Actor Paul Raci is most commonly known for his roles in television dramas. Raci's acting career began with roles in action films like "Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story" (1993) and "The Glimmer Man" (1996). He worked in television in his early acting career as well, including parts on "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1986-1994) and "The Marshal" (ABC, 1994-96). In the nineties and the early 2000s, Raci worked on predominantly television shows such as "The Visitor" (1997-98), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-2015) and "The Handler" (CBS, 2003-04). More recently, he tackled roles on "Las Vegas" (2003-08), "Lucky Louie" (HBO, 2005-07) and "Rizzoli & Isles" (TNT, 2009-16). Raci most recently acted on "Switched at Birth" (Freeform, 2010-). He was nominated for a 1985 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "Children of a Lesser God" at the Immediate Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 7, 1948 (78)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Actor, also producer
- 26 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
What are Paul Raci's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
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 7
A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 2 · Dark 3
Grounded 7 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 5
A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Mentor: 2 of 5 analyzed roles.
- Threshold guardianas Bob Silver in Fighting Tommy Riley (2004)
- Mentoras Joe in Sound of Metal (2019)
- Heraldas Joe in Sound of Metal (2019)
- Allyas McDonald in Butcher's Crossing (2022)
- Mentoras Mealworm in The Secret Art of Human Flight (2023)
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet6
- Ambiguous1
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 Paul Raci's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 21 of their 26 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Paul Raci'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
34 credits, 26 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Mirrors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Sing Sing(2023)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
This Is Me... Now(2024)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
The Mother(2023)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Butcher's Crossing(2022)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Sound of Metal(2019)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Perry Mason(2020)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows
Goliath(2016)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Baskets(2016)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
She Wants Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Switched at Birth(2011)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Rizzoli & Isles(2010)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
Parks and Recreation(2009)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Free Radio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Life(2007)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Heroes(2006)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
Fighting Tommy Riley(2004)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
10-8: Officers on Duty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Las Vegas(2003)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all shows
Scrubs(2001)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
The Visitor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
The Practice(1997)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
The Glimmer Man(1996)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
ER(1994)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Æon Flux(1991)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Smoothtalker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Rent-a-Cop(1987)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
L.A. Law(1986)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Lady Blue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Not Dead Yet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 91st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 34 titles, 33 of them dated from 1985 to 2025; peak year 2024.
Biggest box office
Sing Sing (2023)
Highest rated
Sound of Metal (2019)
Most popular right now
The Mother (2023)
Film career
Peak 2024 · their film career is on the way up. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. 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.
- 1987Screen debut· Rent-a-Cop
- 2020Oscar nomination· Sound of Metal
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.
Awards
1 major award from 4 major nominations, 2021.
- Oscar, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor
+2 other major bodies · 1 win and 1 nomination
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor
- Independent Spirit Award, won · Best Supporting Male
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Paul Raci's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 51st percentile, the median of all 11; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up14
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
13 of their 26 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved6
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser13
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the acting 76/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 52. 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 Paul Raci's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all 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.