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Natar Ungalaaq

Natar Ungalaaq

Actor, also director · Born January 1, 1959 (67) · Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada

Natar Ungalaaq is a talented filmmaker, actor and sculptor from Igloolik, NU. Ungalaaq began his artistic practice carving when he was a child using his grandparent’s tools, eventually selling his works to buy camera gear along with Zacharias Kunuk to start an Igloolik based production company known as Isuma Productions. Ungalaaq has acted and appeared in many films and television shows most notably starring as the lead Atanarjuat in Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He made his directorial debut in 2016 with the film Searchers (2016). He is also a talented carver. Ungalaaq’s carvings are often made from stone and depict traditional Inuit imagery and practices. Ungalaaq has been known to also incorporate animal hair into some of his carvings, such as Sedna with Hairbrush (1985). Ungalaaq represents the goddess Sedna in white soapstone reclining on a rock with her fish like tail wrapping around the bottom of the stone. Sedna’s hair is made from fur and sticks out around her head, creating halo of red. In her right hand she holds a bone hairbrush. Ungalaaq’s sculptures are boldly carved with minimal amounts of negative space and with figures always seemingly caught mid-action. Ungalaaq has received many awards for his acting including ‘Best Actor’ from the American Indian Movie Awards in 2002, ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role’ from the Genie Awards in 2009 and his film The Necessities of Life, or Inuujjutiksaq, was shortlisted for the 2009 Oscars under the Best Foreign Language Film category. Ungalaaq has acted, produced, directed and run cameras in countless Isuma film work. Before playing the lead role in the genre-creating, Cannes Camera D’or award-winning Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), Natar played major roles in other Canadian and American films, including Kabloonak (1994), Glory & Honor (1998), Frostfire (1994), Trial at Fortitude Bay (1994), Sleep Murder (2004), The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006), The Necessities of Life (2008) and Maïna (2013). He has attended multiple film festivals as an actor and director including the Cannes Film Festival. Ungalaaq’s carvings have been exhibited across Canada and are housed in major institutions including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON. He has been written about in multiple publications including many times in Inuit Art Quarterly and has his piece Sedna with Hairbrush on the cover of the Fall 1993 issue. Most recently, Isuma TV has been chosen as an artist collective to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale Art Festival in 2018.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1959 (67)
From
Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada
Works as
Actor, also director
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 16 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 38 days to Oct 27Down 5% in 30 days

What are Natar Ungalaaq's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
33%
Society
23%
Survival
22%
Self
11%
Morality
8%
Ideas
4%
Family bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 3

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

A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 4 · 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 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

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 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 5

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 4 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

4 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 2 of 4 analyzed roles.

Hero
2 of 4
Ally
1 of 4
Mentor
1 of 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
6
Melancholic
5
Contemplative
3
Hopeful
2
Dread
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Bittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet6

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 Natar Ungalaaq's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on AMC+ (3).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Natar Ungalaaq'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

16 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Slash/Back(2022)

    as Fisherman

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Ski-Doo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Casey

  • The North Water(2021)

    Show 1 episode · as Elder Inuk

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • The Grizzlies(2018)

    as Pete

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Iqaluit(2016)

    as Noah

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Searchers(2016)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Maïna (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Tadlo

  • The Legend of Sarila(2013)

    as Ukpik (voice)

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • That Which Once Was (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as Siku

  • The Necessities of Life(2008)

    as Tiivii

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • The Journals of Knud Rasmussen(2006)

    as Nuqallaq

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner(2001)

    as Atanarjuat

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Glory & Honor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    as Ootah

  • Kabloonak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    as Mukpullu

  • Trial at Fortitude Bay (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    as Tommy

  • Fish Traps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Production Assistant

Career shape

Star power in the 80th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 15 titles from 1993 to 2022; peak year 2002.

Biggest box office

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

$5.2M worldwide

Highest rated

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

Slash/Back (2022)

Film career

19932022

Peak 2002 · fewer prominent film roles lately. 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
Acting14 of 15: 14 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thOther crew1 of 15: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1990s4 · 3 acting · 1 crew2000s3 · acting2010s5 · acting2020s3 · acting

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 Natar Ungalaaq's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

69thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

53rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 9 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

The Legend of Sarila (2013)

74th percentile spread · 36% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

Midcredits 92nd · 79% liked

Reviewers score the acting 67/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 30. 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.

Who does Natar Ungalaaq work with?

People who share at least 2 of Natar Ungalaaq's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Madeline Ivalu shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles