# Actors who have done a 180 in your estimation of them **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149 "2008-12-01T05:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/41 "2008-12-02T01:16:11Z")
I came to mention Brad Pitt after Meet Joe Black. But he’s taken so I’ll take Sandra Bullock in Crash. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/42 "2008-12-02T01:39:04Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > **Heath Ledger** ’s Joker was also impressive. Did you see Brokeback Mountain? ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/43 "2008-12-02T01:41:54Z")
I never liked Richard Gere much until _Primal Fear_, then I forgot I liked him again until _Chicago_. I thought Reese Witherspoon was the worst possible choice for June Carter, but she did far better than Joaquin’s Cash in _I Walk The Line_. Never liked Christian Bale until _The Prestige_, now I can’t get enough of him. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/44 "2008-12-02T01:54:20Z")
Neil Patrick Harris. Forgettable kid actor, then… What a _comeback_ in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle! ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/45 "2008-12-02T03:24:06Z")
Martin Landau. My early exposure to him was in _Space 1999_. Ouch. But playing Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood_, he rightly earned an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/46 "2008-12-02T03:29:45Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I just saw a clip of \*Milk \*with Victor [Fucking](http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2008/03/victor-garber.jpg) Garber. Now, “Victor Garber” will always mean “[Hippie Jesus](http://i30.tinypic.com/r2rf4n.jpg)” to me, so every time I see him in his current guise it freaks me a little out. You really should watch Victor Garber in **Alias**. Jack Bristow is one bad-ass mofo. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/47 "2008-12-02T03:41:19Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Neil Patrick Harris. Forgettable kid actor, then… > > What a _comeback_ in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle! And then How I Met My Mother and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I have not seen anything less than a fantastic performance from him whenever he’s on screen this past year. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/48 "2008-12-02T03:48:19Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > How about the other side - from celeb to knob? I already mentioned Tom Cruise, dude. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/49 "2008-12-02T03:48:40Z")
I immediately thought of John Travolta. I assumed he’d trading on cuteness until he just faded away when his Kotter days were forgotten. Than along came _Pulp Fiction_. Yeah, he’s done some crap since then, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/50 "2008-12-02T04:03:35Z")
And the award for Sine Wave riding on a Roller Coaster surely goes to Eddy Murphy. Edgy 80s comedian (48 hours, Beverly Hills Cop), reduced to “will act to food” status (Haunted Mansion, Pluto Nash), Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls and then along comes Norbit. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/51 "2008-12-02T04:12:39Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > I already mentioned Tom Cruise, dude. 🙂 Tom Cruise is an idiot cult dupe, but that doesn’t take away from his powerful acting in **Magnolia** , or how phenomenal he was in **Tropic Thunder**. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/52 "2008-12-02T04:29:18Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > And the award for Sine Wave riding on a Roller Coaster surely goes to Eddy Murphy. Edgy 80s comedian (48 hours, Beverly Hills Cop), reduced to “will act to food” status (Haunted Mansion, Pluto Nash), Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls and then along comes Norbit. It’s a few years old now (1999, actually) but check out Bowfinger. You’ll find that Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin can both still be hilariously funny, and Murphy’s performance(s) will leave you wondering how in the fuck he ever makes a bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/53 "2008-12-02T05:00:08Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Martin Landau. My early exposure to him was in _Space 1999_. Ouch. But playing Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood_, he rightly earned an Oscar. Interestingly, my first exposure to Landau was in 1966 in a _Man From UNCLE_ episode, in which he played… a vampire. It was a campy over-the-top performance that left a good impression. I think he made his bones in Hitchcock’s _North by Northwest_ playing a very creepy personal assistant to James Mason. So, he’s always been capable, but some of his roles were pretty blah. He was mostly invisible in Mission Impossible, but all the actors there were cyphers. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/54 "2008-12-02T13:19:43Z")
Queen Latifa. She has become one hell of an actress. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/55 "2008-12-02T13:39:10Z")
Will Ferrell when I saw _Stranger than fiction_, although given the movies he continues to be involved in I’m leaning towards the view that that was a one off. On a totally shallow note - Colin Farrell used to be entirely meh in terms of attractiveness whenever I saw him, then I watched _Home at the end of the world_ and proceeded directly to ma bunk. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/56 "2008-12-02T14:01:27Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > What about Johnny Depp? He started out as a pretty boy lightweight actor on the Fox drama “21 Jump Street” and now I would say, while he is still considered quite pretty, he is far from lightweight Wow, I’ve only known him as one of the greatest actors of his generation, so it’s interesting hearing about him before all that… As for the OP, I’ll second **Leonardo DiCaprio** for **What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?** (I saw it after Titanic) and then **Catch Me If You Can** and **The Aviator**. He was a pretty boy who got by on being melodramatic and angsty, or so I thought, but then suddenly he started taking more nuanced roles and filling their shoes quite nicely. **Jim Carrey** , though, wins this thread for me. I thought he was a talented physical comedian who seemed to be the poster child for stupid comedies. **The Truman Show** really took me by surprise here, and was the first role I really liked him in. He still had his physical on screen essence, but filled it out with more depth and feeling. Then he did **Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind** and knocked it out of the park. He’s now in the upper echelon of dramatic actors for me (and in the lower echelon of comedic ones!). ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/57 "2008-12-02T14:45:06Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Not to argue with your opinions, but you might want to get the time line straight to figure out which direction that 180 turned. 🙂 > > [Cite](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815800/) In my defence (Apart from premature senility)I can only guess that we got the S&H T.V. series over here a bit later then when it was made in the U.S. but I have to say that in the light of what you’ve told me the 180 was from good to bad. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/58 "2008-12-02T15:00:29Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Tom Cruise is an idiot cult dupe, but that doesn’t take away from his powerful acting in **Magnolia** , or how phenomenal he was in **Tropic Thunder**. I have never seen Tom Cruise in a role where I think he gets lost in the role. I always see Tom Cruise “acting”, in fact I feel the same way about his interviews. I admit I have never seen Magnolia so I can’t comment on that one but in Tropic Thunder I saw Tom Cruise trying hard not to be Tom Cruise but still obviously being Tom Cruise. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/59 "2008-12-02T15:03:26Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > Mark Wahlberg. He was just “Marky Marky” from the Funky Bunch until I saw him in this little movie called Traveller. I thought it was a great movie and thought he did a great job. He’s had a lot of good roles since then (Boogie Nights, not Planet of the Apes!) but I’ll always remember the first movie that made me reconsider him. He’s one of a handful of actors that I just assume I’ll hate, but lately I like everything he does. Nick Nolte is another. I’ve been on this “hate him…wait a minute, I love him” thing for about 20 years! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149/60 "2008-12-02T15:05:13Z")
I’ll go the other way. I used to absolutely adore Bill Murray all the way up to _The Royal Tenenbaums_. He always seemed to be willing to push things as far as he could get away with and he was funny. He did _Lost in Translation_ and apparently became enamored of the disconnected way he played that role - no connection to other cast members, the audience or the story; and continued that for all his future roles. He now induces a yawn the moment he appears in a scene. For all the people who “discovered” Di Caprio at _Titanic_ or later, he had a fantastic filmography before that, did any of you see _This Boy’s Life_, _What’s Eating Gilbert Grape_, _The Basketball Diaries_, _Total Eclipse_, _Romeo + Juliet_ or _Marvin’s Room_, all of which were made before _Titanic_ and DiCaprio is great in each of them. I thought when \*Titanic \* came out that he was the star name meant to carry it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-done-a-180-in-your-estimation-of-them/475149.md?page=4)