Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#400
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Sean Bean represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 40 years in, and Sean is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Sean Bean appears in 46 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Sean. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the clearest case: a film rated 8.8 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, science fiction, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Duncan Jones, Tom Kingsley, Tomek Bagiński and others, Sean Bean 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 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) as Boromir · The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) as Boromir · The Yellow Tie (2025) as Demostene Celibidache
Career snapshot
Ranked #400 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
46
1986–2026
Career length
40 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.8
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Average Nutevio score
6.1
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.5
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Most frequent director
Chris Columbus
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Chris Columbus
Most common genre
Action
19 titles
Average runtime
1h 53m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.0
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
6.8
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
6.8 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974, Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983, The Hitcher — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.8
Across 15 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.8
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1980s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Caravaggio.
Most productive era
2000s
15 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 | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.11 film | 6.53 films | 6.84 films | 6.34 films | 4.83 films |
| Action | — | 6.93 films | 7.37 films | 5.55 films | 3.34 films |
| Thriller | — | 6.93 films | 6.39 films | 5.66 films | 6.41 film |
| Comedy | — | — | — | 5.93 films | 6.71 film |
| Crime | — | 6.82 films | 6.25 films | 5.82 films | 6.71 film |
| Romance | 6.11 film | 6.11 film | — | — | — |
| Horror | — | — | 6.13 films | 5.82 films | 6.41 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1986Caravaggio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Ranuccio.
Highest rated performance
2003The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
8.8 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Career peak
2025The Yellow Tie
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.
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.
46 of 46 films
as Demostene Celibidache
Directed by Unknown
as Boromir
Directed by Peter Jackson
as Boromir
Directed by Peter Jackson
as Robyn's Father, Bill Goodfellowe (voice)
Directed by Tomm Moore
as Mitch Henderson
Directed by Ridley Scott
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
Demostene Celibidache
The Yellow Tie (2025)
Performance score8.6
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Demostene Celibidache gives Sean Bean a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Boromir
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Performance score8.4
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Boromir is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Boromir
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Performance score8.4
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Boromir is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Robyn's Father, Bill Goodfellowe (voice)
Wolfwalkers (2020)
Performance score8.1
Wolfwalkers asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Robyn's Father, Bill Goodfellowe (voice) 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 Demostene Celibidache
Start here. The Yellow Tie is the clearest statement of what Sean Bean does — accessible, 145 minutes, and rated 8.4 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Sean 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 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Keeps the adventure register of The Yellow Tie but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Same director as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
The Martian (2015)
Keeps the adventure register of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King but asks for a colder reading of it.
Wolfwalkers (2020)
Keeps the adventure register of The Martian but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Peter Jackson
Director
2 films together
Notably The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Chris Columbus
Director
2 films together
Notably Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Phillip Noyce
Director
1 film together
Notably Patriot Games
Caroline Thompson
Director
1 film together
Notably Black Beauty
Martin Campbell
Director
1 film together
Notably GoldenEye
Bernard Rose
Director
1 film together
Notably Anna Karenina
John Frankenheimer
Director
1 film together
Notably Ronin
Gary Fleder
Director
1 film together
Notably Don't Say a Word
Kurt Wimmer
Director
1 film together
Notably Equilibrium
Jon Turteltaub
Director
1 film together
Notably National Treasure
Wolfgang Petersen
Director
1 film together
Notably Troy
John Fawcett
Director
1 film together
Notably The Dark
Robert Schwentke
Director
1 film together
Notably Flightplan
Niki Caro
Director
1 film together
Notably North Country
Michael Bay
Director
1 film together
Notably The Island
Nick Love
Director
1 film together
Notably Outlaw
Dave Meyers
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hitcher
Anand Tucker
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983
Julian Jarrold
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974
Mikael Salomon
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lost Future
Christopher Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Black Death
Roel Reiné
Director
1 film together
Notably Death Race 2
MJ Bassett
Director
1 film together
Notably Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
Tarsem Singh
Director
1 film together
Notably Mirror Mirror
Lilly Wachowski
Director
1 film together
Notably Jupiter Ascending
Ridley Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably The Martian
Jeanie Finlay
Director
1 film together
Notably Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
Brandon Cronenberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Possessor
Tomm Moore
Director
1 film together
Notably Wolfwalkers
Tomek Bagiński
Director
1 film together
Notably Knights of the Zodiac
Tom Kingsley
Director
1 film together
Notably Deep Cover
Duncan Jones
Director
1 film together
Notably Rogue Trooper
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Peter Jackson
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 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingChris Columbus
Director
2 films together · 6.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning ThiefRidley Scott
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The MartianTomm Moore
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WolfwalkersWolfgang Petersen
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TroyNiki Caro
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
North CountryKurt Wimmer
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EquilibriumJeanie Finlay
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Game of Thrones: The Last WatchJohn Frankenheimer
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RoninMartin Campbell
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GoldenEyeAnand Tucker
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983Tom Kingsley
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Deep CoverMichael Bay
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 IslandJon Turteltaub
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
National TreasureCaroline Thompson
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Black BeautyPhillip Noyce
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Patriot GamesJulian Jarrold
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974Brandon Cronenberg
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PossessorRobert Schwentke
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FlightplanTomek Bagiński
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Knights of the ZodiacGary Fleder
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Don't Say a WordChristopher Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Black DeathBernard Rose
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Anna KareninaTarsem Singh
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mirror MirrorRoel Reiné
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Death Race 2Dave Meyers
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 HitcherJohn Fawcett
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The DarkMJ Bassett
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Silent Hill: Revelation 3DLilly Wachowski
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jupiter AscendingNick Love
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
OutlawMikael Salomon
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lost FutureDuncan Jones
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rogue TrooperSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Recognition
3 wins · 3 nominations
No wins yet · 1 nomination
as Actor
1 win · 2 nominations · latest 2004
as Actor
as Actor
as Actor
1 win · latest 2003
as Actor
1 win · latest 2007
as Actor
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
The Yellow Tie
as Demostene Celibidache
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 Yellow Tie
as Demostene Celibidache
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 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Boromir
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
as Self
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Yellow Tie
as Demostene Celibidache
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. Sean Bean 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
40 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.
Action Legend
Awarded
19 catalogue titles in action, 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 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Boromir
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Boromir
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Yellow Tie
as Demostene Celibidache
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983
as John Dawson
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Boromir
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Soldiers of Fortune
as Dimidov
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Wolfwalkers
as Robyn's Father, Bill Goodfellowe (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
as Boromir
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Harry Dean Stanton
Works with the same directors — Ridley Scott
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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