# Actors who have negative charisma **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795 "2006-06-15T12:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/21 "2006-06-15T14:59:13Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > **Jeff Bridges** […] is just so damn vanilla he gives the bean a bad name. Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, [like](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/maindetails), your opinion, man. He was great in _Fearless_, too. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/22 "2006-06-15T15:04:31Z")
Steve Buscemi. I know he’s a refreshing change from actors so attractive/charismatic that you can’t take them seriously as pathetic characters (e.g., Sandra Bullock in _While You Were Sleeping_). But Buscemi’s _too_ average, if that’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/23 "2006-06-15T15:12:11Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nicolas Cage. Thirded. Totally. No question in my mind that he takes the cake. This guy could teach at William Shatner’s School for Overacting. It pains me that they tapped him to play Ghost Rider because I’d unquestioningly go to see it if it were anyone else. Now I have to hope that there’s more CGI than live action… I’d also like to throw out a runner-up: John Travolta. This man makes me physically ill to watch. I missed out on nekkid Halle (well, until it was Googleable) because of him. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/24 "2006-06-15T15:13:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sarah Jessica Parker. Not funny, not sexy, can’t act. She was very good in the short lived 80’s sitcom Square Pegs. She was cute in [Flight of the Navigator](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091059/), [Girls Just Want to Have Fun](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089208/) and [LA Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102250/). She did a good job acting in [Hocus Pocus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107120/) & [Ed Wood](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109707/) > [@](#): > > Kirstie Alley. Whiney, bitchy, not sexy. She was Sexy pre Cheers days, but she was never a good actress. I still think her best role was as Savik in the Wrath of Khan. Jim ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/25 "2006-06-15T15:17:17Z")
Jeff Daniels. I don’t care which movie he’s in, which part he plays or if it’s just an interview with him, he just bores me to a near coma state. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/26 "2006-06-15T15:17:20Z")
Ben Stiller. Not charismatic, not likeable, not funny. Every time I see him in something it’s so contrived. It’s like “Hey look at me, I’m Jerry Stiller’s kid, I’m trying to be funny!” ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/27 "2006-06-15T15:24:47Z")
**Bill Paxton** , whose one good role was Hudson (“Game over, man!”) in Aliens, 20 years ago. Good God, he sucks. **Julia Roberts**. Rent “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, mute all her lines, and see if it could not singlehandedly have revived the live-action movie musical as a genre had it not been for her long, slow agonizing death of a performance. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/28 "2006-06-15T15:28:51Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, [like](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/maindetails), your opinion, man. > > He was great in _Fearless_, too. :smack: OH. Shit. No, it isn’t even my opinion. I hereby apologize and repent all slander against Mr. Bridges. I meant **Jeff Daniels**. I am a moron. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/29 "2006-06-15T15:30:06Z")
Dennis Quaid is like that for me. He’s exactly the same bland stiff in every role, and attempt to play Jerry Lee Lewis made for one of the worst biopics ever made. A cinematic abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/30 "2006-06-15T15:30:46Z")
“Bueller… Bueller…” “He’s not here.” … “Frye… Frye…” ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/31 "2006-06-15T15:35:43Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Bill Pullman was great in _Zero Effect_, which would be an SDMB favorite if anyone else had actually seen it. And come on, the guy played Lone Star! I saw it, I own it, I watched it the other day and Bill Pullman is excellent and charismatic as Daryl Zero. My nomineeis Ben Affleck. The guy just drains a movie of any interest at all for me. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/32 "2006-06-15T15:38:58Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > For the old-timers, I will vote for “leading men” Robert Montgomery, Clive Brook and Herbert Marshall. They never fail to suck all the air out of a scene and send me to sleep, even with such leading ladies as Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis and Norma Shearer. What about Robert Taylor? Every old movie I see him starring in makes me wonder why on earth this man was ever considered a leading actor. He was such a non-entity. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/33 "2006-06-15T15:50:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nicolas Cage. Every time I see him, I just cringe. The only movie of his I ever liked was **Leaving Las Vegas** , where his character was _supposed_ to be totally unsympathetic. > [@WhyNot](#): > > **Jeff Bridges**. > > Bridges is just so damn vanilla he gives the bean a bad name. And yet both are great in their perspective roles in Coen Bros films. Cage as Hi in Raising Arizona is perfect. and Bridges’ The Dude is loaded with Charisma. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/34 "2006-06-15T15:57:13Z")
If Christopher Walken had normal roles most of the time, people would be voting for him right now. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Logan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Don\_Logan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Logan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/35 "2006-06-15T15:58:07Z")
Since some posters are going way back, I will add George Raft. I love this guy, he seems quite pleasant and likeable, and he is one of my favorite noir actors, its just he pales when compared to Cagney, Edward G & Bogart. This is a guy who can be boring as a gangster! I find his mellow voice and smooth demeanor to be quite relaxing though. ---
**Author:** ![volvelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e0b2c6/32.png) [@volvelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/volvelle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/36 "2006-06-15T16:00:21Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Ben Stiller. Not charismatic, not likeable, not funny. Every time I see him in something it’s so contrived. It’s like “Hey look at me, I’m Jerry Stiller’s kid, I’m trying to be funny!” _ **Thank you!** _ I _hate_ Ben Stiller. Hate him, hate him, hate him, hate him. Seriously hate him. _Meet the Fockers_ was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Every single “joke” was telegraphed from so far away I could practically say the punchlines right along with the actors without having seen it before. And yet the audience was _howling_. 😕 That movie also erased any lingering respect I had for Robert Deniro, who made it painfully obvious that he’s just been playing a character named “Robert Deniro” for quite some time now. Agreed for Nic Cage. This guy won an Oscar? All he did was act drunk and fall asleep. The female lead acted circles around him. Bill Paxton did _Frailty_, which was pretty good. I liked him in _A Simple Plan_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/37 "2006-06-15T16:01:22Z")
I have to agree with Jennifer Love Hewitt. She’s not all that pretty, and her boobs aren’t that big. There are plenty of far more talented actresses who are way more attractive and have better breasts than she. She’s so boring and stupid. I think this thread was made for Gwyneth Paltrow. Why oh WHY does she have an Oscar? An Oscar that belongs to Cate Blanchette, for that matter. Fishstick Paltrow has all the personality of an empty toolbox. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/38 "2006-06-15T16:02:50Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Jeff Daniels. I don’t care which movie he’s in, which part he plays or if it’s just an interview with him, he just bores me to a near coma state. I think that he should have won the Oscar for The Squid and the Whale. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/39 "2006-06-15T16:14:24Z")
Two of the three leads in [Honeymoon in Vegas](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104438/): Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker. Two of the most boring people on the planet, making James Caan look like an acting god (not that I have anything against James Caan–he has charisma). They rendered the movie unwatchable, making me suffer until they got to the Lihue airport scene, where I could watch my father’s fabulous performance as an extra. They showed the back of his head while he stood in line. Now, that was charisma. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795/40 "2006-06-15T16:16:11Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#): > > What about Robert Taylor? Every old movie I see him starring in makes me wonder why on earth this man was ever considered a leading actor. He was such a non-entity. You’ll get no argument here. I always thought Garbo died of boredom in _Camille_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-negative-charisma/360795.md?page=3)