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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsMost overrated actor/actress in your opinion?
My vote: Steve Carell. Never found him even slightly amusing.
Denninmi
(6,581 posts)Last edited Fri Jul 13, 2012, 05:24 PM - Edit history (1)
I'm not really qualified to answer the question.
But, I have to say, I think the entire cult of celebrity for the sake of celebrity is pretty sad. Your question made me immediately think of people like Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian who are famous simply for being famous, without any discernible talent except to keep their names in front of the media.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Him and Tom Cruise.
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)Definitely.
Punkingal
(9,522 posts)No talent at all.
Bertha Venation
(21,484 posts)RZM
(8,556 posts)Kaleva
(36,372 posts)I can't imagine anyone but Keanu Reeves playing the lead in the Matrix series.
RZM
(8,556 posts)Elliot Gould
Andi McDowell
Bill Paxton
Kate Hudson
Renee Zellweger
Halle Berry
Alec Baldwin
I thought she was pretty good in Green Card and Ground Hog Day. Gosh, I guess I've liked her in everything! Totally agree with you about Kate Hudson though.
a kennedy
(29,740 posts)that was before her every other movie.....she's like Dustin Hoffman for me.....you know it's Dustin every roll he's in. Ugh....same ol', same ol'
MiddleFingerMom
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It doesn't hurt that she's drop dead gorgeous (and that HAIR!!!)
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"Sex, Lies & Videotape", "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Groundhog Day" (I've
seen "Michael", but I don't remember her performance in it.)
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Rambis
(7,774 posts)x
Avalux
(35,015 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)i was very impressed.
Wounded Bear
(58,758 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts) "Magnolia" (1999): Pretty much universally recognized as his best work ever, it earned him the third of his three Oscar nominations, this time for supporting actor. As cocky self-help speaker Frank T. J. Mackey, Cruise electrified Paul Thomas Anderson's opus about intertwined lives - and falling frogs over one day in Los Angeles. He was totally commanding in his arrogance on stage, yet also laid himself bare watching the death of his father (Jason Robards) and struggling with the conflicting emotions it stirred.
http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/06/top_5_tom_cruise_performances.html
he gave off a very creepy vibe in that film.
Initech
(100,118 posts)He made some really great films like Collateral and Top Gun, but then he goes and makes complete crap like the War Of The Worlds remake.
MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts).
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(Your use of the last name of "Scientology" instead of "Cruise" is a dead giveaway.)
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He's done some stinking work, but he's also turned in some stellar performances. "Risky Business",
"Rain Man", "A Few Good Men" and "Interview With a Vampire" come to mind.
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NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)and he does that fairly well. Of course, that's kind of limiting when he does that... though, he has gotten praise for playing different types of roles (Tropic Thunder) in recent years.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Currently Nicholas Cage or Charlie Sheen. But not many people like them anymore.
I liked Nick in Raising Arizona and Moonstruck. Charlie Sheen has had more good roles but has been running on fumes of narcissism for years.
fizzgig
(24,146 posts)i haven't see moonstruck, but he was good in raising arizona.
frogmarch
(12,160 posts)Every time I've heard him speak in a movie, it's as if he was reading his lines from a prompter.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Loved Jeff Bridges.
And the actress that played that little girl, Hailee Steinfeld? I expect to see more of here in the future.
frogmarch
(12,160 posts)I'd like to. I've heard lots of good things about Jeff Bridges' performance. I always thought he was great in every movie I saw him in.
Trunk Monkey
(950 posts)El Supremo
(20,365 posts)Hasn't anyone listed him yet?
I've hated him since Days of Heaven.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)and Bridges just took it away. Fantastic! Made the Duke look like the wooden statue he was.
BYW, if you can ignore Wayne in the original, the rest of the cast was actually every bit as good as in the new one. They were just tinged with the Curse of the Duke.
intaglio
(8,170 posts)"The Conqueror" where he played Gengis Khan
"The Greatest Story Ever Told" where he played the Centurion
Virtually any if his war movies ...
frogmarch
(12,160 posts)of those?
