Linda Lovelace… Oh ! you asked for one-trick ponies not… Never mind
I can’t believe you’re all overlooking her subtle and nuanced role in Resident Evil. Her character went through great extremes, including both alive and dead.
He he. I had to check imdb to make sure it was her. The mini-bio at the top of her page starts “Known for tough-chick roles…”
Okay, Eternal Snorefest for the Tasteless Blind was funny. But surely not that funny?
And didn’t Czarcasm specify nominations had to be intentionally funny??
[QUOTE=Fabulous Creature]
He was actually one of the regulars on Family Law. A great lawyer show that nobody wathced but me. 
Well I don’t suppose she’d be very convincing as a tough Swedish chick.
But with a tough Swedish bird. Now that would be interesting. Even if they only had the one trick between them.
I’m not saying Eternal Sunshine was a comedy, I’m just casting doubt on your credibility as a movie reviewer. 
Oh, that is just so passé, dahlink!
It was only mentioned as an aside in one post, but the bigest one-trick pony in my mind is:
Rob Schneider.
He plays the same idiotic guy in every film. To make matters worse he’s not remotely funny. Honestly, the only time I thought he was funny was the first few times I saw a “making copies” sketch. I particularly like South Park’s take on Rob Schnieder “Rob Schneider has been an Animal…then he was a Girl…now he’s…a Stapler (or carrot, etc).”
I was about to take issue with this, then I noticed that you didn’t say “Roy Scheider.”
I think you need to reread the OP. It specifically limits the poll to include actors.
I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet, but it seems the champion of this thread has got to be Keanu Reeves. I’m sure there’ll be a few people who argue for him, and he’s simply been in so many movies that there’s a little variation there, but he is a one-trick pony. Even Schwarzenegger had a wider variety of roles.
I’ve said before that Quentin Tarantino doesn’t get enough respect for his ability to direct actors. Sure, he’s get good performances from people like Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro - but these people can already act. But Tarantino also gets great performances from people like Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Pam Grier, Michael Keaton, George Eads, Sonny Chiba - people who are not otherwise regarded as great actors.
Funny you should say that. . .I think that’s a role that Jim Carrey would have nailed. The thing about Carrey is that beneath his outrageousness is a little insecurity and vulnerability, which De Niro lacked in that movie.
What’s captivating about De Niro is that beneath his outrageousness, there’s a little dumbness. It works perfectly in Raging Bull, Midnight Run and Taxi Driver.
It works oddly (but not poorly) in movies like Goodfellas where he has positions of power, but is still kind of simple.
In King of Comedy, there was a disconnect between him being a dullard and also having these wild machinations.
I think that the character Carrey made for “Cable Guy” would have been almost spot-on for Rupert Pupkin (or whatever his name was). Believably crazy, but also disconnected from reality and childlike.
Another nomination for this thread: Morgan Freeman.
Isn’t he ALWAYS the world-weary sage who has seen it all, whether as a detective in Seven or a prisoner in Shawshank or as a narrator for marching penguins?
Sean Hayes was amazing and totally convincing as Jerry Lewis in the made-for-TV movie.
Eddie Murphy plays Eddie Murphy in every thing he has ever done.
You should check out Sphere. The movie couldn’t compare to the book, but Samuel L. Jackson put out a good performance as brilliant mathematician Dr. Harry Adams.
Eddie Murphy isn’t even Eddie Murphy within the same movie.
Ever seen Bowfinger? Nutty Professor? Coming to America?
His greatest talent is creating different characters.
All of whom are instantly recognizable as Eddie Murphy doing his one-trick schtick.
Jack Klugman. His characters are as different as night, and… later, that same night.
So his “one trick” is to be several characters? What actor in the world could possibly be excluded from this thread based on that?
Is Papa Klump really the same character as Axel Foley?
Hopefully, however you guys end your discussion we can all agree that Mike Myers should be executed immediately.
Hint to Mike: A Scottish accent isn’t inherently hilarious. Then again, neither is Old Jewish Aunt accent…
-Joe