Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1547
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Scott Glenn represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 51 years in, and Scott is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Scott Glenn appears in 27 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Scott. The Silence of the Lambs is the clearest case: a film rated 9.2 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 science fiction, adventure, thriller. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Ric Roman Waugh, Jeff Celentano, David Hackl and others, Scott Glenn 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.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as Jack Crawford · The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as Jack Crawford · Apocalypse Now (1979) as Lieutenant Richard M. Colby
Career snapshot
Ranked #1547 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
27
1975–2026
Career length
51 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
9.2
The Silence of the Lambs
Average Nutevio score
6.9
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.6
The Silence of the Lambs
Most frequent director
Robert Altman
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Robert Altman
Most common genre
Drama
20 titles
Average runtime
2h 3m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.3
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
7.3
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
1970s
7.7 average MV
The 1970s are where the work and the material meet. Apocalypse Now, Nashville — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1970s
7.7
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1970s
7.8
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1970s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Apocalypse Now, Nashville.
Most productive era
2000s
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 | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.72 films | 6.83 films | 7.15 films | 6.98 films | 5.51 film | 7.61 film |
| Action | — | 6.81 film | 6.93 films | 7.03 films | 6.03 films | — |
| Thriller | — | — | 7.66 films | 6.63 films | 5.84 films | 6.61 film |
| Comedy | 7.01 film | — | 7.21 film | 6.31 film | — | — |
| Crime | — | — | 7.75 films | 7.23 films | — | — |
| Romance | — | 6.51 film | — | 6.63 films | — | — |
| Horror | — | — | 9.21 film | — | 5.41 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1975Nashville
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Pfc. Glenn Kelly.
First Nutevio masterpiece · Highest rated performance · Career peak
The first film here to clear 9.0 on our scale — a threshold fewer than one film in ten reaches. 9.2 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 Dale.
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.
27 of 27 films
as Jack Crawford
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Jack Crawford
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Lieutenant Richard M. Colby
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
as Steve Gruwell
Directed by Richard LaGravenese
as Roger
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
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 24 of 32 titles · 32 total credits · active 1975–2026
Greenland 2: Migration
2026 · Dale
Bad Monkey
2024 · TV · Jim Yancy
The Hill
2023 · Red Murff
Castle Rock
2018 · TV · Alan Pangborn
Marvel's The Defenders
2017 · TV · Stick
Into the Grizzly Maze
2015 · Sully
Marvel's Daredevil
2015 · TV · Stick
The Leftovers
2014 · TV · Kevin Garvey Sr.
The Paperboy
2012 · W.W. Jansen
The Bourne Legacy
2012 · Ezra Kramer
Sucker Punch
2011 · Wise Man
W.
2008 · Donald Rumsfeld
Nights in Rodanthe
2008 · Robert Torrelson
Freedom Writers
2007 · Steve Gruwell
The Bourne Ultimatum
2007 · CIA Director Ezra Kramer
Buffalo Soldiers
2002 · Sergeant Lee
Monk
2002 · TV · Sheriff Rollins
Training Day
2001 · Roger
The Shipping News
2001 · Jack Buggit
Vertical Limit
2000 · Montgomery Wick
The Virgin Suicides
2000 · Father Moody
Absolute Power
1997 · Bill Burton
Courage Under Fire
1996 · Gartner
The Player
1992 · Scott Glenn
The defining work
#1
Jack Crawford
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Performance score9.3
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Jack Crawford gives Scott Glenn a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Jack Crawford
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Performance score8.7
The Silence of the Lambs asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Jack Crawford is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Lieutenant Richard M. Colby
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Performance score8.1
Apocalypse Now asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Lieutenant Richard M. Colby is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Steve Gruwell
Freedom Writers (2007)
Performance score8.0
Freedom Writers asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Steve Gruwell 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 Jack Crawford
Start here. The Silence of the Lambs is the clearest statement of what Scott Glenn does — accessible, 118 minutes, and rated 9.2 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Scott 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.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
A deliberate change of key after The Silence of the Lambs — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Keeps the drama register of Apocalypse Now but asks for a colder reading of it.
Training Day (2001)
Keeps the crime register of The Silence of the Lambs but asks for a colder reading of it.
