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Movie Stars That Are Not Good Actors

sheeeit

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MoJames

MoJames 8244

Posted
Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, AUS-97HORN 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..

I think just like Tom Cruise, Ben gets good movies. He plays the brooding alpha male (sometimes a jerk) because that is who he is. Anyone stating someone has range based on a Kevin Smith movie probably needs to rethink the argument.

Again, dude plays himself well. My metric for a good actor is when someone steps outside of their zone and does it well.

 

For example...

MV5BMTg3MjYwZWItYzFhNi00M2IwLTlkYzgtYmUz

to

wXtjl_A0umcwdtU1h7uWC7oAYy_uqE1i-Bff-JSr

or

PUNCH-DRUNK-LOVE-1-1024x576.jpg

 

Or

jeff-daniels4.png?w=646

to

jeff-daniels3.png?w=646

or

jeff-daniels8.png?w=646

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MoJames

MoJames 8244

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Posted
13 hours ago, Vito Andolini said:

It’s not “movie acting”(if that’s an important qualifier), but watch Aniston in her “dramatic” role in The Morning Show and try to look at it objectively. She’s a terrific comedienne, but the melodramatic tone she created in TMS was just over the top. So maybe she doesn’t belong in this thread, because she can act in the right roles, but this show isn’t a good one for her (despite raves... she’s built up some goodwill). 

And fucking Cruise acts his balls off in Magnolia. Besides a couple other obvious ones (Born, Jerry Maguire), I’ll pick one OSUJeff didn’t choose in his excellent list. Cruise’s work in the repeating timeline action movie Edge of Tomorrow was pretty damned good, really underrated popcorn film. 

Agree with this. Tom did have some strong roles early on, like Magnolia. Granted he has phoned it in similar to Adam Sandler because money.

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tantric superman

tantric superman 4667

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1 hour ago, Don Johnson said:

I've always felt like he is a total dick.  He was undoubtedly a piece of shit before becoming an actor, to the point where he probably didn't have to act much in Fear.

Bitter has-been user name checks out, although you were awesome in Django.

It saddens me that surly is a most unfunky bunch.

 

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15346

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2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Interesting discussion.  In all fairness, I think he's similar to Redford.  Not a great actor, and like Redford, the quality of some of his movies exceed his acting ability. 

Kostner's been in some clunkers and never had the acting chops to make them better.  But he's also been in some pretty great films.  Bull Durham, Fandango, No Way Out, Dances With Wolves (yeah, super self-indulgent, but a great flick), Field of Dreams, JFK, A Perfect World.  Admittedly not the best range in those movies.

JFK?  JFK is a comedy.  Fight me  

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

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Little known fact, JFK was supposed to be a Christmas movie, but in November...that thing, at the place, with the guy(s)......yeah, that changed up the script.

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83Horn

83Horn 1641

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9 hours ago, Wanker Bob said:

He's done comedy a lot more than you think. There was absolutely nothing threatening about him in Bad Grandpa. He was basically the lone bright spot in the badly directed movie "The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight". Wasn't threatening at all in The Joker where he played great opposite Phoenix's psychopath. 

Backdraft, Joy, The Intern, as Monroe Stahr in The Last Tycoon, Marvin's Room, and so on. Did you not see any of these?

He also brought depth and quality to non mobster "villain roles" such as the abusive step father (sociopath) in This Boy's Life and the racist diving instructor (sociopath) in Men of Honor. 

Even in Flawless he and Hoffman gave A level performances to difficult roles to pull off. Ebert's review concluded with this:

"De Niro is a great technical actor who may have been attracted to this material because of the chance to play a stroke victim. His performance not only gets Walt's symptoms right, but also shows sympathy for the man inside. Hoffman, who played the pathetic man who made dirty phone calls in "Happiness," shows he's one of the best new character actors, able to take a flamboyant role and find the quiet details in it. Too bad they're stuck in a jumbled plot, but as an odd couple, they work."

If you think he's a one trick pony it's because you've only been interested in watching the movies he does that trick. 

Not only did I not see any of the movies you mentioned in your second paragraph, I have never heard of them.  In my defense, I was living and working outside the U.S. for most of the 90s and 00's, so maybe they came and went while I was elsewhere.  But of the movies where I have seen him attempt comedy, the whole joke is him playing into his type-cast character; for instance in Meet the Parents, or Analyze This.  Then there was the live action version of Rocky and Bullwinkle.  The high point of the "comedy" in this one was the DeNiro character saying, "Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me?"  Seriously? When I see DeNiro's name attached to a movie, my first reaction is, "Is he playing it as Vito Corleone, or Travis Bickle?"  I will admit that nobody does a better job of playing an angry, anti-social thug than DeNiro.  I've just never seen him do a very good job of playing anything else.

