
Marcia Gay Harden
Actor · Born August 14, 1959 (67) · La Jolla, California, USA
Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American film and stage actress. She is the recipient of many accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. She began her acting career appearing in television programs throughout the 1980s. In 1986, she appeared in her first film role, with her breakthrough coming in the 1990 Coen brothers-directed Miller's Crossing. Her next notable film credits include The First Wives Club (1996), Flubber (1997), and Space Cowboys (2000). She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lee Krasner in Pollock (2000). She had a supporting role in Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She received a second Academy Award nomination for her performance as Celeste Boyle in the drama film Mystic River (2003). She appeared in several 2007 films, including Sean Penn's Into the Wild and Frank Darabont's The Mist, based on the novella by Stephen King. Also in 2007, she shared top billing with Kevin Bacon in Rails & Ties, the directorial debut of Alison Eastwood. Harden played a woman who has a mastectomy in Home (2008). (Her character in Rails & Ties also had a mastectomy.) One scene required her to bare her breasts, with the missing breast removed using computer-generated imagery. In Home, her co-stars include her daughter, Eulala Scheel. In 2009, she had quite a busy year. She appeared as a regular on the FX series Damages as a shrewd corporate attorney opposite Glenn Close and William Hurt. She co-starred in the films Whip It, and The Maiden Heist. She returned to Broadway in Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, co-starring with James Gandolfini, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels. All three actors were nominated for a Tony Award; Harden won Best Actress in a Play. She received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Lewis in the crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and earned a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Janina Krzyżanowska in the television film The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009). She reunited with her former Broadway co-star Jeff Daniels as a new cast member on HBO's series The Newsroom in 2013. In 2015, she had a starring role in the medical drama Code Black. Her other notable television credits include ABC's How to Get Away with Murder and the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. She played Christian Grey's mother, Grace Trevelyan Grey, in the Fifty Shades film series from 2015 to 2018. She stars in the 2022 CBS drama So Help Me Todd.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 14, 1959 (67)
- La Jolla, California, USA
- Actor
- 92 on MovieCove · 128 credits in all
What are Marcia Gay Harden's films like?
Across their 73 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
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 2 · Wry 0 · Earnest 64
A split, not a type: Light 27 · Serious 18 · Dark 22
Grounded 53 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 7
Gentle 18 · Charged 31 · Intense 18
A split, not a type: Steady 33 · Shifting 30 · Whiplash 4
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 39 · Some laughs 18 · Funny 10
A split, not a type: Slow burn 36 · Even-paced 27 · Relentless 4
A split, not a type: Casual 37 · Engaged 24 · Full focus 6
A split, not a type: Easy watch 22 · Affecting 22 · Heavy 23
Resolved 47 · Open-ended 16 · Ambiguous 4
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 9 of 40 analyzed roles.
Show the 40 rolesHide the roles
- Allyas Verna in Miller's Crossing (1990)
- Shadowas Lane in Crush (1992)
- Tricksteras Lane in Crush (1992)
- Allyas Maggie Sinclair in Convict Cowboy (1995)
- Allyas Shelby Goddard in The Spitfire Grill (1996)
- Heraldas Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds in Flubber (1997)
- Heroas Nancy Floyd in Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing (1997)
- Allyas Dr. Samantha Hawkins in Desperate Measures (1998)
- Mentoras Lee Krasner in Pollock (2000)
- Shadowas Mrs. Susannah Lear Tumlinson in King of Texas (2002)
- Heraldas Celeste Boyle in Mystic River (2003)
- Allyas Angela Brown in See You in My Dreams (2004)
- Threshold guardianas Grace Sutherland in Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
