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Mark Rylance

Mark Rylance

Actor, also producer · Born January 18, 1960 (66) · Ashford, Kent, England, UK

Oscar winner · 3 BAFTA Awards · Screen Actors Guild Award winner · 4 other major award bodies

Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960 in Ashford, Kent, England) is an English actor, theatre director, and playwright. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe in London, between 1995 and 2005. His film appearances include Prospero's Books (1991), Angels and Insects (1995), Institute Benjamenta (1996), and Intimacy (2001). Rylance won the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies (2015). Rylance played the title role in Steven Spielberg's The BFG (2016), a live-action film adaptation of the children's book by Roald Dahl, and appeared in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk (2017), based on the British evacuation in World War II. He appeared as James Halliday in Spielberg's 2018 film Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 18, 1960 (66)
From
Ashford, Kent, England, UK
Works as
Actor, also producer
Titles
21 on MovieCove · 53 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 33% in 30 days

What are Mark Rylance's films like?

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

Genres

Drama7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 77th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 89th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Documentary3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile
: browse their Documentary movies
Biography2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 75th percentile
: browse their Biography 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
Morality
24%
Bonds
17%
Power
13%
Self
11%
Survival
11%
Society
11%
Ideas
11%
Survival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression4 titles, browse their movies with this themePower3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation4 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

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

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 4 · Dark 10

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

A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 5

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 4 · Intense 10

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

Steady 9 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2

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

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 3

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

Casual 5 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 6

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

A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 8

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

A split, not a type: Resolved 10 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 3

Roles they play

16 analyzed roles

Usually the Mentor: 7 of 16 analyzed roles.

Mentor
7 of 16
Hero
6 of 16
Trickster
1 of 16
Shapeshifter
1 of 16
Threshold guardian
1 of 16
Show the 16 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
10
Contemplative
10
Melancholic
8
Dread
6
Warm
5
Other
16

How their films linger

Thought-provoking8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet9
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous5

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 Mark Rylance's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 21 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Mark Rylance'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

53 credits, 21 with a MovieCove page; 13 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • On the Edge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    as (voice)

  • The Nightingale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Actor

  • Artificial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    as Geoffrey Hinton

  • Searching for Shakespeare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Actor

  • Bing & Friends: Birthday Celebration (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    as Flop (voice)

  • Spirit of Place (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Actor

  • Inland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as Dunleavy

  • Bones and All(2022)

    as Sully

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • The Undeclared War(2022)

    Show 4 episodes · as John Yeabsley

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • The Phantom of the Open(2021)

    Executive Producer · as Maurice Flitcroft

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • The Outfit(2022)

    as Leonard Burling

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Don't Look Up(2021)

    as Peter Isherwell

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Bing’s Christmas and Other Stories (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    as Flop

  • The Trial of the Chicago 7(2020)

    as William Kunstler

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Waiting for the Barbarians(2019)

    as The Magistrate

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • The Flaneur (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    as Narrator

  • Ready Player One(2018)

    as Anorak / Halliday

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Dunkirk(2017)

    as Mr. Dawson

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The BFG(2016)

    as The BFG

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Bridge of Spies(2015)

    as Rudolf Abel

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The Gunman(2015)

    as Terrance Cox

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Wolf Hall(2015)

    Show 12 episodes · as Thomas Cromwell

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • Days and Nights(2014)

    as Stephen

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Bing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Show 105 episodes · as Narrator / Flop (voice)

  • Twelfth Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    as Olivia

  • Anonymous(2011)

    as Condell

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Blitz(2011)

    as Roberts

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • The Other Boleyn Girl(2008)

    as Sir Thomas Boleyn

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Government Inspector (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Dr. David Kelly

  • Measure for Measure: Live from the Globe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    as Vincentio, Duke of Vienna

  • Measure for Measure: Live from The Globe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    as Vincentio, Duke of Vienna

  • Richard II - Live at Shakespeare's Globe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    as Richard II

  • Leonardo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Show 3 episodes · as Leonardo

  • Intimacy(2001)

    as Jay

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Henry V at Shakespeare's Globe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    as Henry V

  • Loving (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    as Charlie Raunce

  • Angels and Insects (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    as William Adamson

  • Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream That One Calls Human Life(1995)

    as Jakob

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • In Lambeth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    as William Blake

  • Love Lies Bleeding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    as Conn Ellis

  • The Grass Arena (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    as John Healy

  • Prospero's Books(1991)

    as Ferdinand

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Incident in Judaea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Actor

  • Hearts of Fire(1987)

    as Fizz

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • ScreenPlay (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 1 episode · as Conn Ellis

  • The McGuffin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    as Gavin

  • Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 2 episodes · as Nikki Fodor

  • Screen Two (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 1 episode · as Charlie Raunce

  • American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 1 episode · as William Adamson

  • The South Bank Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Great Performances (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Show 1 episode · as King Henry V

  • Nice Fish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · Actor

  • The Way of the Wind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Satan

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 53 titles, 48 of them dated from 1971 to 2025; peak year 2021.

Biggest box office

Ready Player One (2018)

$608M worldwide

Highest rated

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Ready Player One (2018)

Film career

MilestoneAward winNomination
19712025

Peak 2021 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 8 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.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting53 of 53: 51 only acting, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score75thDirecting1 of 53: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting1 of 53: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing2 of 53: 0 only producing, 2 with another role

By decade

1970s2 · acting1980s6 · acting1990s9 · acting2000s7 · acting2010s12 · acting2020s12 · 12 acting · 1 crew

Billing

usually 3rd · top billed in 33% of 18 roles
9111

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.

Awards

an Oscar, 3 BAFTA Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award from 13 major nominations, 2006–2023.

WinNomination
  1. 2023
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Supporting Performance
  2. 2022
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
  3. 2021
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
  4. 2016
    • Oscar, won · Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Leading Actor
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Supporting Actor
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor
  5. 2015
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie
  6. 2006
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Actor

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 Mark Rylance's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 75th percentile, the median of all 19; across their 18 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Approval · how many liked their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Reach · how many have seen their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 18

Midcredits score across 21 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

9 of their 21 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser9
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Hearts of Fire (1987)

79th percentile spread · 49% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Midcredits 97th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the acting 79/100 in their films, across 16 reviewed titles; fans 83, detractors 51. 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 Mark Rylance's work okay for kids?

Across up to 14 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and profanity run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore13 titles32–84 · median 60 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity14 titles4–71 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity14 titles36–81 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs13 titles17–48 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense13 titles37–79 · median 47 · moderatenear the median of all 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 Mark Rylance work with?

People who share at least 2 of Mark Rylance's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Steven Spielberg shares the most, 4.

Directors

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles