Robert D. Siegel is an American screenwriter known for The Onion Movie and The Wrestler, as well as the writer and director of Big Fan. His movie The Wrestler won the Golden Lion at the 2008 Venice Film Festival and has earned several Best Picture nominations. Big Fan premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. It was revealed in an online interview that Siegel attempted to write drafts for a comedy film but it ended up being a drama because of the conflicts in the film as well as avoiding Patton Oswalt being typecast as a comedic character. Siegel is a graduate of the University of Michigan who later became senior editor of The Onion from 1996 to 1999, and editor-in-chief from 1999 to 2003.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 12, 1971 (54)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Writer and director
- 8 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Robert Siegel's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Power.
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 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 6 · Intense 0
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 1 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 3
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic1
- 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 Robert Siegel's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Robert Siegel'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
9 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
A Dish Best Served Hot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Welcome to Chippendales(2022)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
Pam & Tommy(2022)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
Cruise(2018)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
The Founder(2016)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Turbo(2013)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Big Fan(2009)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
The Wrestler(2008)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Onion Movie(2008)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles from 2008 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Turbo (2013)
Highest rated
The Wrestler (2008)
Most popular right now
The Founder (2016)
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 Robert Siegel's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 59th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 56/100 and the plot and story 41/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
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 Robert Siegel's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs 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 Robert Siegel work with?
People who share at least 2 of Robert Siegel's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gino Cafarelli shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Gino CafarelliShared titles: Cruise (2018), Big Fan (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Gino Cafarelli
- Marcia Jean KurtzShared titles: Big Fan (2009), The Wrestler (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Marcia Jean Kurtz
Cinematographers
- Maryse AlbertiShared titles: The Onion Movie (2008), The Wrestler (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Maryse Alberti
Producers
- Holly BrownShared titles: Cruise (2018), The Founder (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Holly Brown