- Tricksteras Missy Goldberg in P.S. (2004)
- Heroas Trish Vogel in She's Too Young (2004)
- Heraldas Liz Whitewood in Bad News Bears (2005)
- Heroas Janet Huttenson in American Gun (2005)
- Heroas Vicki Miller in In from the Night (2006)
- Shadowas Mary Marino in Canvas (2006)
- Shadowas Mrs. Carmody in The Mist (2007)
- Allyas Megan Stark in Rails & Ties (2007)
- Allyas Becky Binion in Sex and Lies in Sin City (2008)
- Shapeshifteras Rose Barlow in The Maiden Heist (2009)
- Shadowas Brooke Cavendar in Whip It (2009)
- Allyas Edda Mellas in Amanda Knox (2011)
- Allyas Barbara Sabich in Innocent (2011)
- Heroas Madelyn in If I Were You (2012)
- Tricksteras Madelyn in If I Were You (2012)
- Heroas Nurse Doris Nelson in Parkland (2013)
- Threshold guardianas Diane Buckley in Trophy Wife (2013)
- Mentoras Dr. Leanne Rorish in Code Black (2015)
- Heroas Jane in After Words (2015)
- Shadowas Camile Stoller in Love You To Death (2019)
- Shadowas Lt. Lewis in Point Blank (2019)
- Mentoras Margaret in So Help Me Todd (2022)
- Mentoras Claire Gibson in Gigi & Nate (2022)
- Heroas Dr. Partovi in Tell It Like a Woman (2022)
- Mentoras Diane York in Daughter of the Bride (2023)
- Shapeshifteras Salenus in Renner (2025)
- Mentoras Morwen in The Dreadful (2026)
Moods and endings
- Happy19
- Bittersweet37
- Tragic6
- Ambiguous11
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 Marcia Gay Harden's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 60 of their 92 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (24).
- Mystic River (2003) · actor · free
- Detachment (2011) · actor · free
- How to Get Away with Murder (2014) · actor · free
- You're Not You (2014) · actor · free
- The Spitfire Grill (1996) · actor · free
- If I Were You (2012) · actor · free
- Grandma (2015) · actor · free
- Canvas (2006) · actor · free
- The Dead Girl (2006) · actor · free
- Used People (1992) · actor · free
- Desperate Measures (1998) · actor · free
- After Words (2015) · actor · free
- +12 more
- Damages (2007) · actor
- You're Not You (2014) · actor
- Meet Joe Black (1998) · actor
- The Mist (2007) · actor
- Pollock (2000) · actor
- If I Were You (2012) · actor
- Elsa & Fred (2014) · actor
- Used People (1992) · actor
- After Words (2015) · actor
- P.S. (2004) · actor
- See You in My Dreams (2004) · actor
- Convict Cowboy (1995) · actor
- +5 more
- Detachment (2011) · actor · free
- How to Get Away with Murder (2014) · actor · free
- The Dead Girl (2006) · actor · free
- Elsa & Fred (2014) · actor · free
- Parkland (2013) · actor · free
- Used People (1992) · actor · free
- Bent (2012) · actor · free
- After Words (2015) · actor · free
- P.S. (2004) · actor · free
- The Wine of Summer (2013) · actor · free
- She's Too Young (2004) · actor · free
- Renner (2025) · actor · free
- Howdy, show their 5 titles on Howdy
- Lionsgate+, show their 4 titles on Lionsgate+
- Shout! TV, show their 4 titles on Shout! TV
- MovieSphere+, show their 2 titles on MovieSphere+
- Cinemax, show their title on Cinemax
- Dove Channel, show their title on Dove Channel
- FOX One, show their title on FOX One
- IndiePix Unlimited, show their title on IndiePix Unlimited
- Lifetime Movie Club, show their title on Lifetime Movie Club
- Sony Pictures Core, show their title on Sony Pictures Core
- Sundance Now, show their title on Sundance Now
- ViX, show their title on ViX
Subscription and free streaming for Marcia Gay Harden'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
128 credits, 92 with a MovieCove page; 20 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Street Smart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows
The Dreadful(2026)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Renner(2025)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Murder in a Small Town(2024)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all shows
Knox Goes Away(2023)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Daughter of the Bride(2023)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Tell It Like a Woman(2022)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
So Help Me Todd(2022)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Confess, Fletch(2022)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Gigi & Nate(2022)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Uncoupled (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

