
2027Tangles
The current state of the argument, as Sukey (voice).
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.
29 of 29 films
as Self
Directed by Unknown
as Vanellope (voice)
Directed by Phil Johnston
as Sheila
Directed by Colin Trevorrow
as Vanellope (voice) (archive sound)
Directed by Dan Abraham
as Patty Di Marco
Directed by Richard Linklater
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
Self
Laughing Matters (2019)
Performance score8.5
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Sarah Silverman a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Vanellope (voice)
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
Performance score7.6
Ralph Breaks the Internet asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Vanellope (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Sheila
The Book of Henry (2017)
Performance score7.6
The Book of Henry asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Sheila is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Vanellope (voice) (archive sound)
Once Upon a Studio (2023)
Performance score7.5
Once Upon a Studio asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Vanellope (voice) (archive sound) 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. Laughing Matters is the clearest statement of what Sarah Silverman does — accessible, 29 minutes, and rated 8.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Sarah 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 School of Rock (2003)
A deliberate change of key after Laughing Matters — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Book of Henry (2017)
A deliberate change of key after The School of Rock — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
A deliberate change of key after The Book of Henry — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Once Upon a Studio (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of Ralph Breaks the Internet but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Bobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together
Notably There's Something About Mary
Christopher McQuarrie
Director
1 film together
Notably The Way of the Gun
Mike Nichols
Director
1 film together
Notably What Planet Are You From?
Ivan Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably Evolution
David Mirkin
Director
1 film together
Notably Heartbreakers
Richard Linklater
Director
1 film together
Notably The School of Rock
Todd Phillips
Director
1 film together
Notably School for Scoundrels
Judd Apatow
Director
1 film together
Notably Funny People
James Bobin
Director
1 film together
Notably The Muppets
Seth MacFarlane
Director
1 film together
Notably A Million Ways to Die in the West
Tony McNamara
Director
1 film together
Notably Ashby
Jorma Taccone
Director
1 film together
Notably Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Jonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together
Notably Battle of the Sexes
Colin Trevorrow
Director
1 film together
Notably The Book of Henry
Phil Johnston
Director
1 film together
Notably Ralph Breaks the Internet
Donick Cary
Director
1 film together
Notably Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics
Jay Karas
Director
1 film together
Notably Feeding America Comedy Festival
Malcolm D. Lee
Director
1 film together
Notably Space Jam: A New Legacy
Adam McKay
Director
1 film together
Notably Don't Look Up
Loren Bouchard
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bob's Burgers Movie
Kat Coiro
Director
1 film together
Notably Marry Me
Rob Reiner
Director
1 film together
Notably Albert Brooks: Defending My Life
Bradley Cooper
Director
1 film together
Notably Maestro
Dan Abraham
Director
1 film together
Notably Once Upon a Studio
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Dan Abraham
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Once Upon a StudioColin Trevorrow
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Book of HenryRob Reiner
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Albert Brooks: Defending My LifePhil Johnston
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ralph Breaks the InternetRichard Linklater
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 School of RockAdam McKay
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Don't Look UpLoren Bouchard
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Bob's Burgers MovieJonathan Dayton
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Battle of the SexesJames Bobin
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The MuppetsBobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
There's Something About MaryKat Coiro
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Marry MeMalcolm D. Lee
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Space Jam: A New LegacyDonick Cary
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Have a Good Trip: Adventures in PsychedelicsJorma Taccone
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Popstar: Never Stop Never StoppingBradley Cooper
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MaestroChristopher McQuarrie
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Way of the GunTony McNamara
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AshbySeth MacFarlane
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Million Ways to Die in the WestDavid Mirkin
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HeartbreakersIvan Reitman
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EvolutionJudd Apatow
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Funny PeopleJay Karas
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Feeding America Comedy FestivalTodd Phillips
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
School for ScoundrelsMike Nichols
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
What Planet Are You From?Six 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
The Book of Henry
as Sheila
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Once Upon a Studio
as Vanellope (voice) (archive sound)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Laughing Matters
as Self
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Once Upon a Studio
as Vanellope (voice) (archive sound)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Laughing Matters
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. Sarah Silverman 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
20 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
The Book of Henry
as Sheila
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Book of Henry
as Sheila
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Maestro
as Shirley Bernstein
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Book of Henry
as Sheila
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Ralph Breaks the Internet
as Vanellope (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Ralph Breaks the Internet
as Vanellope (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Once Upon a Studio
as Vanellope (voice) (archive sound)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The School of Rock
as Patty Di Marco
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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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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