Edited to add video!
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)He was a movie star, not an actor, per se.
Kaleva
(36,372 posts)and the audience would have accepted it.
He was very good in some movies but I agree that he pretty much played a mythical version of himself in about every movie he was in.
Skittles
(153,251 posts)begin_within
(21,551 posts)frogmarch
(12,160 posts)I just Googled the movie, and the plot sounds familiar. The movie was released in 1956, so I would have been about 13 or 14 when I saw it.
MiddleFingerMom
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frogmarch
(12,160 posts)Hahahahaha! Guess I should have seen that coming.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)I can't stand the way he talked or the way he moved. It was like his body was always about 2 seconds behind the order to move from the brain. It looked like he had to think about the script before he did so much as lift an arm.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)It's more of a "Man that makes me really uncomfortable" kind of thing. Then a chuckle remembering yourself experiencing something similar.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Ineeda
(3,626 posts)Last edited Sat Jul 14, 2012, 08:36 AM - Edit history (1)
...and his butt. And he campaigned for Barack Obama. *He also cared about the BP spill and did something about it, AND won the law suit brought by the crazy Baldwin brother.* I know, I know. That wasn't the question.
Edited to add *--*
KG
(28,753 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)There's a certain character trait running thru those characters that's the same, but they're very different characters, really. Elite self-made billionaire, mountain man, working stiff.
Plus, he's actually more recognized as a producer/director and founder of Sundance.
MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts)graywarrior
(59,440 posts)Ahhhnold is on my list also. But I guess he's not really considered an actor.
fizzgig
(24,146 posts)i was going to post him if no one else did
zonkers
(5,865 posts)I think he is aging well.
graywarrior
(59,440 posts)MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts).
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A tough, gritty, surprisingly sensitive movie about 3 brothers struggling to make it big in
Depression-torn Hell's Kitchen.
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A great performance by Frank McRae as "Big Glory" (McRae played the gentle giant "Hazel",
who was terrified by a psychic's prediction that he would someday be POTUS in --what a
coincidence -- John Steinbeck's Depression-era "Cannery Row" with Nick Nolte & Debra Winger).
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ohiosmith
(24,262 posts)cast of Friends.
Punkingal
(9,522 posts)Terrible actor, but seems like a sweet guy.
NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)Affleck seems to do better when he's not on screen (directing or screenwriting)
FloridaJudy
(9,465 posts)Couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag. Why she gets those tremendous fees baffles me. Also, she's funny-looking, and not in an interesting belle laide way, as Glenda Jackson or Bette Davis are.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)she can't act. But she's not terrible, I guess. If she's in the right part.
TuxedoKat
(3,818 posts)Fridays Child
(23,998 posts)Tabasco_Dave
(1,259 posts)Her Brother Eric is a much better actor than her but he's an abusive, violent, drug user so he didn't make it and she did.
a kennedy
(29,740 posts)if there can be a good way for a mouth to be big, not lips.....just mouth. http://www.google.com/search?q=julia+roberts&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=7YABUOjMPIPKqgHo0_2wDA&sqi=2&ved=0CF0QsAQ&biw=1375&bih=886
Brewinblue
(392 posts)but why, oh why, is she ever considered a Hollywood beauty? She is down right unattractive!
Still Blue in PDX
(1,999 posts)In other movies, maybe not so much.
He cracks me up. I love to laugh, though, so it doesn't take a lot to tickle me.
OmahaBlueDog
(10,000 posts)and on the ladies side, Penelope Cruz
kwassa
(23,340 posts)OmahaBlueDog
(10,000 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)That's the fun of it!
zonkers
(5,865 posts)AJTheMan
(288 posts)Kaleva
(36,372 posts)Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)His early work was a little too New Wave for my taste, but when "American Psycho" came out, I think he really came into his own, commercially and artistically.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)was a fantastic movie. I loved it - i had never heard of CB and then read he would be the next Batman so I went looking for previous work to see what he was all about and found Equilibrium. Needless to say, I'm a fan.
Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)That was, indeed, the movie that convinced me that Batman would be in good hands.
TuxedoKat
(3,818 posts)He was great in that and only 12! John Malkovich was great in it too!
Kaleva
(36,372 posts)It's on Netflix and I plan on watching it again soon.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Kate...
Kate H
Kate H... what is her name?
Anyway, she is the worst case of nepotism in Hollywood I have ever seen.
Oh yeah, Kate Hudson.
RZM
(8,556 posts)Plus she married Chris Robinson from the Black Crows, who comes off as one of the biggest douches in the music business. And that's saying something.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Renee Zellwegger is pretty good. Not always, but she has done good roles, IMO. Bridget Jones.
Andie McDowell is stunning, and that is the only reason why she got any roles.
But, Kate Hudson? She's bland, not especially attractive, not really anything interesting onscreen. She is a total wash. Not exactly boring, just, a dud. It makes me kind of irritated knowing that so many talented actors are out there are struggling so hard for their dream, and here comes Goldie Hawn's untalented daughter with all her inherited connections, pre-selected for the role in the crappy romance-comedy.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)You, Me, & Dupree was hilarious and she held her own. She wasn't unfunny and felt she played the role as it was designed. The other I saw her in was Almost Famous and thought she was quite good.
Those were the only films I've seen of Hudson so that probably clouds my view of what I think of her. Plus I don't know the first thing about acting so my judgments are worthless and only know bad acting unless it is obvious like Josh Myers in That 70's Show.
JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)benld74
(9,911 posts)JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)7wo7rees
(5,128 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,829 posts)that indicated he was more involved than many thought? Maybe not quite like the SNL skit, but more than his image.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)thank you!!! for that.
Not only is Steve Carell not amusing, but he's also rather creepy, IMO.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)I don't know how highly rated he is, but Richard Dreyfus always makes me want to kick him around with studded boots.
I can't stand him.
Couldn't stand him in "Jaws". Can't stand him now, all these years later, either.
MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts).
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His first role? An ANNOYING college student who, when Mrs Robinson's daughter screamed bloody murder
at Dustin Hoffman and the landlord ("Three's Company"'s Norman Fell) went to check, brown-nosed from
the crowd of looky-loo college students on the landing by asking if he wanted him to call the cops.
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A one-line, almost unseen role in "The Graduate".
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speedoo
(11,229 posts)Can't believe I'm the first to mention this dope.
JI7
(89,281 posts)but i don't think people consider him some great actor. same goes for keanu reeves and some other names mentioned.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)in all his films.
He's okay, esp in humorous roles. But he's overrated.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)I don't feel strongly one way or another about most of the others mentioned in the thread. Almost all of them have been in movies I liked or loved and they didn't ruin it for me so I figure they got something going on.
Steve makes me laugh like a loon though. And when he was a guest on The Daily Show a couple weeks ago he had on a pair of kick-ass glasses. I wish I knew what they were so I could get those frames too.
I'd say the fact that J-Lo is rated at all is enough to make her the most over-rated performer I can think of right now.
mykpart
(3,879 posts)Plus, he's creepy.
Chan790
(20,176 posts)but Johnny Depp and Sean Penn. Don't get me wrong, I like both Penn and Depp...but nobody is as good as the hype and accolade around either of them. Good actors, yes. Great actors, ...sure. Transcendentally-talented actors on the level of their reputations? No.
Johnny Depp is ok. But certainly not amazing. He's in the middle of the pack, Hollywood-wise.
Penn takes himself way too seriously. He pretty much overdoes it in most of his roles. He tries way too hard.
undeterred
(34,658 posts)Have you seen any of his work after Fast Times at Ridgemont High?
And Johnny Depp is quite worthy of his reputation.
Kaleva
(36,372 posts)undeterred
(34,658 posts)which was exceptional.