The Cuphead Show!(2022)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
Moxie(2021)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Pink Skies Ahead(2020)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Barkskins(2020)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
The Morning Show(2019)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows
Point Blank(2019)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Reef Break (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

The Cold Open (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

Love You To Death(2019)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
The Oil Fund (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

A Million Little Things(2018)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows
In the Night I Remember Your Name (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

Fifty Shades Freed(2018)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Fifty Shades Darker(2017)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Get a Job(2016)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Code Black(2015)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
After Words(2015)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Unity(2015)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Grandma(2015)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Fifty Shades of Grey(2015)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
You're Not You(2014)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
BoJack Horseman(2014)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Magic in the Moonlight(2014)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Elsa & Fred(2014)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Parkland(2013)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Trophy Wife(2013)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows
The Wine of Summer(2013)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
If I Were You(2012)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
The Newsroom(2012)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Bent(2012)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Innocent(2011)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Detachment(2011)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Body of Proof(2011)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
Amanda Knox(2011)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Sex and Lies in Sin City(2008)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Royal Pains(2009)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all shows
The Maiden Heist(2009)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Whip It(2009)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
When Darkness Came: The Making of 'The Mist' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
The Tower (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

The Mist(2007)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Into the Wild(2007)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Rails & Ties(2007)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Damages(2007)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
The Invisible(2007)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Canvas(2006)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
The Dead Girl(2006)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
The Hoax(2006)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
In from the Night(2006)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
American Dreamz(2006)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all filmsSweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
American Gun(2005)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Willa Cather: The Road Is All (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

Bad News Bears(2005)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
P.S.(2004)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
See You in My Dreams(2004)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Welcome to Mooseport(2004)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
She's Too Young(2004)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Mona Lisa Smile(2003)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Mystic River(2003)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Casa de los babys(2003)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
King of Texas(2002)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Guilty Hearts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

The Education of Max Bickford (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

Walking Shadow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

Gaudi Afternoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

Thin Air (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

Pollock(2000)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Space Cowboys(2000)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all filmsFrom Where I Sit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Small Vices (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

It All Came True(1998)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Meet Joe Black(1998)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Labor of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

Desperate Measures(1998)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Flubber(1997)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Daytrippers(1996)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Far Harbor(1996)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
The First Wives Club(1996)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Spitfire Grill(1996)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Spy Hard(1996)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Convict Cowboy(1995)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Talking With (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

Safe Passage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Chicago Hope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

Fallen Angels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

In the Wings: Angels in America On Broadway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Geoffrey Beene 30 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Used People(1992)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Sinatra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

Crush(1992)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

Late for Dinner(1991)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Fever(1991)
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
In Broad Daylight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

Miller's Crossing(1990)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Kojak: None So Blind(1990)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all filmsGideon Oliver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Simon & Simon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

Not Only Strangers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

Hallmark Hall of Fame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Drift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Hystoria (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
In the Echo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
TRINITY (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 128 titles, 124 of them dated from 1951 to 2026; peak year 2006.

Biggest box office
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Highest rated
Mystic River (2003)

Most popular right now
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Film career
Peak 2006 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 36 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.
- 1990Screen debut· Miller's Crossing
- 2007Career best· Into the Wild
- 2013First top-billed film· If I Were You
- 2015Career best· Code Black
Billing
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.
How do Marcia Gay Harden's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 74; across their 67 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 50th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up25
- 50th to 74th30
- 25th to 49th22
- Below 25th15
Shape of the crowd
39 of their 92 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved12
- Cult Classic3
- Crowd Pleaser39
- Broadly Agreed8
- Mixed30
Reviewers score the acting 71/100 in their films, across 61 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 48. 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 Marcia Gay Harden's work okay for kids?
Across up to 31 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity 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 Marcia Gay Harden work with?
People who share at least 2 of Marcia Gay Harden's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Clint Eastwood shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Clint EastwoodShared titles: Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story (2013), Rails & Ties (2007), Mystic River (2003), Space Cowboys (2000)See all 4 shared titles with Clint Eastwood

- Greg MottolaShared titles: Confess, Fletch (2022), The Daytrippers (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Greg Mottola

- Dylan KiddShared titles: Get a Job (2016), P.S. (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Dylan Kidd

- Paul WeitzShared titles: Grandma (2015), American Dreamz (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Weitz

Actors
- Aidan QuinnShared titles: Daughter of the Bride (2023), If I Were You (2012), See You in My Dreams (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Aidan Quinn

- Kevin BaconShared titles: Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story (2013), Rails & Ties (2007), Mystic River (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Kevin Bacon

- Peter GallagherShared titles: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You (2011), Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing (1997), Late for Dinner (1991)See all 3 shared titles with Peter Gallagher

- Greg KinnearShared titles: Margo's Got Money Troubles (2026), Bad News Bears (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Greg Kinnear

Composers and editors
- Danny ElfmanShared titles: Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Flubber (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Danny Elfman

- Debra Neil-FisherShared titles: Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Welcome to Mooseport (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Debra Neil-Fisher

- Edward ShearmurShared titles: Sex and Lies in Sin City (2008), Bad News Bears (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Edward Shearmur

- Richard NordShared titles: Sex and Lies in Sin City (2008), American Gun (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Nord
Producers
- Fernando SzewShared titles: Daughter of the Bride (2023), Elsa & Fred (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Fernando Szew

- Julie YornShared titles: Daughter of the Bride (2023), Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Julie Yorn

- Andrew MianoShared titles: Grandma (2015), American Dreamz (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Miano

- Marcus ViscidiShared titles: Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Bad News Bears (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Marcus Viscidi

Mixed roles
- Adam G. SimonShared titles: The Dreadful (2026), Point Blank (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Adam G. Simon

- Sean PennShared titles: Into the Wild (2007), Mystic River (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Sean Penn

- Julia RobertsShared titles: Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005), Mona Lisa Smile (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Julia Roberts

- Sam ShepardShared titles: See You in My Dreams (2004), It All Came True (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Sam Shepard





