Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#924
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Wanda Sykes represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 27 years in, and Wanda is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Wanda Sykes appears in 29 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Wanda. Undercard is the clearest case: a film rated 8.7 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 drama, animation, comedy. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Julie Dash, Tamika Miller, Rob Reiner and others, Wanda Sykes 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.
Undercard (2026) as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart · The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021) as Self · Roll Up Your Sleeves (2021) as Self
Career snapshot
Ranked #924 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
29
2000–2027
Career length
27 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.7
Undercard
Average Nutevio score
5.8
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.7
Undercard
Most frequent director
Jon Lucas
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With Jon Lucas
Most common genre
Comedy
22 titles
Average runtime
1h 28m
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
6.4 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. The Wedding Year, Jexi, A Bad Moms Christmas — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.4
Across 7 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.4
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Evan Almighty, License to Wed, Over the Hedge.
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 | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | — | 4.93 films |
| Action | 5.11 film | — | — |
| Comedy | 5.89 films | 6.47 films | 5.56 films |
| Crime | — | — | 5.91 film |
| Romance | 5.42 films | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2000Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Chantal.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2026Undercard
8.7 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
2027Tangles
The current state of the argument, as Paula (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 Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
Directed by Tamika Miller
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
Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
Undercard (2026)
Performance score9.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart gives Wanda Sykes a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Self
The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021)
Performance score7.7
The One and Only Dick Gregory asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023)
Performance score7.3
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Self
Roll Up Your Sleeves (2021)
Performance score7.3
Roll Up Your Sleeves asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self 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 Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
Start here. Undercard is the clearest statement of what Wanda Sykes does — accessible, 105 minutes, and rated 8.7 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Wanda 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 One and Only Dick Gregory (2021)
A deliberate change of key after Undercard — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Roll Up Your Sleeves (2021)
Same director as The One and Only Dick Gregory, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
The Upshaws - The Afterparty (2021)
Same director as Roll Up Your Sleeves, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023)
A deliberate change of key after The Upshaws - The Afterparty — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Jon Lucas
Director
3 films together
Notably Jexi
Linda Mendoza
Director
2 films together
Notably Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer
Peter Segal
Director
1 film together
Notably Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
Louis C.K.
Director
1 film together
Notably Pootie Tang
Chris Weitz
Director
1 film together
Notably Down to Earth
Ivan Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Kevin Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Clerks II
Steve Oedekerk
Director
1 film together
Notably Barnyard
Karey Kirkpatrick
Director
1 film together
Notably Over the Hedge
Ken Kwapis
Director
1 film together
Notably License to Wed
Tom Shadyac
Director
1 film together
Notably Evan Almighty
Carlos Saldanha
Director
1 film together
Notably Rio
Robert Luketic
Director
1 film together
Notably The Wedding Year
Patrik-Ian Polk
Director
1 film together
Notably Noah's Arc: The 'Rona Chronicles
Jay Karas
Director
1 film together
Notably Feeding America Comedy Festival
Nicol Paone
Director
1 film together
Notably Friendsgiving
Tate Taylor
Director
1 film together
Notably Breaking News in Yuba County
Rob Reiner
Director
1 film together
Notably Albert Brooks: Defending My Life
Tamika Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably Undercard
Julie Dash
Director
1 film together
Notably Wanda Sykes: Legacy
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Jon Lucas
Director
3 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
JexiLinda Mendoza
Director
2 films together · 5.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Wanda Sykes: I'm an EntertainerTamika Miller
Director
1 film together · 8.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
UndercardRob 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 LifeKevin Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Clerks IICarlos Saldanha
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RioKarey Kirkpatrick
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Over the HedgeSteve Oedekerk
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BarnyardTate Taylor
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Breaking News in Yuba CountyRobert Luketic
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 Wedding YearJulie Dash
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wanda Sykes: LegacyJay 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 FestivalKen Kwapis
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
License to WedTom Shadyac
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Evan AlmightyChris Weitz
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Down to EarthIvan 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
My Super Ex-GirlfriendLouis C.K.
Director
1 film together · 5.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pootie TangPeter Segal
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Nutty Professor II: The KlumpsNicol Paone
Director
1 film together · 4.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
FriendsgivingPatrik-Ian Polk
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Noah's Arc: The 'Rona ChroniclesSix 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
Undercard
as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Down to Earth
as Wanda
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Undercard
as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Feeding America Comedy Festival
as Self
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Undercard
as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
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. Wanda Sykes 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
27 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
22 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
Undercard
as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Undercard
as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Down to Earth
as Wanda
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Evan Almighty
as Rita
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Undercard
as Cheryl 'No Mercy' Stewart
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Pootie Tang
as Biggie Shorty
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Breaking News in Yuba County
as Rita
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Over the Hedge
as Stella (voice)
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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Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
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Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Harvey Keitel
Built a career in the same territory: comedy and adventure
Tom Wilkinson
Built a career in the same territory: comedy and adventure
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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