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mchookem

mchookem 16336

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Da Fino said:

Brad Pitt Lol GIF by Focus Features

the most underrated Coen bros flick imo and one of my favorite Pitt roles. Pitt's range is huge.

Cruise may be coasting at this point but he has acted his ass off many, many times. 

DeNiro is like top 3 best actors ever. 

the above opinions are just wrong lol 😋

also...agree on Wahlberg's range in general, but he deserved an Oscar nod for Boogie Nights. 

i submit...Johnny Depp. he excels at over-the-top caricature/cartoonish and period pieces...but i can't really recall any other dramatic roles...Donnie Brasco i guess, but he was pretty dull next to Pacino and Madsen. i don't do chick-flicks tho, i guess he also has a bunch of those, he is pretty to look at. i suppose he has a niche that i just don't 'get'.

Edited by mchookem
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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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9 minutes ago, mchookem said:

the most underrated Coen bros flick imo and one of my favorite Pitt roles. Pitt's range is huge.

Cruise may be coasting at this point but he has acted his ass off many, many times. 

DeNiro is like top 3 best actors ever. 

the above opinions are just wrong lol 😋

also...agree on Wahlberg's range in general, but he deserved an Oscar nod for Boogie Nights. 

i submit...Johnny Depp. he excels at over-the-top caricature and period pieces...but i can't really recall any other dramatic roles...Donnie Brasco i guess, but he was pretty dull next to Pacino and Madsen. i don't do chick-flicks tho, i guess he also has a bunch of those, he is pretty to look at. i suppose he has a niche that i just don't 'get'.

Don't agree, but Pitt has played some friggin great roles, Aldo In Inglorious Bastards pissed me off a bit, because it should have been a more complete role,  he came off as a bit cartoonish at times , especially the theater scenes.

Yes, he has occasionally, but is more movie star than actor

Top 10

Yes many are

Yep he's a type, but was good in Boogie Nights for damn sure

It's the mascara he wears, and yes he only really plays caracticture types memorably....

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T’Boo Ted Marshall

T’Boo Ted Marshall 2732

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26 minutes ago, mchookem said:

i submit...Johnny Depp. he excels at over-the-top caricature and period pieces...but i can't really recall any other dramatic roles...Donnie Brasco i guess, but he was pretty dull next to Pacino and Madsen. i don't do chick-flicks tho, i guess he also has a bunch of those, he is pretty to look at. i suppose he has a niche that i just don't 'get'.

Don't forget about Edward Shithands.  

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mchookem

mchookem 16336

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edited to clarify...caricature/cartoonish... feels like the bulk of his career. Tim Burton has certainly made him a lot of money!

actually, that reminds me...in the female category i'd add Winona Ryder. altho she's probably not really A-list anymore. but i've always thought she was one-note, mediocre at best... can't recall anything she ever did that required real acting chops. the only thing i can recall her really stretching herself in was The Crucible.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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6 minutes ago, mchookem said:

edited to clarify...caricature/cartoonish... feels like the bulk of his career. Tim Burton has certainly made him a lot of money!

Yep, He was in Platoon, and you don't even give him second thought really, even though he's just a minor part of the cast IMO.  

He is the second best pirate ever though only bested by Keith Richards.

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Surly Bevo

Surly Bevo 24908

Posted
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1 hour ago, Neonmoon said:

I nominate:

Ashton Kutcher 

Hayden Christiansen - never was a "star" just happened to be in two Star Wars flicks

Zach Braff - questionable stardom

Seth Rogen

Cameron Diaz - was a star, couldn't act isn't anymore

Channing Tatum 

 

 

A few edits

Also I love him but can Samuel L Jackson really show a lot of range?  

Also to turn this thread around Andre Braugher is a great fucking actor who never really became a "star"

 

 

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ajax

ajax 2617

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2 hours ago, mchookem said:

edited to clarify...caricature/cartoonish... feels like the bulk of his career. Tim Burton has certainly made him a lot of money!

I remember this movie he was in - Nick of Time. Not a great movie but not terrible. But Johnny Depp played a regular guy and he was really good. But you're right, he's made his money playing over the top characters. 

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NotActuallyALonghorn

NotActuallyALonghorn 4976

Posted
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2 hours ago, mchookem said:

edited to clarify...caricature/cartoonish... feels like the bulk of his career. Tim Burton has certainly made him a lot of money!

actually, that reminds me...in the female category i'd add Winona Ryder. altho she's probably not really A-list anymore. but i've always thought she was one-note, mediocre at best... can't recall anything she ever did that required real acting chops. the only thing i can recall her really stretching herself in was The Crucible.

She was good in A Scanner Darkly, but I'm not sure she was acting.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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On 4/20/2021 at 2:19 PM, sidis said:

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.

