# Actors or actresses you only like in one role only and dislike everything else they've done. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832 "2019-04-20T23:50:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/81 "2019-04-23T17:03:25Z")
Still surprised not had: Andy McDowell in Groundhog Day. And nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/82 "2019-04-23T20:09:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > … and Barfly. I didn’t like them. You didn’t like _Barfly_? Or didn’t like Faye in it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/83 "2019-04-23T20:19:32Z")
I can’t remember now what it was about Barfly that I didn’t like. I think it was the story that focused heavily on alcoholic characters? I didn’t like Leaving las Vegas for the same reason. The characters are so depressing. Hard for me to remember Faye’s performance that well and separate it from my reaction to the story. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/84 "2019-04-23T20:21:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Faye Dunaway was very, very good in Bonnie & Clyde. > > … However, badly miscast. We spend the movie wondering why Clyde doesnt want Bonnie, since she is Faye Dunaway hot. However, the real Bonnie was quite homely. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/85 "2019-04-23T20:44:00Z")
**Jim Carrey** His only good role was in Dead Pool. And I liked his story arc, too. **Arnold Schwarzenegger** Terminator was a perfect temporal loop movie without Arnold. The villain role seemed to have been written for him, though. Let’s face it, he’s a weightlifter-turned-movie-character; nobody really expected him to be more than a pile of muscles to watch as a distraction. Just give him something resembling a script… **Ted Danson** Cheers was good. I also liked him in Becker – but it was fun to laugh at the kind of curmudgeonly old man that I hope to become… **Tom Cruise** Rain Man was good, though Hoffman stole the show; Risky Business was the first I’d seen him in, but was worth watching more because Rebecca De Mornay looked hot and less because Cruise is any good. I saw Mission Impossible I and II and decided he just wasn’t carrying it. Then he started shitting on women with post-partum depression and the pharmaceutical industry and I’ve avoided anything else that has him in the cast. **Robin Williams** > [@Smid](#): > > Worlds greatest dad. You talkin’ Hook? Hoffman, again, stole the show. > [@Smid](#): > > a great dark film about, well. an idiotic suicidal son. Well…there was much more to Dead Poets’ Society than Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) Try him out in What Dreams May Come – which I also nominated in the thread for THE most romantic movie ever. I also liked him in Good Morning Vietnam! but, let’s face it, he was playing himself and I liked the message more than the script. **Al Pacino** I liked him as The Merchant of Venice and Devil’s Advocate; Scent of a Woman got him an oscar, though I didn’t think he was that incredible there. –G! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/86 "2019-04-24T02:56:24Z")
I think that most of the actors named here are reasonably good ones who have occasionally gotten a role that fits them so well that they are distinctly better than in roles which they didn’t really quite fit into. That’s not surprising to me. What’s really interesting is when a mediocre actor is so precisely cast in a role in a movie with a good script that it becomes a great movie. That’s why I like Timothy Bottoms in _The Last Picture Show_ and Roddy Piper in _They Live_. Another example of this is Chuck Norris in _Code of Silence_. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/87 "2019-04-24T03:01:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Saved it with the second choice. _Leaving Las Vegas_ was the only thing Cage ever did that was even moderately acceptable. > > _Dave_ was his best, but Kevin Kline was pretty good in _A Fish Called Wanda_, too. Although Cage’s Oscar should have went to Sean Penn for _Dead Man Walking_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/88 "2019-04-24T03:05:48Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > … > Try him out in What Dreams May Come – which I also nominated in the thread for THE most romantic movie ever. . That film could depress a hyena. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/89 "2019-04-24T03:50:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That film could depress a hyena. ☹ Bonus points for the _1776_ reference. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/90 "2019-04-24T05:32:16Z")
