# Actors who stole the show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857 "2006-12-04T20:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/81 "2006-12-07T04:02:42Z")
Someone mentioned Oliver Platt…when I used to watch _Huff_ on Showtime, he stole every scene he was in. My daughter mentioned Wallace Shawn in _The Princess Bride_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/82 "2006-12-07T12:19:25Z")
Wilford Brimley in _The Verdict_. ---
**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 7, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/83 "2006-12-07T13:16:01Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] B] (Dru & Spike) stole every scene they were in on BtVS. **Michael McKean and David Lander** (Lenny and Squiggy) (“Hello.”) stole the show from Laverne & Shirley. [/QUOTE] The thought of Lander’s “Hello” still cracks me up. Robert Knepper as T-Bag in Prison Break. He owns that show. ---
**Author:** ![lilflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@lilflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilflower)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/84 "2006-12-16T19:33:05Z")
I just watched Nacho Libre last night and even though this movie is so not funny, it is totally worth watching just to hear Esqueleto say “I look hideous” after their first wrestling match. I am still laughing about that line! ---
**Author:** ![Roberta\_Plant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c89c15/32.png) [@Roberta\_Plant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roberta_Plant)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/85 "2006-12-16T20:55:08Z")
Matthew McConaughey in Larger Than Life as Tip Tucker. The only redeeming aspect of a terrible movie. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/86 "2006-12-16T21:17:06Z")
I recently saw the original **To Be or Not To Be** , which starred Jack Benny and Carole Lombard. The show was stolen lock stock and barrel by character actor Sig Ruman as Colonel Ehrhart. He didn’t really have a lot of gag lines; he did it all with delivery, facial expressions, etc. Completely walked away with the movie. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/87 "2006-12-16T21:47:33Z")
_42nd Street_ starred the pretty Ruby Keeler, but the glamorous Ginger Rogers beat the tar out of her. She could outdance, outsing, out-act, and out-wisecrack her with one hand tied behind her back. Walter Brennan, always a character actor and never a leading man, easily stole scenes from Humphrey Bogart, Bob Hope, Spencer Tracy, and other big-draw names. For that matter, so did William Bendix and Jack Carson. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/88 "2006-12-16T23:33:38Z")
Oliver Hardy stole the show from John Wayne in The Fighting Kentuckian, probably one of the only western movies where I ever found myself rooting for the French. Actually, now that I think about it, I can’t think of any westerns where I was rooting AGAINST the French either… In El Dorado, John Wayne kept having the scenes stolen by Robert Mitchum and James Caan. Also, I kept getting distracted by Michele Carey, playing Josephine “Joey” MacDonald, the firey tomboy, though I’m not sure if she was stealing scenes for anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/89 "2006-12-17T00:40:28Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] Claude Rains in _Casablanca_ Rod Steiger in _Oklahoma_ Stubby Kaye in _Guys and Dolls_ and _L’il Abner_ Ann Miller AND Betty Garrett in _On the Town_ Rita Moreno in _The King and I_ True, a lot of those parts were written to be scene stealers. But, particularly with Steiger and Moreno, the actors did a lot more with their performances than was in the script. [/QUOTE] Another oldie was _Flying Down to Rio_ from 1933. It starred Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond. Remember them? No? How about the two people in secondary roles: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? They absolutely chewed up the scenery and the movie launched a huge movie career for the pair. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/90 "2006-12-17T00:44:00Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Another oldie was _Flying Down to Rio_ from 1933. It starred Dolores Del Rio and Gene Raymond. Remember them? No? How about the two people in secondary roles: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? They absolutely chewed up the scenery and the movie launched a huge movie career for the pair. [/QUOTE] By the way, a very minor bit player in their second film was Betty Grable, but they didn’t allow her any screen time to speak of. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/91 "2006-12-17T02:34:57Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Oliver Hardy stole the show from John Wayne in The Fighting Kentuckian, probably one of the only western movies where I ever found myself rooting for the French. [/QUOTE] I guess you could consider that a “Western,” though it was really more of a “Southern,” being set along the Gulf coast of Alabama. Of course, Alabama was more or less the western frontier at the time. 🆒 ---
**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:** [December 17, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/92 "2006-12-17T02:44:13Z")
From reading the reviews at [rottentomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dreamgirls/), it looks like Jennifer Hudson (an American Idol also ran) completely walks away with _Dreamgirls_. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/93 "2006-12-17T14:34:41Z")
Lee Marvin in a cast all trying to upstage everyone else in the Magnificent Seven proved himself the master scene stealer. Yul Brynner is holding a conversation centerstage but all you notice is Marvins restlessness behind him. And in Pat Bennetars music video “Life is a Battlefield” the slimy over thirty character who tries to pick her up in a city club but is rejected in favour of “the Kids” is so overwhelmingly the coolest dancer, that without even trying to it undermines the basis of the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/94 "2006-12-17T14:50:51Z")
Thomas Sangster in Love Actually. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/95 "2006-12-17T16:25:29Z")
The wife and I saw _The Holiday_ last weekend, and Eli Wallich taught the newbies (Jude Law, Jack Black, Kate Winslett, Cameron Diaz) a thing or two about scene-stealing. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/96 "2006-12-17T16:40:14Z")
I agree with a lot of the above: Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber) in Die Hard Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday) in Tombstone Johnny Depp (Agent Sands) in Once Upon a Time In Mexico Jack Black (Barry) in High Fidelity I should also add: Bill Murray (Peter Venkman) in Ghostbusters (he had top billing, but it was still an ensemble cast) Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, and Gary Oldman in True Romance (in their respective scenes) Samuel L. Jackson (Jules Winfield) in Pulp Fiction Will Arnett (GOB Bluth) in Arrested Development Brad Pitt (Mickey) in Snatch Vince Vaughn (Lester Long) in Clay Pigeons Cameron Diaz in The Mask (her first role, and she’s never been more stunning) ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/97 "2006-12-17T16:42:24Z")
**Bill Nighy** is the only reason I don’t regret buying a ticket to _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ (2005). ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/98 "2006-12-17T17:01:22Z")
[QUOTE=Darth Vader’s Little Pal] **Bill Nighy** is the only reason I don’t regret buying a ticket to _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ (2005). [/QUOTE] Actually, I think the casting in that movie was across-the-board excellent. I just don’t think the movie was the least bit memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/99 "2006-12-17T18:05:21Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Lee Marvin in a cast all trying to upstage everyone else in the Magnificent Seven proved himself the master scene stealer. Yul Brynner is holding a conversation centerstage but all you notice is Marvins restlessness behind him. [/QUOTE] Quite an accomplishment, considering that Lee Marvin \*\*wasn’t in \*\* _The Magnificent Seven_! ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857/100 "2006-12-17T19:16:39Z")
In **Friends with Money** , Frances McDormand steals the show as the chronically angry person. (Maybe that’s not so hard to do, but this woman tends to steal scenes in many films.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-stole-the-show/382857.md?page=6)