Did not expect this many replies.  To make it more objective (which is really hard- thats what she said) I look at actors specific performance based on the role they are cast.  Every actor has made a bad movie but that doesn't mean their acting was bad in it.  I also like to watch 2 actors together and it becomes apparent when one is better than the other.

Agreed on Cage and Stallone and Segal just isnt what I would call a great "movie star".

Sandler is a bit of an outlier.  It takes real acting chops to make it on SNL.  Plus he writes so many of his own movies and is clearly playing to a base.  He was pretty solid in Hidden Gems and he never gets over shadowed by other actors.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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On 4/20/2021 at 2:20 PM, Beau Vine said:

Wahlberg was great in Boogie Nights.

To me, this is a perfect example of what I see in Walhberg.  He was OK in Boogie Nights primarily because his role had little or no range and he could just be this mousy, soft spoken do gooder type role that he is good in.  But watch it critically when he is on screen with other great actors (and Boogie Nights had a shitload of great actors).  Seymour Hoffman, Julienne Moore, Ed Macy, John Reilly, Don Cheadle- I would consider all of them to be much better actors than Wahlberg but he is a bigger "movie star".  If you watch him in movies like Ted, The Gambler, Planet of the Apes, Italian Job, Daddys Home etc. his acting is pitiful.  Some of those movies were good and some were bad but his personal performance in them was almost cartoonish.  I think part of it is that he just isnt that intelligent.  

But like I said, he is a bona fide movie star and I enjoy some of his movies.  He just is not a great actor.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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On 4/20/2021 at 2:27 PM, 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. 

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. 

Cruise is an interesting one.  I actually think he is a very solid to great actor.  Obviously a number of his roles are cheesy and campy and he does cheesy and campy really well, but he also has some great roles where he is very good and he holds his own with some of the all time greats.  Color of Money was excellent and he showed great range and went toe to toe with Paul Newman.  Days of Thunder was as cheesy and campy as you get but he acted one on one in many scenes with Robert Duval and held his won easily.  It is hard to think of a movie he wasnt pretty good in.  Unlike Walhberg where he just flat out sucks in certain roles.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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On 4/20/2021 at 3:18 PM, Dbeasy said:

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. 

I get this and somewhat agree.  He has been in some big productions and he does have a certain charisma and screen presence in those movies.  But those movies are designed to highlight his presence and minimize his acting range.  Like the Italian Job. I think it is a really fun movie but out of all of the actors in that movie, he is the worst.  Ed Norton, Sutherland, Charlize.  They dominated him from an acting standpoint.

I think of Entourage and when he does a cameo.  He seems just like an athlete or similar that they stick in there who do not know anything about acting.  His acting is similar.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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23 hours 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.

Redford is a perfect example.  he is not a terrible actor and he has been in tons of great films.  But he just cant quite get there to the level of the greats.  

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 54230

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20 minutes ago, sheeeit said:

To me, this is a perfect example of what I see in Walhberg.  He was OK in Boogie Nights primarily because his role had little or no range and he could just be this mousy, soft spoken do gooder type role that he is good in.  But watch it critically when he is on screen with other great actors (and Boogie Nights had a shitload of great actors).  Seymour Hoffman, Julienne Moore, Ed Macy, John Reilly, Don Cheadle

He crushed the Jessie's Girl scene.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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4 hours ago, PilotsError said:

I'm not saying Stallone is Tom Hanks, but he showed his acting chops in Copland.  Maybe his most underrated movie.

He just usually chooses the action role.

This is also close to what I am using as a barometer of acting ability.  Stallone can be good in very, very simple roles with limited dialogue and limited range.  So when he is in those roles he does well.  But watch him in roles where he actually tries to act and he sucks.  Really sucks.  he is a bona fide movie star for certain but not a great actor by any stretch.

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sheeeit

sheeeit 129

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19 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

He crushed the Jessie's Girl scene.

I noticed I messed up my post.  Was going to say that all of those other folks in Boogie Nights are better actors and it showed when they were in scenes together but he is arguably the biggest "star" of all of them.

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Scooter Monzingo

Scooter Monzingo 821

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9 hours ago, MoJames said:

I think just like Tom Cruise, Ben gets good movies. He plays the brooding alpha male (sometimes a jerk) because that is who he is. Anyone stating someone has range based on a Kevin Smith movie probably needs to rethink the argument.

Again, dude plays himself well. My metric for a good actor is when someone steps outside of their zone and does it well.

 

For example...

MV5BMTg3MjYwZWItYzFhNi00M2IwLTlkYzgtYmUz

to

wXtjl_A0umcwdtU1h7uWC7oAYy_uqE1i-Bff-JSr

or

PUNCH-DRUNK-LOVE-1-1024x576.jpg

 

Or

jeff-daniels4.png?w=646

to

jeff-daniels3.png?w=646

or

jeff-daniels8.png?w=646

Interesting enough is they are both pretty damn good musicians as well.

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