Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 - April 9, 2021), better known by his stage name DMX, was an American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's. To date, his best-selling album is his 1999 album ...And Then There Was X, which featured the hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)". As an actor, he also starred in the films Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 The Grave and Last Hour, and his own reality television series Soul of a Man on the American cable television network BET. In 2002, DMX wrote an autobiographical book titled E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX. On April 9, 2021, DMX died at the age of 50 from a drug-related heart attack.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 18, 1970
- April 9, 2021 (aged 50)
- Mount Vernon, New York, USA
- Actor and producer, also composer
- 21 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
What are DMX's films like?
Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 15
Light 2 · Serious 7 · Dark 6
Grounded 11 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 0 · Charged 7 · Intense 8
Steady 5 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 1
Casual 6 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 2
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 4
Resolved 11 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 2
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 5 of 11 analyzed roles.
Show the 11 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Tommy 'Buns' Bundy in Belly (1998)
- Allyas Latrell Walker in Exit Wounds (2001)
- Heroas Anthony Fait in Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
- Heroas King David in Never Die Alone (2004)
- Shadowas King David in Never Die Alone (2004)
- Mentoras King David in Never Die Alone (2004)
- Heraldas Black Jack in Last Hour (2008)
- Heroas Black Jack in Last Hour (2008)
- Heroas Nick in Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent (2008)
- Heraldas Detective Munce in Beyond the Law (2019)
- Shadowas Captain Liddle in Fast Vengeance (2021)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous6
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch DMX's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).
Subscription and free streaming for DMX's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
29 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 26 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Fast Vengeance(2021)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
Beyond the Law(2019)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Pimp(2018)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Fresh Off the Boat(2015)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Top Five(2014)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
The Bleeding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Death Toll (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Last Hour(2008)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Jump Out Boys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Father of Lies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Never Die Alone(2004)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all filmsSpike TV VGA Video Game Awards (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Eve(2003)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows
Cradle 2 the Grave(2003)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Cypress Hill Smoke Out Presents DMX (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Exit Wounds(2001)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Boricua's Bond(2000)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
Romeo Must Die(2000)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Woodstock '99(1999)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Third Watch(1999)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Belly(1998)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
South Park(1997)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Moesha(1996)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Doggmen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 95th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 28 titles, 27 of them dated from 1992 to 2021; peak year 2003.
Biggest box office
Exit Wounds (2001)
Highest rated
Pimp (2018)
Most popular right now
Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
Film career
Peak 2003 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 2 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do DMX's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 33rd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 32nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th7
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 21 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved4
- Divisive2
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed12
Reviewers score the acting 32/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 59, detractors 19. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is DMX's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and sex & nudity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does DMX work with?
People who share at least 2 of DMX's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jarrett Furst shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Andrzej BartkowiakShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Andrzej Bartkowiak
Actors
- Steven SeagalShared titles: Beyond the Law (2019), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Steven Seagal
- Anthony AndersonShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Anthony Anderson
- Tom ArnoldShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Arnold
- Method ManShared titles: Backstage (2000), Belly (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Method Man
Composers and editors
- Damon 'Grease' BlackmanShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Damon 'Grease' Blackman
- Derek BrechinShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Derek Brechin
Producers
- Jarrett FurstShared titles: Fast Vengeance (2021), Fast and Fierce: Death Race (2020), Beyond the Law (2019)See all 3 shared titles with Jarrett Furst
- James Cullen BressackShared titles: Fast Vengeance (2021), Beyond the Law (2019)See all 2 shared titles with James Cullen Bressack
- Gil WilliamsShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Gil Williams
- Joel SilverShared titles: Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Exit Wounds (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Joel Silver
Mixed roles
- Tashera SimmonsShared titles: Don't Try to Understand: A Year in the Life of Earl 'DMX' Simmons (2021), Never Die Alone (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Tashera Simmons
