Are you an avid consumer of movies and TV shows? Do you find yourself saying, “What have we seen that actor in before?” Shows like Law and Order, Midsomer Murders, and even The Love Boat feature(d) weekly guest stars you’re bound to know from other shows. If you recognize that actor, but can’t recall what you know them from, the free Internet Movie Database (IMDb) might be the perfect app/website for you.
Use It As a Website or an App
I hate installing apps on my phone unless I’m sure I’ll get a lot of use out of them. Otherwise, I’ll just bookmark the related website. IMDb can be accessed either way. If you’d like to test it out before committing to an app download, here is the IMDb website. If you love it, you can find it in your device’s app store as a free download.
Every so often, the website will prompt you to create a free account and sign in. You can skip it by selecting the “not right now” option at the bottom. The site is free, and you don’t need an account to search. Creating an account adds interactive features.
Performing a Search
On the website home page, the search box is at the top. In the app, there is a search icon in the bottom toolbar (ignore the ad).
By default, it works as a keyword search. If you use the dropdown menu marked “All”, you can narrow your search by title, episode, name, and more.
For this example, I’m watching Midsomer Murders, season 8, episode 3. If you’re not sure what episode you are watching, you can usually pause or go to the channel guide to find out.
After entering “Midsomer Murders” into the search, I clicked on Episode guide:
Next, select the season:
And then click the episode title:
On the next screen, click on “Top Cast” to see a full list of cast members.
I can find her in the full list using her character’s name. To see what else she has been in, I can click her name.
Scrolling past a bio and a couple of other sections, I can see her major credits listed in the “known for” section, with a more complete list below. You can select filters to see all credits or just acting credits.
After reading her list of credits, I realized I know her from everything. She is in a ton of British TV shows and movies, and that’s pretty much all we watch in our household.
Other Cool Features
IMDb can tell you more than just actors and their credits. You can also:
- Read the actor’s bio or a synopsis of the movie/TV show
- Trivia about the actor/movie/TV show
- Awards won
- Movie and DVD release dates by country
- Where to stream (which I find is much more accurate than a Google search for the same information)
- Actor’s birth/death dates (where available)
- Quotes from the actor or their characters
- FAQ about the actor/movie/TV show
- Video clips and stills (where available)
- Credits for music, lighting, and other crew
- Related news at the bottom of the entry (where available)
- Notes on age-appropriateness
These additional options are available in the main menu:
As a reminder, all of this is included for free, without an account. There are some ads, but I have not found them intrusive at all.
Why Register For an Account?
There are some advantages to having a free account. This list was taken directly from their account help documentation:
“Registering on IMDb opens up the ability to enjoy the following features:
- Get personalized recommendations and discover new movies and shows you’ll love.
- Create your watchlist to track everything you want to watch and get notified when movies open in theaters.
- Rate all the movies and shows you’ve seen to improve your recommendations.
- Share a review of your favorite movies and shows with the world’s largest community of entertainment fans.
- Contribute data to IMDb that will be seen by millions of people and get cool badges.
- Create and share lists of titles, names, images & videos.
- Vote in thousands of Polls.
- Personalize your IMDb experience, including title language and local ratings certificates.
- Check in to titles as you watch them.”
While you’re on the site, you may also see links for a paid version called IMDb Pro. This is a paid service available to industry professionals. Again, here is their description of IMDb Pro features:
“IMDbPro membership includes tools for professionals to: upload and select their primary image, demo reels and other featured videos; set their primary profession and the credits they are best “known for;” see how they’re connected to other people in the industry based on work history and professional network; use advanced search; view contact information for companies and professionals; build customized lists of titles and talent, and so much more.”
Summary
IMDb offers a free, robust reference tool for researching TV, movies, and actors. Use this service as an app or a website. By creating a free account, you can unlock many additional features to customize your experience, provide feedback on IMDb listing pages, vote, create lists, and more!
