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FrameThrower · Actors · Dean Norris

Dean Norris

Dean Norris

3 films · 323 frames · top-billed in 2 · 20182019

Born 8 April 1963 · South Bend, Indiana, USA

Dean Joseph Norris) is an American actor, best known for portraying DEA agent Hank Schrader on the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2015–2022), as well as town selectman James "Big Jim" Rennie on the CBS series Under the Dome (2013–2015). He has also appeared in films such as Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Total Recall (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Starship Troopers (1997), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and Evan Almighty (2007).

Norris was born in South Bend, Indiana, to Jack, a furniture store owner, and Rosie Norris. He has four sisters. Norris graduated from Clay High School in 1981, where he says he got straight A's. He is a 1985 graduate of Harvard College, where he majored in social studies. He also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

How their films are shot

Measured across 323 frames from the 3 films we hold. This is the look of the work Dean takes, not a claim about any single frame — we index the cast of a film, never the people in a shot.

Across the 3 films we hold, 51% of their frames are night — the look of the work Dean takes.

Time of day

Night51%
Day32%
Interior13%

Lighting

Natural39%
Low key39%
High key23%

Shot size

Medium63%
Closeup18%
Wide10%
Fullbody6%

Camera angle

Eye level85%
High angle7%
Low angle6%

Mood

Neutral59%
Tense20%
Ominous8%
Lonely7%

Films in the library

Every poster opens that film — stills, cinematography notes and colour palette.

A reference database for filmmakers

FrameThrower is a fully machine-searchable film database and visual reference library — all 323 frames from Dean Norris's 3 films, and 5,000+ films besides, indexed frame by frame and readable by AI. Search it in plain language, from a reference image, or by colour; call it from an API, an MCP server or an SDK. It's the reference layer for making the next movie.