Movie Stars That Are Not Good Actors

[sheeeit 129]

Was having this discussion with a group the other night. We were talking about truly big time, bankable actors (even some Oscar nominees/winners) that are really just not very good at acting.  Of course, acting can be quite subjective.

My contributions:

Mark Wahlberg- He is basically rangeless.  In The Fighter, it is almost comical how much better of an actor Christian Bale and Amy Adams are compared to him. Also, he received a lot of critical Acclaim for his role in The Departed.  I watched it agin recently, admittedly I was high so the good was really good and the bad was really bad, but his scenes were almost comically bad. His range is so small it is amazing he is as successful as he is.  And seems like a genuinely good guy. 
 

Scarlett Johansson- She is certainly a bona fide movie star and incredibly attractive.  But, like above, her range is very limited.  I do think she is getting better.   
 

 

[sidis 9,823]

wahlberg is a good one but this one depends a lot on the threshold for "stars."  i would submit cage, segal, sandler, stallone, and plenty of others.

the a-list actress with the least amount of range based on my observations is kristen stewart.

[Beau Vine 54,207]

Wahlberg was great in Boogie Nights.

[ajax 2,606]

Michelle Rodriguez plays herself in every movie I've seen her in

[billfromlaketravis 11,447]

Tom Cruise. He's a great movie star, but not a great actor. 

He hasn't attempted a serious role since Collateral which in many ways is a an action flick. 

At least Sandler is going for it in Uncut Gems. Cruise would rather make another Mission Impossible than an indie film. 

What pisses me off about Wahlberg is that he plays a tough guy in every single movie. He hasn't played a vulnerable character since Boogie Nights. Even in The Fighter, he's not chasing any demons, but his messed up family is and he's just kind of there. I wouldn't suggest his co-star in another movie with Christian Bale or any actor of similar chops. 

Edited April 20, 2021 by billfromlaketravis

[lateshow 1,304]

30 minutes ago, sheeeit said:

Was having this discussion with a group the other night. We were talking about truly big time, bankable actors (even some Oscar nominees/winners) that are really just not very good at acting.  Of course, acting can be quite subjective.

My contributions:

Mark Wahlberg- He is basically rangeless.  In The Fighter, it is almost comical how much better of an actor Christian Bale and Amy Adams are compared to him. Also, he received a lot of critical Acclaim for his role in The Departed.  I watched it agin recently, admittedly I was high so the good was really good and the bad was really bad, but his scenes were almost comically bad. His range is so small it is amazing he is as successful as he is.  And seems like a genuinely good guy. 
 

Scarlett Johansson- She is certainly a bona fide movie star and incredibly attractive.  But, like above, her range is very limited.  I do think she is getting better.   
 

 

Wahlberg was my first thought when I saw the thread title. But damn if I don't enjoy his movies. 

[RPM 26,317]

[Gene Parmesan 4,002]

Will Smith.

While not the best actors Wahlberg and Cruise make entertaining movies.  Smith's movies more or less flat out suck.

[Guest Lobo]

10 minutes ago, RPM said:

Yep, he's not funny.  Doesn't have any range either.  I know he's a Longhorn, but he's not funny.  Even in best comedy films, he's stolen the humor scene maybe 2 or 3 times in each picture...at best.  Edward Norton does a funnier Owen Wilson than Owen Wilson.  

Also, does he have a fucking clause in his studio contracts that no matter the location, or the character, or the wardrobe, or the appropriateness of the gimmick that he gets to film multiple scenes with his hands inside the ends of his sleeves?  

His brother's cool though.

[futureman 22,444]

9 minutes ago, Gene Parmesan said:

Will Smith.

While not the best actors Wahlberg and Cruise make entertaining movies.  Smith's movies more or less flat out suck.

thank you. 

[RPM 26,317]

Just now, Lobo said:

His brother's cool though.

[hornmpa96 2,618]

Didn’t John Wayne invent this position?

[RPM 26,317]

Just now, hornmpa96 said:

Didn’t John Wayne invent this position?

Naa, the Duke had range. He turned out his fair share of formulaic schlock, but he had a few stellar performances.

[Guest Lobo]

He'd played a fucking Mongolian Emperor, didn't he?  What more do you people want?  

[Dbeasy 15,042]

A lot of the stars are stars because they have a presence on screen, not necessarily great acting skills. I put Wahlberg in that category. 

