# Acting performances you weren't prepared to be impressed by **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522 "2007-04-10T18:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/61 "2007-04-12T02:49:57Z")
He’s also good in “The Lookout” ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/62 "2007-04-12T02:51:40Z")
[QUOTE=Poysyn] For me it was Kalifornia I was completely unprepared by how _great_ he was at being so _disturbing_ [/QUOTE] Good one! I had almost forgotten that movie but you’re right about Pitt. He was pretty good in _Snatch_ too. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/63 "2007-04-12T03:12:07Z")
Hugo Weaving in _V for Vendetta_. I really, really liked what he did in the Matrix movies, so much so that I ended up practically rooting for the guy to kick as much as possible. He was so damn _evil_ that I just loved it. But for someone to have to work solely with their body language and voice inflection to bring to life a masked character seems daunting to me. He made a relatively simple character seem much more complex. Weaving left me absolutely spellbound. I also had grudgingly admit that Leonardo DiCaprio did a spectacular job in _What’s Eating Gilbert Grape_ and Steve Carrell thoroughly impressed me in _Little Miss Sunshine_. As an aside, Carrell seriously needs to find the creepiest, nastiest Hannibal Lector-type role and knock it out of the park. There is something about him, a kind of intensity that occasionally appears, that makes me think he could give an unforgettable villain performance. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/64 "2007-04-12T03:13:39Z")
[QUOTE=medstar] I agree that Jennifer Lopez is much better at acting than singing, at least she was in the early part of her movie career. She was great in **Out of Sight** and **Angel Eyes**. I wish she’d crawl back to her first agent and beg him/her to get her back on track. [/QUOTE] I thought she delivered in _The Cell_ as well. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/65 "2007-04-12T04:15:43Z")
Alec Guiness in The Ladykillers. I knew he was supposed to be a really good actor, but had only seen him in Star Wars and thought Obi Wan type characters was what he mostly played. I was expecting to like Peter Sellers, but then I saw the movie and barely noticed him. Alec Guiness was brilliant, eccentric, and charming in a way I didn’t expect. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/66 "2007-04-12T05:43:12Z")
[QUOTE=8675309] You MUST watch **Election** , which I think is her greatest performace. [/QUOTE] Either that or [The Man in the Moon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102388/). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/67 "2007-04-12T14:18:20Z")
The SciFi channel showed _Merlin_ on Easter Sunday. (Of course, I’ve been in love with Sam Neill since _Riley, Ace of Spies_.) But Martin Short amazed me as “Frick.” Funny, at times–the conscious anachronisms that he & Queen Mab (Miranda Richardson) played with echoed the T E White’s Merlin. But he was also quite touching. Another word for Val Kilmer. He’s not my “type” at all. But he floored me as Doc Holliday in _Tombstone_. Of course, I’ve known that Johnny Depp was excellent for years–but he retains the power to surprise. Moody art-film weirdo? Swashbuckling star of big-bucks Disney flicks? Painfully repressed writer in _Neverland_? He can do it all. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/68 "2007-04-12T14:43:55Z")
> [@](#): > > John Ritter in Sling Blade. I had never seen him play anything but broad comedy, so seeing him play a repressed small town guy impressed the hell out of me. I already knew what Ritter was capable of after seeing the TV movie [Unnatural Causes](http://imdb.com/title/tt0092139/) , which also introduced me to the wonderful Alfre Woodard, but I concur. Ritter’s Vaughan reminded me of an an understated Jack Tripper. You know, without the bumbling, stumbling and one liners. Not that I ever watched that lame ass sitcom. Nope, not me. Uh uh. > [@](#): > > In the early eighties he was huge in the “Elephant Man” Hopkins played the Doctor who worked with the Elephant Dude. Please correct me if I’m wrong, somebody. But I think Hopkins was big looooong before baked beans and wine. I can go back to the early 70’s for Sir Tony and made for TV movies. I had a crush on him way back then and he certainly was not a nobody. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/69 "2007-04-12T15:02:50Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] I already knew what Ritter was capable of after seeing the TV movie [Unnatural Causes](http://imdb.com/title/tt0092139/) [/QUOTE] Ritter was great in **Bad Santa** as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/70 "2007-04-12T15:24:07Z")