I don’t dislike Charlize Theron exactly. She’s just never really provoked much of a reaction in me one way or another. Except for _Monster_. God _damn_! That was an incredible performance I’ll never watch again. Her portrayal of Aileen Wournos is brilliant and deeply unsettling. Aside: I like some of Adam Sandler’s goofy comedies as well as his more serious roles. Those of you who liked him in _Punch Drunk Love_ might also like _Spanglish_ and _Funny People_. I thought he was good in both of those. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/91 "2019-04-24T16:39:05Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > David Spade’s name on the poster (and the stupid title) kept me away from _The Emperor’s New Groove_ for years, but when I eventually saw it I loved it. Easily the best non-Pixar thing from Disney in the aughts. It’s the only time I’ve ever found him to be funny. Everything else - sitcoms, SNL, movies, commercials - I just want to punch that I’m-cooler-than-everyone-else smirk off his face. > > Maybe that was what helped - it was voice acting and I didn’t have to look at him. I loved David Spade in _Tommy Boy_. I wanted to love him in other things, but I just haven’t found something I’ve like him in yet, other than _Tommy Boy_. I’ll have to check out _The Emperor’s New Groove_. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/92 "2019-04-24T16:51:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Edge of Tomorrow he was Ok, but he ruined Mission Impossible. I was going to bring this up as the only Tom Cruise movie that I liked. And, a good science fiction movie to boot. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/93 "2019-04-24T16:56:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Edge of Tomorrow \<—fun to watch him play a coward This movie was outstanding, and while I liked her in other stuff before it, this was the movie where Emily Blunt became officially _fucking awesome_. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/94 "2019-04-24T17:18:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, badly miscast. We spend the movie wondering why Clyde doesnt want Bonnie, since she is Faye Dunaway hot. However, the real Bonnie was quite homely. The real Bonnie Parker was also only 4 feet 11 inches tall and the real Clyde Barrow was only 5 feet 4 inches compared to 5 feet 7 inches for Faye Dunaway and 6 feet 2 inches for Warren Beatty. [https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/05/17/debunking-a-few-myths-about-bonnie-and-clyde/](https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/05/17/debunking-a-few-myths-about-bonnie-and-clyde/) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/95 "2019-04-24T19:17:58Z")
> [@digs](#): > > you do know there was a James Bond better than George Lazenby, right? Sure. David Niven. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/96 "2019-04-24T19:18:39Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > **Al Pacino** > I liked him as The Merchant of Venice and Devil’s Advocate; Scent of a Woman got him an oscar, though I didn’t think he was that incredible there. If I feel an urge to watch Al Pacino, I’ll go check out [“Author! Author!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuHNlttQJUI&list=PLr1YeU7DKMB7UhHijzp1h-IZdRliuHlSi&index=8&t=0s) from the library and watch that. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/97 "2019-04-24T19:20:38Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > The real Bonnie Parker was also only 4 feet 11 inches tall and the real Clyde Barrow was only 5 feet 4 inches compared to 5 feet 7 inches for Faye Dunaway and 6 feet 2 inches for Warren Beatty. > > [https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/05/17/debunking-a-few-myths-about-bonnie-and-clyde/](https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/05/17/debunking-a-few-myths-about-bonnie-and-clyde/) You could make an entire thread – heck, We’ve probably already done several – on the differences between the appearance of historical characters in movies and the way they’re portrayed. even Mad, in its parody, pointed out the huge difference between short, ugly Lawrence of Arabia and tall handsome Peter O’Toole. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/98 "2019-04-24T22:02:15Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Still surprised not had: > > Andy McDowell in Groundhog Day. And nothing else. I’d swap out _Sex, Lies and Videotape_ for _Groundhog Day_. Her _GD_ character could have been played better by a bunch of people. (That film was also a career best for James Spader, Peter Gallagher, and Laura San Giacomo, IMHO.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/99 "2019-04-25T00:27:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > You could make an entire thread – heck, We’ve probably already done several – on the differences between the appearance of historical characters in movies and the way they’re portrayed. even Mad, in its parody, pointed out the huge difference between short, ugly Lawrence of Arabia and tall handsome Peter O’Toole. TE was actually kinda handsome. But yeah, only 5’5". ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832/100 "2019-04-25T02:10:09Z")
Ryan O’Neal: brilliant in **Paper Moon** , cardboard cutout in everything else. Tatum O’Neal: **Paper Moon** , cardboard cutout although brilliantly manipulated by director Bogdanovich into what looked like a good performance (_he_ should have been given her Oscar for best actress); cardboard cutout in her other films. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-or-actresses-you-only-like-in-one-role-only-and-dislike-everything-else-theyve-done/832832.md?page=6)