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Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn

Director, producer, writer and actor · Born September 29, 1970 (56) · Copenhagen, Denmark

Nicolas Winding Refn (Danish: [ˈne̝kolɑs ˈve̝nte̝ŋˈʁæfn̩]; born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed the Pusher trilogy (1996–2005), the crime drama Bronson (2008), and the adventure film Valhalla Rising (2009). In 2011, he directed the action drama film Drive (2011), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director. He was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Direction. Refn's subsequent films were the stylistically driven action film Only God Forgives (2013) and the psychological horror film The Neon Demon (2016). In 2019, he directed his first television series, Too Old to Die Young (2019), which premiered on Amazon Prime. After Amazon's Too Old to Die Young, Refn's next project took him to Netflix and saw him returning to his native Copenhagen for the first time since Pusher 3, which was the setting for his magical realism series, Copenhagen Cowboy. In 2008, Refn co-founded the Copenhagen-based production company Space Rocket Nation. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nicolas Winding Refn, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 29, 1970 (56)
From
Copenhagen, Denmark
Works as
Director, producer, writer and actor
Titles
20 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 42% in 30 days

What are Nicolas Winding Refn's films like?

Across their 20 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Crime6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Action5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 82nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Documentary3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 61st percentile
: browse their Documentary movies

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

share of theme weight
Self
28%
Bonds
18%
Survival
16%
Society
16%
Morality
8%
Power
7%
Ideas
7%
Family bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation5 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession4 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 18 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 14

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 11 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 6

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 1 · Intense 13

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 7 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 5

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 5

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 13

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 7 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
15
Dread
11
Contemplative
7
Melancholic
7
Cold
4
Other
10

How their films linger

Unsettling13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 4 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic4
  • Ambiguous8

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 Nicolas Winding Refn's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Nicolas Winding Refn'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, 20 with a MovieCove page; 11 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Her Private Hell(2026)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Satellites II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Big Trouble on Billycock Hill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Beauty Is Not a Sin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Director · Writer

  • The Famous Five: Eye of the Sunrise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Executive Producer

  • The Famous Five(2023)

    Show 5 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all shows

  • The Famous Five: The Curse of Kirrin Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Executive Producer

  • Circus Maximus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Director

  • Copenhagen Cowboy(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Creator · Writer · as Jørgen

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Touch of Crude (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director · Writer

  • Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess(2021)

    as Presenter

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Too Old to Die Young(2019)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all shows

  • Rematch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • The Neon Demon(2016)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Sorcerers: A Conversation with William Friedkin and Nicolas Winding Refn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Actor

  • Dying of the Light(2014)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films

  • Only God Forgives(2013)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Pusher(2012)

    Executive Producer · as Dutch Bob

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Black's Game(2012)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Drive(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Pusher (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Original Film Writer

  • Valhalla Rising(2009)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Bronson(2008)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Pusher III(2005)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Chinaman(2005)

    as The Doctor

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Pusher II(2004)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Agatha Christie's Marple(2004)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows

  • Fear X(2003)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Bleeder(1999)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Pusher(1996)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · as Brian

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Glubsk, Sultens Gud (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Actor

  • Maniac Cop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

  • What Have You Done to Solange? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Witchfinder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

Career shape

A full career of 35 titles, 32 of them dated from 1990 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Drive (2011)

$80M worldwide

Highest rated

Drive (2011)

Midcredits 96th

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting9 of 35: 5 only acting, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score76thDirecting20 of 35: 4 only directing, 16 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thWriting16 of 35: 1 only writing, 15 with another role · typical Midcredits score59thProducing16 of 35: 7 only producing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score55thOther crew3 of 35: 0 only other crew, 3 with another role

35 titles, 18 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

1990s3 · 2 acting · 2 crew2000s7 · 1 acting · 6 crew2010s11 · 3 acting · 9 crew2020s11 · 3 acting · 10 crew

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.

How do Nicolas Winding Refn's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Approval · how many liked their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Reach · how many have seen their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · writer, producer

The Famous Five (2023)

85th percentile spread · 45% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Drive (2011)

Midcredits 96th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 17 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

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 Nicolas Winding Refn's work okay for kids?

Across up to 12 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore12 titles79–96 · median 85 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity12 titles32–81 · median 52 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity12 titles46–91 · median 82 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs11 titles34–92 · median 50 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense12 titles62–93 · median 83 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Nicolas Winding Refn work with?

People who share at least 2 of Nicolas Winding Refn's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Matthew Newman shares the most, 7.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers