Does Jon Stewart count as an actor? Because if so I think he wins the millenial award for “can’t keep a straight face.” The only times I’ve seem him get through something really funny without laughing is when you can tell he’s actually pissed at the situation he’s making light of.
On the flip side that is one thing I liked about the Dick Van Dyke Show, when a purposesly funny line was told (such as when Buddy insulted Mel) Rob and Sally would try to surpress a smirk like someone would do in real life.
Too often in TV shows that isn’t done.
Back to the OT, I think there is a different quality between skit shows like Carol Burnett and SNL and TV sitcoms. I do agree with the poster who mentioned Roseanne the first year of her sitcom. I think she got better each year as an actress.
IIRC it was Lindsay Lohan in that sketch.
I always notice Debra Messing on Will & Grace about to laugh at every one of her lines. Also the kid from Two and a Half Men.
See, I’ve never really noticed Wilmer Valderrama snickering at his jokes on that show, but I notice Laura Prepon giggling at everything through every episode. She never seems to be able to stay in character for more than a few seconds at a time. Perhaps this explains why she has gone on to do absolutely nothing of note since they wrapped the series? Oh, and she was WAY hotter with red hair, IMO.
Watch The Faculty and let us know :p. Amusingly he seems to be trying and failing to keep a straight face in a dramatic role ( sorta ) there as well - it never fails to crack me up.
He wasn’t so bad in Death to Smoochy. I don’t remember him laughing at all, actually. I don’t think…
No, that was the audience.
Hey, c’mon now. Jon Stewart may not have been that funny, but I defy you to listen to Edward Norton’s line about playing cowboys and Indians as a kid and NOT laugh!
When Drew Barrymore hosts SNL it’s plenty funny, but you can pretty much forget about getting to the end of any of the skits.
When Stephen Colbert was still on the Daily Show, he didn’t have the whole character going on that he has now and was basically just a straightman talking head. He did it so well that it was awesome when he’d be saying something so ludicrous that he just couldn’t keep a straight face. He lost it toward the end of his report on how the North Koreans were moving from the medium range Nodong missile to the long range Taepo Dongs, while telling Jon about how the North Koreans could once be said to have Nodongs, but now had the Taepo Dongs that could kill thousands. “Stephen, are these the missles that the North Koreans were testing a short while ago?” “No, Jon, these aren’t those Taepo Dongs.” The only other time I saw him lose it that hard was when doing a report on how Prince Charles wanted to be Camilla Parker-Bowles tampon. He couldn’t finish.
I actually liked the movie, a little. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity for the line.
That was the main reason I couldn’t stand Perfect Strangers and saw very few episodes. Mark Lynn Baker would constantly be cracking up when Bronson Pinchot would be delivering some line or doing something stupid.
The MST3K guys (guy and bots?) will occasionally laugh at each other’s jokes. I find it charming.
Watching The Big Bang Theory much more closely on DVR, I’ve noticed that Kaley Cuoco (Penny) often has to try not to bust up before her lines.