Robert Mitchum

American actor (1917–1997)

  • Fame64.6
  • Momentum22.1
  • Wikipedia127.2K
Source-basedRising
Lived 1917–1997, aged 80United States
  • Wikipedia
    69 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1917–1997
    Aged 80
  • Known for
    Cape Fear
    1991
Summary
Updated 2026-06-11

He owned noir the way some actors own a single role — Mitchum made an entire mood his territory. That half-lidded stare and the voice like gravel at 3 a.m. turned him into the guy you'd cast if the script called for someone dangerous, tired, or both at once.

Biography

About

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was born August 6, 1917, and broke through in 1945 with an Academy Award nomination for The Story of G.I. Joe. What followed was a thirty-year run through the center of American cinema: Out of the Past in 1947, The Night of the Hunter in 1955, Cape Fear in 1962, and a long string of westerns, thrillers, and character pieces that made him the American Film Institute's 23rd greatest male star. Roger Ebert called him the soul of film noir; critic David Thomson said no American actor since the war had made more first-class films in so many moods. In 1983 he played Cap…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum
said
Got the same attitude I had when I started. Haven't changed anything but my underwear. I've played everything except midgets and women.
Speaking at the 1989 Deauville American Film Festival, as quoted in "Obituary: Robert Mitchum" by Gilbert Adair, in The Independent (July
Robert Mitchum
said
For a while it looked like I was going to be stuck in westerns. I figured out I could make 6 a year for 60 years and then retire. I decided I didn't want it.
As quoted in "In Hollywood" by Erskine Johnson (NEA), in The Blytheville Courier News (May 2, 1946)
Robert Mitchum
saidundated
I usually take no notice of reviews unless a critic has thought up some new way of describing me. That old one about the way I sleep my way through pictures is so hackneyed now.
As quoted in "Kate and Deborah Disagree"
Robert Mitchum
saidundated
No. But it was indicated by other people that I should go there—like my wife, my friends, the woman from Alcoholics Anonymous who came around.
When asked if he was "feeling better" following his previous year's stay at the Betty Ford Center, as quoted in "Roberto Mitchum: After all
Robert Mitchum
saidundated
Listen, when I arrived in Los Angeles in the early '40s, there were just 640,000 people. Every loser in the world headed there because there was no competition.
As quoted in "Roberto Mitchum: After all these years, still one of a kind"
Deep cuts

Filmography

Low confidence
Deep cuts

TV credits

Low confidence
Deep cuts

Awards

Low confidence
  • Donostia Award
  • Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
64.6
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum22.1
Historical28.6
Now attention66.7
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence