Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#5079
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Tracey Walter represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 31 years in, and Tracey is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Tracey Walter appears in 28 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Tracey. 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 mystery, drama, thriller. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Jonathan Demme, Danny DeVito, Gary Fleder and others, Tracey Walter 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 Lamar · The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as Lamar · Philadelphia (1993) as Librarian
Career snapshot
Ranked #5079 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
28
1973–2004
Career length
31 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
9.2
The Silence of the Lambs
Average Nutevio score
6.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.6
The Silence of the Lambs
Most frequent director
Jonathan Demme
4 films together
Longest collaboration
4×
With Jonathan Demme
Most common genre
Drama
14 titles
Average runtime
1h 51m
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
7.0
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
7.0 average MV
The 1970s are where the work and the material meet. Goin' South, Annie Hall, Serpico — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1970s
7.0
Across 3 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1970s
7.0
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. Goin' South, Annie Hall, Serpico.
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 | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.52 films | 6.73 films | 7.06 films | 6.63 films |
| Action | — | 6.82 films | 6.22 films | 6.11 film |
| Thriller | — | 6.92 films | 7.35 films | 6.23 films |
| Comedy | 6.82 films | 7.01 film | 6.35 films | 5.83 films |
| Crime | 7.41 film | 7.04 films | 7.64 films | 5.72 films |
| Romance | 6.82 films | 7.01 film | — | — |
| Horror | — | — | 9.21 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1973Serpico
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Street Urchin (uncredited).
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 Night Clerk.
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.
28 of 28 films
as Lamar
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Lamar
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Librarian
Directed by Jonathan Demme
as Actor in Rob's TV Show
Directed by Woody Allen
as Charles Embry
Directed by Unknown
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 33 titles · 33 total credits · active 1973–2004
The Manchurian Candidate
2004 · Night Clerk
Duplex
2003 · Pharmacy Customer
Reno 911!
2003 · TV · Sheriff Walter Chechekevitch
Teen Titans
2003 · TV · Puppet King (voice)
Death to Smoochy
2002 · Ben Franks
Impostor
2001 · Mr. Siegel
Erin Brockovich
2000 · Charles Embry
Drowning Mona
2000 · Clarence
Man on the Moon
1999 · National Enquirer Editor
Mighty Joe Young
1998 · Conservacy Guard
Desperate Measures
1998 · Medical Inmate
Kiss the Girls
1997 · Clerk in Bookstore (uncredited)
Matilda
1996 · FBI Agent
Larger Than Life
1996 · Wee St. Francis
Junior
1994 · Janitor with Information
Philadelphia
1993 · Librarian
City Slickers
1991 · Cookie
The Silence of the Lambs
1991 · Lamar
Young Guns II
1990 · Beever Smith
Pacific Heights
1990 · Exterminator
Batman
1989 · Bob the Goon
Alien Nation
1989 · TV · Tom Mulden
Midnight Run
1988 · Diner Counter Man
At Close Range
1986 · Uncle Patch Whitewood
The defining work
#1
Lamar
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Performance score8.8
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Lamar gives Tracey Walter a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Lamar
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Performance score8.2
The Silence of the Lambs asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Lamar is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Librarian
Philadelphia (1993)
Performance score7.5
Philadelphia asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Librarian is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Actor in Rob's TV Show
Annie Hall (1977)
Performance score7.4
Annie Hall asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Actor in Rob's TV Show 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 Lamar
Start here. The Silence of the Lambs is the clearest statement of what Tracey Walter 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 Tracey 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.
Annie Hall (1977)
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 Annie Hall but asks for a colder reading of it.
Philadelphia (1993)
Same director as The Silence of the Lambs, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Keeps the drama register of Philadelphia but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Jonathan Demme
Director
4 films together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Danny DeVito
Director
3 films together
Notably Matilda
Ron Underwood
Director
2 films together
Notably City Slickers
Gary Fleder
Director
2 films together
Notably Kiss the Girls
Sidney Lumet
Director
1 film together
Notably Serpico
Woody Allen
Director
1 film together
Notably Annie Hall
Jack Nicholson
Director
1 film together
Notably Goin' South
Clint Eastwood
Director
1 film together
Notably Honkytonk Man
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
1 film together
Notably Rumble Fish
Richard Fleischer
Director
1 film together
Notably Conan the Destroyer
James Foley
Director
1 film together
Notably At Close Range
Martin Brest
Director
1 film together
Notably Midnight Run
Tim Burton
Director
1 film together
Notably Batman
John Schlesinger
Director
1 film together
Notably Pacific Heights
Geoff Murphy
Director
1 film together
Notably Young Guns II
Ivan Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably Junior
Howard Franklin
Director
1 film together
Notably Larger Than Life
Barbet Schroeder
Director
1 film together
Notably Desperate Measures
Miloš Forman
Director
1 film together
Notably Man on the Moon
Nick Gomez
Director
1 film together
Notably Drowning Mona
Jodie Foster
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins
Actor
1 film together
Notably The Silence of the Lambs
Scott Glenn
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
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
4 films together · 8.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 4 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Silence of the LambsDanny DeVito
Director
3 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
MatildaRon Underwood
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
City SlickersGary Fleder
Director
2 films together · 6.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Kiss the GirlsWoody Allen
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Annie HallSidney Lumet
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SerpicoTim Burton
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BatmanMiloš Forman
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Man on the MoonMartin Brest
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Midnight RunFrancis Ford Coppola
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rumble FishJames Foley
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
At Close RangeGeoff Murphy
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Young Guns IIClint Eastwood
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Honkytonk ManJohn Schlesinger
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pacific HeightsRichard Fleischer
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Conan the DestroyerJack Nicholson
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Goin' SouthBarbet Schroeder
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Desperate MeasuresHoward Franklin
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Larger Than LifeNick Gomez
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Drowning MonaIvan Reitman
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
JuniorSix 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 Lamar
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Honkytonk Man
as Pooch
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 Lamar
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Man on the Moon
as National Enquirer Editor
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 Lamar
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. Tracey Walter 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 | 8.1 | 9.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Career ranking | #350 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 | Intensity, Screen presence, Villain presence | Transformation, Drama, Screen presence |
| Career timeline | 1991–1991 | 2006–2026 |
| Most iconic role | Lamar — 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
31 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
14 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 Lamar
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 Lamar
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Honkytonk Man
as Pooch
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Manchurian Candidate
as Night Clerk
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Silence of the Lambs
as Lamar
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Mighty Joe Young
as Conservacy Guard
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Man on the Moon
as National Enquirer Editor
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
The Silence of the Lambs
as Lamar
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
Rudy Bond
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
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
Have your say
Community
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