[QUOTE=kelly5078] Penelope Cruz in “Volver.” She just sucks in English, but you get her speaking her native language and, Damn! [/QUOTE] She’s from Extremadura (say, Georgia), moved to Madrid with Intent to Act at age 13, worked very hard to ditch her accent. When she heard they’d thought of her for the Andalusian (say, ‘bamian) girl’s role in La Niña de Tus Ojos but had discarded her because they thought she “couldn’t do the Southern accent,” she called Trueba and left his ears ringin’. In a perfectly authentic Southern accent. Heck, it’s her _natural_ one! She did a movie in Italian and one of the things that Italian critics lauded her for was her Italian. Which she didn’t speak at all before getting the job. I think a lot of her problem with English is finding a good director and a good speech trainer. I don’t think Depp really “acts” in PotC as much as he “lets loose,” but in Chocolat he was just perfect. The only time he goes over-the-top in that movie is a moment where it’s absolutely warranted. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/71 "2007-04-12T15:40:54Z")
Sharon Stone, Lindsay Lohan, and Demi Moore in **Bobby**. I would not have expected any of them to be good. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/72 "2007-04-13T02:27:50Z")
My husband suggests Kim Basinger in “Final Analysis.” To paraphrase his words, she won an Oscar later, but up to that point she had only played blonde bombshells. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/73 "2007-04-13T08:35:06Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] She’s from Extremadura (say, Georgia), moved to Madrid with Intent to Act at age 13, worked very hard to ditch her accent. [/QUOTE] Where did she grow up? I’m curious because I’ve spent several days in Extremadura. IMDB and Wikipedia both say she was born in Madrid and imply that she grew up there as well. I certainly agree that her performance in \*Volver \*was wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![BadBadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BadBadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBadger)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/74 "2007-04-13T08:52:54Z")
Nobody mentioned \*Sean Penn \* yet? Thought he was great in \*\*I am Sam \*\* but not completely unexpected after his performance (not expected) in **Carlito’s Way**. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/75 "2007-04-13T09:16:38Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba] Where did she grow up? I’m curious because I’ve spent several days in Extremadura. IMDB and Wikipedia both say she was born in Madrid and imply that she grew up there as well. I certainly agree that her performance in \*Volver \*was wonderful. [/QUOTE] Grew up in Extremadura. The physical birth may have taken place in Madrid (from what I’ve heard her say in interviews, it’s not the case, she defines herself as extremeña), in which case and until the recent change in registry law she’s registered as a Madrid birth… but that doesn’t mean she’s “from” Madrid, only that her Mom happened to be there. I know many people who haven’t set foot in their birthplaces since they were months old. La Paz was the reference hospital for a lot of the country for many years, people would go there to be born and die from provinces around same as people in my own part of the country went to be born and die in Pamplona. There’s decades when not a single Navarrese birth was registered outside Pamplona and Tudela, nto a single death from illness outside Pamplona, but many of those only go to Pamplona “to be born, pay taxes or die.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/76 "2007-04-13T12:26:40Z")
Any time I hear John Lithgow or Jason Alexander sing. Neither of them have a speaking voice that gives a hint of their singing abilities. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/77 "2007-04-13T15:42:29Z")
_Val Kilmer_ in Tombstone - amazing! _Wendy Raquel Robinson_ in Ringmaster - I expected a character similar to her TV sitcom HS principal and was amazed at her skill in playing a jealous hootchie. _Patrick Swaze_ in Too Wong Fu…Newmar - After just a few moments I forgot about all the other movies and fell in love with the character he played. Special mention to _Wesley Snipes_, _John Leguzamo_ and _Stockard Channing_. _Sean Penn_ blew me away in Mystic River. I knew he was good but this was jaw dropping good. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/78 "2007-04-13T15:43:37Z")
_Whoopie_ and _Oprah_ in The Color Purple. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/79 "2007-04-13T16:28:53Z")
_Gwenyth Paltrow_ in **Proof**. I had no idea she could act that well. And with such an emotionally complex role. And another mention for _Mark Wahlberg_ in **Boogie Nights**. Totally unexpected for me at that time knowing him mostly as a pop singer and brother of one of the NKOTB. Oh one more. _Tom Cruise_ in **Interview with the Vampire**. He gets a bad rap as an actor I think because he’s such a putz, but I think that was a stellar performance, and I think he’s a great actor in general. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522/80 "2007-04-13T17:46:45Z")
The Rock surprised me.He can actually carry an adventure movie. Better than Arnold. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acting-performances-you-werent-prepared-to-be-impressed-by/399522.md?page=5)