The Billing Block
Who gets their name above the title, who makes a career just beneath it — and who does their best work in which spot
Actors with 10+ films in the log, by the share billed in the top 3
- 1 Ryan Gosling
- 2 Clint Eastwood
- 3 Mel Gibson
- 4 Charlize Theron
- 5 Spencer Tracy
- 6 Christian Bale
- 7 Emma Watson
- 8 Denzel Washington
- 9 Kevin Costner
- 10 Henry Fonda
- 11 Emily Blunt
- 12 Michael Douglas
Every actor billed in the top 3, ranked by how often — with the average rating of those films
| # | Actor | Films | Share | Median | Avg. | Grade | Films bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrison Ford | 42 | 84% | #1 | 63.1 | C- | |
| 2 | Tom Hanks | 37 | 90% | #1 | 71.7 | C+ | |
| 3 | Robert De Niro | 33 | 85% | #1 | 68.4 | C | |
| 4 | Samuel L. Jackson | 32 | 52% | #2 | 58.5 | D+ | |
| 5 | Gene Hackman | 31 | 84% | #2 | 62.4 | C- | |
| 6 | George Clooney | 28 | 90% | #1 | 70.3 | C+ | |
| 7 | Matt Damon | 27 | 66% | #1 | 73.5 | C+ | |
| 8 | Denzel Washington | 25 | 93% | #1 | 65 | C | |
| 9 | Keanu Reeves | 24 | 77% | #1 | 64.2 | C- | |
| 10 | Al Pacino | 23 | 88% | #1 | 74.7 | C+ | |
| 11 | Brad Pitt | 23 | 72% | #1 | 74.3 | C+ | |
| 12 | Ethan Hawke | 22 | 76% | #1.5 | 71.3 | C+ | |
| 13 | Nicolas Cage | 22 | 85% | #1 | 69.5 | C | |
| 14 | Ben Affleck | 22 | 85% | #1 | 60.5 | C- | |
| 15 | Tom Cruise | 21 | 88% | #1 | 73 | C+ | |
| 16 | Steve Carell | 21 | 81% | #1 | 71.1 | C+ | |
| 17 | Christian Bale | 21 | 95% | #1 | 70 | C+ | |
| 18 | Woody Harrelson | 21 | 81% | #2 | 65 | C | |
| 19 | Bruce Willis | 20 | 80% | #1 | 68.3 | C | |
| 20 | Johnny Depp | 20 | 71% | #1 | 57.6 | D+ | |
| 21 | Gary Oldman | 19 | 59% | #2 | 65.5 | C | |
| 22 | Mark Wahlberg | 19 | 86% | #1 | 51.8 | D | |
| 23 | Leonardo DiCaprio | 18 | 86% | #1 | 80.6 | B | |
| 24 | Russell Crowe | 18 | 86% | #2 | 72.2 | C+ | |
| 25 | Morgan Freeman | 18 | 55% | #2 | 67.3 | C |
10+ supporting turns and not once billed in the top 3
- 1 Stephen Root
- 2 Bill Camp
- 3 Bruce McGill
- 4 John Ratzenberger
- 5 Desmond Llewelyn
- 6 Lois Maxwell
- 7 Robbie Coltrane
- 8 M. Emmet Walsh
- 9 Denis O'Hare
- 10 Xander Berkeley
- 11 Bernard Lee
- 12 David Koechner
Every actor billed 4–15, ranked by how often. Lead and bit-part roles are not counted here.
| # | Actor | Films | Share | Median | Avg. | Grade | Films bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Root | 22 | 73% | #7.5 | 70.9 | C+ | |
| 2 | J.K. Simmons | 21 | 60% | #6 | 65.3 | C | |
| 3 | Robert Duvall | 19 | 63% | #7 | 71.3 | C+ | |
| 4 | Samuel L. Jackson | 19 | 31% | #8 | 63.9 | C- | |
| 5 | Eddie Marsan | 19 | 86% | #7 | 63.4 | C- | |
| 6 | Nick Offerman | 18 | 90% | #8.5 | 71.6 | C+ | |
| 7 | Willem Dafoe | 17 | 52% | #5 | 73.6 | C+ | |
| 8 | Steve Buscemi | 17 | 68% | #6 | 72.8 | C+ | |
| 9 | Bill Camp | 17 | 74% | #9 | 68.6 | C | |
| 10 | Bruce McGill | 17 | 94% | #7 | 64.8 | C- | |
| 11 | John Ratzenberger | 16 | 50% | #9 | 75.1 | B- | |
| 12 | Shea Whigham | 16 | 73% | #10 | 74.9 | C+ | |
| 13 | Michael Gambon | 16 | 84% | #8 | 74.4 | C+ | |
| 14 | Toby Jones | 16 | 73% | #8 | 65.3 | C | |
| 15 | Bruce Greenwood | 16 | 84% | #7 | 56.1 | D+ | |
| 16 | John Hurt | 15 | 79% | #6 | 78.3 | B- | |
| 17 | Allison Janney | 15 | 79% | #6 | 75.1 | B- | |
| 18 | Desmond Llewelyn | 15 | 88% | #10 | 74.9 | C+ | |
| 19 | Jeffrey Wright | 15 | 75% | #7 | 68.1 | C | |
| 20 | John Lithgow | 15 | 83% | #6 | 67.8 | C | |
| 21 | John Ortiz | 15 | 83% | #7 | 63.5 | C- | |
| 22 | Bill Hader | 14 | 50% | #6 | 75.4 | B- | |
| 23 | Lois Maxwell | 14 | 88% | #10 | 74.7 | C+ | |
| 24 | Tilda Swinton | 14 | 70% | #5.5 | 74.6 | C+ | |
| 25 | Richard Jenkins | 14 | 74% | #6 | 68.4 | C |
Actors with 4+ rated films in each tier: the average rating of their films as a star (billed 1–3) against their films in support (billed 4–15). This records where they were billed, not what they caused — a supporting run in one director's films can carry the whole gap.
Higher-rated films when billed in support
- Tim Roth +33.3
- Bobby Cannavale +28.5
- Scoot McNairy +26.8
- Orlando Bloom +24.1
- Peter Sarsgaard +23.5
- Rami Malek +23.4
- Bill Murray +20.9
- Donald Pleasence +20
- Michelle Monaghan +18.3
- Bill Hader +17.9
- Dave Bautista +17.9
- Matthew McConaughey +17.6
Higher-rated films when billed in the top 3
- Sally Hawkins -28.2
- Joe Pantoliano -27.2
- Ben Kingsley -26.3
- Vince Vaughn -25.6
- Ben Stiller -23.7
- Tim Robbins -18.9
- Connie Nielsen -18.7
- Carmen Ejogo -18.5
- Olivia Colman -16.7
- Christopher Lloyd -15
- John Turturro -15
- Dustin Hoffman -14.4
Every logged film for one actor, by release year and billing position
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