Freedom Writers (2007)
Keeps the crime register of Training Day but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Jonathan Demme
Director
2 films together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Robert Altman
Director
2 films together
Notably The Player
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
1 film together
Notably Apocalypse Now
James Bridges
Director
1 film together
Notably Urban Cowboy
Philip Kaufman
Director
1 film together
Notably The Right Stuff
Lawrence Kasdan
Director
1 film together
Notably Silverado
John McTiernan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hunt for Red October
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Backdraft
Edward Zwick
Director
1 film together
Notably Courage Under Fire
Clint Eastwood
Director
1 film together
Notably Absolute Power
Sofia Coppola
Director
1 film together
Notably The Virgin Suicides
Martin Campbell
Director
1 film together
Notably Vertical Limit
Lasse Hallström
Director
1 film together
Notably The Shipping News
Antoine Fuqua
Director
1 film together
Notably Training Day
Gregor Jordan
Director
1 film together
Notably Buffalo Soldiers
Paul Greengrass
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bourne Ultimatum
Richard LaGravenese
Director
1 film together
Notably Freedom Writers
Oliver Stone
Director
1 film together
Notably W.
Zack Snyder
Director
1 film together
Notably Sucker Punch
Tony Gilroy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bourne Legacy
Lee Daniels
Director
1 film together
Notably The Paperboy
David Hackl
Director
1 film together
Notably Into the Grizzly Maze
Jeff Celentano
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hill
Ric Roman Waugh
Director
1 film together
Notably Greenland 2: Migration
Jodie Foster
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Ted Levine
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Heald
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Brooke Smith
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Diane Baker
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Kasi Lemmons
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Frankie Faison
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Tracey Walter
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Charles Napier
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Danny Darst
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Alex Coleman
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Jonathan Demme
Director
2 films together · 8.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Silence of the LambsRobert Altman
Director
2 films together · 7.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The PlayerFrancis Ford Coppola
Director
1 film together · 8.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Apocalypse NowRichard LaGravenese
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Freedom WritersJeff Celentano
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The HillAntoine Fuqua
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Training DayPaul Greengrass
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 Bourne UltimatumJohn McTiernan
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 Hunt for Red OctoberPhilip Kaufman
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 Right StuffSofia Coppola
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Virgin SuicidesLawrence Kasdan
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SilveradoClint Eastwood
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Absolute PowerRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BackdraftRic Roman Waugh
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Greenland 2: MigrationEdward Zwick
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Courage Under FireJames Bridges
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Urban CowboyLasse 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 NewsTony Gilroy
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 Bourne LegacyGregor Jordan
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Buffalo SoldiersZack Snyder
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sucker PunchOliver Stone
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
W.Martin Campbell
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Vertical LimitLee Daniels
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The PaperboyDavid Hackl
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Into the Grizzly MazeSix 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 Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
The Hill
as Red Murff
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
The Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
The Player
as Scott Glenn
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
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. Scott Glenn has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
| Nutevio Performer Score | 8.2 | 9.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Career ranking | #233 of 681 | #1 of 681 |
| Awards on file | Unknown | 3 recorded |
| Oscar wins | Unknown | 1 |
| Oscar nominations | Unknown | 5 |
| Average Nutevio score | 9.2 | 9.1 |
| Genres | Thriller, Crime, Horror | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, History |
| Directors | Jonathan Demme | Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese |
| Performance DNA | Screen presence, Intensity, Villain presence | Transformation, Drama, Screen presence |
| Career timeline | 1991–1991 | 2006–2026 |
| Most iconic role | Jack Crawford — The Silence of the Lambs | Odysseus — The Odyssey |
| Most rewatchable film | The Silence of the Lambs | Interstellar |
| Filmography | 1 catalogue film | 4 catalogue films |
Films together
Nothing in common in the library yet.
Shared directors
Nothing in common in the library yet.
Shared collections
Thriller Movies, Crime Movies
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
51 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
20 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
The Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Hill
as Red Murff
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Player
as Scott Glenn
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Vertical Limit
as Montgomery Wick
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Buffalo Soldiers
as Sergeant Lee
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Silence of the Lambs
as Jack Crawford
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 5 Nutevio collections
Keep reading
genre
Best Psychological Thrillers
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #1
Read the collectiongenre
Best Horror Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Horror Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #2
Read the collectiongenre
Thriller Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs at #3
Read the collectiongenre
Crime Movies
Features The Silence of the Lambs
Read the collectionFrom the magazine
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
Al Pacino
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Ted Levine
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
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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