[Michael Knight 12,976]

Wahlburg was great in Boogie Nights, but it turns out he was just playing himself. I did like him in I Heart Huckabees. 

Nicholas Cage's problem is that he has too much range.

[Underdog 28,575]

Alan Swann

[billfromlaketravis 11,447]

45 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Yep, he's not funny.  Doesn't have any range either.  I know he's a Longhorn, but he's not funny.  Even in best comedy films, he's stolen the humor scene maybe 2 or 3 times in each picture...at best.  Edward Norton does a funnier Owen Wilson than Owen Wilson.  

Also, does he have a fucking clause in his studio contracts that no matter the location, or the character, or the wardrobe, or the appropriateness of the gimmick that he gets to film multiple scenes with his hands inside the ends of his sleeves?  

His brother's cool though.

Oh really? 

[billfromlaketravis 11,447]

40 minutes ago, hornmpa96 said:

Didn’t John Wayne invent this position?

Ban user. Delete thread. 

[UncleSonny 6,570]

48 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Yep, he's not funny.  Doesn't have any range either.  I know he's a Longhorn, but he's not funny. 

Eli Cash is hilarious. His brother is cool though and is probably a better actor. 

Edited April 20, 2021 by UncleSonny
BillfromLT beat me to it

[Guest Lobo]

Yes, Eli Cash was a great character because he was in like 4 scenes and was whacked out on heroin.  But for the most part, Owen Wilson is not funny.  Of course he's had funny flashes here and there in the last 25 years (bottle rocket, life aquatic, and zoolander).  

[CooterBrown 18,003]

Nowadays, most newer American actors aren't good "actors". Those that you think are good, are probably British.

 

[Kel Varnsen 8,458]

[Surly Bevo 24,908]

Keanu...always go with Keanu.

[Patrick Bateman 3,911]

Megan Fox.

Channing Tatum.

Ashton Kutcher.

Vin Diesel.

Jessica Alba (although I think she retired).

[Scary Stranger 1,714]

Liam Neeson also just plays the same character over and over.

[Neonmoon 38,129]

There is so much stupidity in this thread. 
 

Tom Cruise?

Johansson? 

Smith?

You people are all fucked in the head 

[MoJames 8,244]

[oSuJeff97 3,435]

45 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Yes, Eli Cash was a great character because he was in like 4 scenes and was whacked out on heroin.  But for the most part, Owen Wilson is not funny.  Of course he's had funny flashes here and there in the last 25 years (bottle rocket, life aquatic, and zoolander).  

Come on man. Eli's vice was mescaline.

 

1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Tom Cruise. He's a great movie star, but not a great actor. 

He hasn't attempted a serious role since Collateral which in many ways is a an action flick. 

Come on man.

I would agree that what Cruise is doing right now isn't anything great, acting wise, but in his prime the dude had chops. He's not Daniel Day Lewis or Philip Seymor Hoffman, but he can act. He should have won at least 3 Oscars by now (Rain Man, Born of the 4th of July, Magnolia) and was good-to-great in many, many other films:

• Risky Business
• The Color of Money
• A Few Good Men
• The Firm
• Interview with the Vampire (fantastic "bad guy" turn - should have done this more)
• Jerry Maguire
• Eyes Wide Shut
• Vanilla Sky
• Minority Report
• Collateral (see Interview with the Vampire)
• Tropic Thunder (!!)

Again, I know opinions vary, but Tom Cruise is about 50 rungs on the acting scale above someone like Mark fucking Wahlberg.  

[Hozz 1,017]

Kristen Stewart wins in a landslide.

[Pablo 494]

Gerard Butler

[lateshow 1,304]

50 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

There is so much stupidity in this thread. 
 

Tom Cruise?

Johansson? 

Smith?

You people are all fucked in the head 

Dude, Will Smith sucks. 

[LonghornSean 3,989]

Duane "The Rock" Johnson

[Beau Vine 54,207]

8 minutes ago, LonghornSean said:

Duane "The Rock" Johnson

Agreed until I saw Moana.

[FunkSoulBrother 930]

Gal Gadot

[Dbeasy 15,042]

2 minutes ago, FunkSoulBrother said:

Gal Gadot

She can also look incredible then meh five minutes apart. 

[South Austin 52,452]

1 hour ago, Surly Bevo said:

Keanu...always go with Keanu.