Chan790
(20,176 posts)I said Penn's not as good as the hype. He's not. Nobody is as good at Sean Penn's hype.
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)Skittles
(153,251 posts)even in her Oscar winning role she was dreadful
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)she was great in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. By far her best film. If I could switch her Oscar it would be for that role. I couldn't sit through all of Monster's Ball, it wasn't Berry's fault. Just wasn't an interesting film.
Not disputing she is overrated. I have no idea how highly she is rated and only remember her from 90's films.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)She is too beautiful. I think she has improved as an actress over the years, too. I liked her in Monster's Ball.
raccoon
(31,130 posts)MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts).
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... she hasn't impressed me elsewhere.
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Shrek
(3,986 posts)[font size="Large"]SUCKS.[/font]
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)undeterred
(34,658 posts)riverwalker
(8,694 posts)always plays the same role (badly), in every movie. Has the acting range of a turnip.
Response to riverwalker (Reply #68)
seaglass This message was self-deleted by its author.
SfromCanada
(44 posts)Always plays Jack Nicholson.
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)Generic Brad
(14,276 posts)He won an Oscar? Really??
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)Gwen Paltrow
Wounded Bear
(58,758 posts)IMHO he was jobbed on Saving Private Ryan. Philadelphia was a tour de force playing opposite Denzel. Not many actors could pull that off.
He's had some stinkers, but that only shows he's willing to take some risks. Overall, I like him.
mnhtnbb
(31,410 posts)MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts)mnhtnbb
(31,410 posts)MiddleFingerMom
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progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)I have to ff through their scenes in He's Just Not that Into You. Both of them are so overrated.
Kaleva
(36,372 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)mnhtnbb
(31,410 posts)To me, being a great mimic is not the same as being a great actor.
Hands down, I thought the Oscar should have gone to Viola Davis this year.
She created a character...and did an incredible job.
Meryl, OTOH, simply watched a lot of video of Margaret Thatcher
and assumed her persona.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)acting. i absolutely hated her as a pole in sophie's choice. the accent may have been right, but i just didn't believe in her 'sophie'.
whereas the british guy that played the lead in 'the wire' -- he *was* a working class baltimore detective -- not only the accent, but the heart.
with streep, so often i am conscious that she is 'acting!'
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)MiddleFingerMom
(25,163 posts).
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... (as was Daniel Day Lewis) in "Gangs of New York".
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JonLP24
(29,322 posts)When I read Bob Delaney's book about his experience going undercover in the NJ mob the one thing that I felt from those pages was the fear and the general emotions that comes with avoiding letting others in on who you really are, close calls, etc.
Someone mentioned Johnny Depp above, while I think Depp is one of the best at playing characters that make you forget Depp is playing them, he was incredibly lame in Donnie Brasco. He didn't capture that fear.
DiCaprio did an excellent job in The Departed portraying someone undercover in an incredibly dangerous situation based on reading first hand accounts of someone who was.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)The best film I've seen so far this year is "Best exotic marigold hotel" -- ensemble cast of who's who in "mature" British cinema ... The best actors make you forget they're acting.
RiffRandell
(5,909 posts)Beautiful, but can't act.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)ters so realistically it floored me when i found out they weren't even american.
british empire, but irish:
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)Surprised me - I never heard a trace of a British accent from him.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)steve2470
(37,457 posts)He's so um, not great that I can barely watch him.
FloridaJudy
(9,465 posts)He was good in "Dazed and Confused", but it's been all downhill since then. He's supposed to be some amazing sex symbol, but he gives me the creeps. I want to tell him to wash his damned hair.
Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)A surprisingly good movie that I think is still streaming on Netflix. McConaughey restored my faith in him.
Actually, the dude can act. He just usually picks horrible projects and phones it in most of the time.
Trunk Monkey
(950 posts)I won't even watch a Capitol One commercial if he's in it (unless they do one where the Vikings kick his ass)