# actors/actresses who are one-trick-ponies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342 "2005-11-30T06:42:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/101 "2005-12-09T01:27:10Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > One of the greatest actors in the history of television has flopped pretty badly whenever he stepped out of the role that will typecast him forever: Dennis Franz as Andy Sipowicz. True enough, although, as others have pointed out, he did this in _Hill Street Blues_ well beofre _NYPD Blue_ even aired. As the storyline over the last few seasons of _NYPD Blue_ got sillier, one thing that kept me watching was Franz’s performance as Sipowicz. And seasons 2-8, where he partnered with Jimmy Smits and Rick Schroeder, were fantastic television. Even season 1 was OK, but even the best show is ruined for me by the presence of David Caruso. > [@tripthicket](#): > > What? Thirty-someodd posts in and no mention of _Jeff Goldblum_? Admittedly, I haven’t seen _all_ of his performances, but the ones I can recall off the top of my head (_The Fly_, _The Big Chill_, _Jurassic Park_, _Independence Day_) show very little if any variation in the character played. I like the guy, but his playing Jeff Goldblum in every film kinda takes me out of the moment, if you know what I mean. Goldblum is one of the people i dropped in to nominate. His one-trick act gets really annoying after a while. Now for my own nomination, and the person whose face immediately appears in my head whenever the subject of one-dimensional actors comes up: Meg Ryan. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/102 "2005-12-09T01:31:01Z")
While Elijah Wood has broken away from Frodo and looks poised and ready for Big Things, I’ve yet to see Orlando Bloom play a different character–same goes Topher Grace, too, although admittedly he hasn’t done much yet. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/103 "2005-12-09T01:56:41Z")
> [@AlbertRose](#): > > I’ll mention Woody “Nebbish” Allen. Interesting thing about Woody Allen is how when he started getting too old to be Woody Allen, he hired other actors to be Woody Allen for him. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/104 "2005-12-09T02:02:27Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > Interesting thing about Woody Allen is how when he started getting too old to be Woody Allen, he hired other actors to be Woody Allen for him. And Kenneth Branagh did a bang-up job of it in _Celebrity_. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/105 "2005-12-09T02:03:27Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > –same goes Topher Grace, too, although admittedly he hasn’t done much yet. His next big challenge will be to pull off playing Venom in Spider-Man 3. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/106 "2005-12-09T03:25:39Z")
What about Will Smith? Has the the former Fresh Prince ever played a character that did not make any wisecracks? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/107 "2005-12-09T03:41:32Z")
Whoops! I skipped over page 2 of this thread. Please ignore my previous post. :smack: (Plus, I forgot about Smith’s role in _Ali_.) > [@BluePitbull](#): > > Was Jaleel White, Steve Urkel, mentioned? It’s not acting, per se, but Jaleel White did the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the cartoons. Sonic’s personality is about as far from Steve Urkel as you can possibly get. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/108 "2005-12-09T06:49:02Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > (I forgot about Smith’s role in _Ali_.) Also Six Degrees of Separation. (Or was it Seven Degrees…?) ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/109 "2005-12-09T19:59:38Z")
> [@ms.deanna](#): > > Tom Sizemore, if you want to cal him an actor. Papparazi , Witness Protection. He always plays the part of a prick, even when he’s a good guy, It’s probably because he must be prick off -camera. Yes, I think he’s a one-trick -prick pony. You’re forgetting the tough but good NCO character he plays in things like Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, and Black Hawk Down. At the very least he is a two trick pony. His filmography is pretty large. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/110 "2005-12-09T23:35:26Z")
I would have said that Ben Stiller is a one-trick pony, seeming always to play the same sympathetic character in everything he does. But he was brilliant in _Dodgeball_, playing a manic, self-important gym owner that you loved to hate. For anyone who’s been avoiding _Dodgeball_ because they think it’s just juvenile shtick, I recommend it mainly for Stiller’s performance. I probably wouldn’t have watched it myself, except for the fact that I am a tiny cog in the Fox machine, and they gave copies of _Dodgeball_ to all the employees last year. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/111 "2005-12-10T00:22:38Z")
Okay…:: braces self:: **Tom Hanks**. I like him a lot, but he’s always another version of Tom Hanks. The closest he seemed to get to really immersing himself in the character was in **Private Ryan**. Otherwise, he’s just a personable guy with impeccable comedic timing. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/112 "2005-12-10T00:35:02Z")
I hate to say it, but Jodie Foster seems in danger of becoming that, as her last two movies were virtually identical. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342/113 "2005-12-10T00:36:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Okay…:: braces self:: **Tom Hanks**. I like him a lot, but he’s always another version of Tom Hanks. The closest he seemed to get to really immersing himself in the character was in **Private Ryan**. Otherwise, he’s just a personable guy with impeccable comedic timing. [Family Guy] Brian: And remember that time you had an Irish coffee the day we went to see Philadelphia? (Scene cuts to Peter in the movie theater and everyone is crying, except him.) Peter: I got it! Thats the guy from “Big,” uh–Tom Hanks! Funny guy Tom Hanks, everything he says is a stitch. Tom Hanks’ Character: I have aids. (Peter laughs hysterically.) [/Family Guy] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-actresses-who-are-one-trick-ponies/333342.md?page=5)