Dollar for dollar he's one of the worst actors ever.

Robert Redford is also bad.  Flatline personality with no range.  Fight me.

[mulletpelini 5,210]

MM and MD

[FunkSoulBrother 930]

7 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Dollar for dollar he's one of the worst actors ever.

Robert Redford is also bad.  Flatline personality with no range.  Fight me.

[billfromlaketravis 11,447]

I think Redford improved. Newman ran circles around him in Butch and Sundance, but they’re on somewhat equal footing by The Sting. 
 

He’s charming in Sneakers, and Spy Game. You’re rooting hard for him in The Great Gatsby and The Natural.

He holds his owns against some great actors in The Last Castle. 
 

My only criticism of Redford is that he has starred in many chick flicks. Given his appearance this probably came with the territory, but I wish he got into directing/film making earlier in his career. 

[Neonmoon 38,129]

1 hour ago, lateshow said:

Dude, Will Smith sucks. 

He’s a movie star who wants to be a movie star, but he doesn’t suck at acting. 

Six Degrees of Separation alone checks the box for his acting skills. Pursuit of Happyness, Ali

 

[Neonmoon 38,129]

Oh and Scarlet Johansson has two best actor nominations because she sucks at acting so much 

[billfromlaketravis 11,447]

2 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

Keanu...always go with Keanu.

After listening to a lot of podcasts on how TV shows and films are made, I guess Keanu knows where to stand and where to look on camera. Don’t laugh. This is an important skill to get movies done on time/budget

He strikes me as old pro that shows up on set on time, and doesn’t slow anybody down. 

[Deej 76,755]

Vin Diesel

[ajax 2,606]

1 hour ago, Hozz said:

Kristen Stewart wins in a landslide.

Disagree. Kristen Stewart is a good actress, or she can be, but she chooses terrible movies so it's hard to tell. She was good in Personal Shopper.

 

[bschoolprof 6,252]

27 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Oh and Scarlet Johansson has two best actor nominations because she sucks at acting so much 

And a Tony award. Jesus, this thread has some stupid.  

[AUS-97HORN 11,757]

Does Miles Teller count as a movie star?

 

cause I have NOOOO fucking idea how this guy keeps getting high profile roles.  His range is that of a smug rock. 

he sucked in war dogs, he sucked in the divergent series, he sucked in the brand-new fantastic 4.

He wasnt absolutely horrible in Whiplash, but then again JK Simmons was so fucking good in that movie that as long as you didnt shit on him in the scene, hes gonna pull you up. 

 

I mean Jesus Christ, I just looked up his IMDB and hes gonna be in Top Gun 2......

 

[futureman 22,444]

4 hours ago, Lobo said:

Yep, he's not funny.  Doesn't have any range either.  I know he's a Longhorn, but he's not funny.  Even in best comedy films, he's stolen the humor scene maybe 2 or 3 times in each picture...at best.  Edward Norton does a funnier Owen Wilson than Owen Wilson.  

Also, does he have a fucking clause in his studio contracts that no matter the location, or the character, or the wardrobe, or the appropriateness of the gimmick that he gets to film multiple scenes with his hands inside the ends of his sleeves?  

His brother's cool though.

 

[Patrick Bateman 3,911]

2 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

Keanu...always go with Keanu.

Keanu has his moments.  Parenthood, My Own Private Idaho, River's Edge, The Gift, even parts of Something's Gotta Give he can give show some surprising vulnerability.  It's not shocking most of these are ensemble pieces or where he's in a supporting role.  He's sort of a character actor who was blessed with amazing looks so he's cast as the lead in huge vehicles.  I'm not going to argue he's the next coming of Olivier and I think a lot of his issues come from voice modulation, which is unbelievably important, but he has his moments.  He's also, reportedly, maybe the nicest, coolest guy in Hollywood, so as long as he has stuff like John Wick, where he doesn't have to stretch himself, I can enjoy his stuff.

Parenthood (Wiest kills it here BTW):

 

[AUS-97HORN 11,757]

2 hours ago, MoJames said:

maybe recently now that hes on the wagon (cause yeah he sucked as Batman),

but that dude had some serious range for quite a while.

from 92-97 he was in School Ties, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting, and  Dazed and confused (I think he played the retread idiot jerk Senior very well).

plus he did got some solid reviews in Boiler Room, Reindeer Games, The Town, Hollywoodland and Argo..