# Actors whose appearance you find distracting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 24, 2026, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115 "2026-10-24T05:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/1 "2026-10-24T05:37:37Z")
We’ve done a lot of threads about celebrities’ looks but I hope this one is a little different. By distracting I mean anything about them physically that can take you out of what you’re watching. It _can_ be about their attractiveness, if that’s what you want to express, but I hope this doesn’t turn into a hatefest. Watching [Mia Goth](https://media.themoviedb.org/t/p/w600_and_h900_face/rwko7XVaKFcJH1dtAIIsrgLMzHb.jpg) in **Pearl** earlier today is what got me thinking about it. She is a wonderful actress and seems to be getting better with every film. She is / was a model and I think most people find her attractive. I don’t find her _unattractive_, exactly, but her looks are so distinctive that I find myself thinking about how she looks rather than what she’s saying. Another example could be people who have famous relatives and that’s all you can see when you look at them, ala [Colin Hanks](https://ntvb.tmsimg.com/assets/assets/173405_v9_bb.jpg?w=360&h=480). Or you get caught up in _trying_ to find the resemblance to their famous relative, like I do with [Jamie Leigh Curtis](https://i0.wp.com/www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/janet-leigh-jamie-lee-curtis.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=89&ssl=1). All I can detect is the Curtis. Which famous faces drive you to ponder? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/2 "2026-10-24T06:01:13Z")
Benedict Cumberbatch’s eyes are too far apart. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/3 "2026-10-24T06:05:25Z")
Holy cow, they are. I always thought he was unusual looking but couldn’t place why. Anya Taylor-Joy might have him beat, but she is gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/4 "2026-10-24T06:46:52Z")
Timothee Chalamet’s head is a weird angular shape, like a Dungeons and Dragons dice. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/5 "2026-10-24T11:47:27Z")
I watched the series 1883 recently. Good series. But every time (the character) Shea Brennan was on screen, I didn’t see him as Shea Brennan. I saw him as Sam Elliott. Took me right out of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/6 "2026-10-24T12:05:46Z")
Ato Essandoh, who plays Stuart in “The Diplomat”. Tall, skinny, sort of bug-eyed, eyes are too far apart, weird shaped head… I just find him really distracting. And speaking of “The Diplomat”, once I figured out that Rory Kinnear (who plays the British PM) was the son of the guy who played Veruca Salt’s dad in “Willy Wonka”, that’s all I see now. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/7 "2026-10-24T12:23:48Z")
Currently watching _The Dropout_, about Elizabeth Holmes, in preparation for seeing _You Can See Everything_. Amanda Seyfried plays Elizabeth Holmes and, like her, has naturally large (and may I say very attractive) eyes. However, she has had to do something with her lower lip to change it from her usual perfectly formed bow to something more like EH’s particular profile and at least allude to her stronger jawline. Its kind of effective, and changes Seyfried’s normal face sufficiently to mark her as being someone else for the show. However, it is distracting, and sometimes detracts from the scene. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/8 "2026-10-24T12:29:46Z")
Michael Shannon’s face looks like it was surgically reconstructed to me. Sometimes this is appropriate for a role (like General Zed) but other times I find it distracting (like _George & Tammy_). That’s not a criticism, I think he is an outstanding actor (_Death by Lightning_ comes to mind) and musician (REM tributes with Jason Narducy), but his face always makes me do a double take. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/9 "2026-10-24T12:38:26Z")
Elijah Wood’s eyeballs are off-puttingly huge and starey. During his onscreen closeups in the LOTR films, I have to look away or I get the heebie-jeebies. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/10 "2026-10-24T12:50:22Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > Or you get caught up in _trying_ to find the resemblance to their famous relative, like I do with [Jamie Leigh Curtis](https://i0.wp.com/www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/janet-leigh-jamie-lee-curtis.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&quality=89&ssl=1). All I can detect is the Curtis. Look a little lower for the Leigh. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/11 "2026-10-24T13:07:36Z")
I can’t watch Keira Knightley. The lantern jaw is just too distracting. One shudders to imagine the offspring she and Jay Leno might produce. Christopher Walken is just scary. On the other hand, Michael Emerson is a strange-looking dude. But that works very much in his favor as the ultimate world-saving nerd in “Person of Interest.” ---
**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:** [October 24, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/12 "2026-10-24T13:13:36Z")
I hear banjos whenever Woody Harrelson is on screen. ---
**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:** [October 24, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/13 "2026-10-24T13:15:13Z")
She’s hilarious and a pretty decent actress in both live action and voiceover work, but [Kristen Schaal](https://wordgirl.fandom.com/wiki/Kristen_Schaal) seems to suffer from the lack of a chin. [Kate Micucci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Micucci?wprov=sfti1#Career) is rather unconventionally attractive. I think it’s her eyes. They seem to swallow the rest of her face. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/14 "2026-10-24T13:29:42Z")
For me it’s when a relatively unknown actor sort of resembles a more well known actor, and is cast in a role that the well known actor would have likely nailed. I had that experience watching Resident Evil 2026. The protagonist is played by Austin Abrams. I spent the whole movie thinking that they should have cast Jeremy White in the role. ETA: The resemblance can’t be too close. If it’s a really close resemblance, then it’s no longer distracting. Andy Comeau in 8 Heads In a Duffel Bag has a resemblance so close to John Cusack that my brain can pretend that John Cusack was playing his role. In the case of Austin Abrams and Jeremy White, I couldn’t make that leap. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/15 "2026-10-24T13:57:12Z")
No one has mentioned Steve Buscemi yet? He’s a kinda funny looking fellow. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iJPgVnyEByE/maxresdefault.jpg "Fargo (1996) | He Was Funny Lookin' | MGM Studios") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJPgVnyEByE) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/16 "2026-10-24T15:05:40Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Elijah Wood’s eyeballs are off-puttingly huge and starey. Human-sized eyeballs in a hobbit-sized head. [Tilda Swinton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilda_Swinton). I keep thinking of a female David Bowie when I see her onscreen. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/17 "2026-10-24T15:14:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I can’t watch Keira Knightley. The lantern jaw is just too distracting. Ditto. I think she’s gorgeous, but the lower jaw somehow looks like she wants to devour you. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I spent the whole movie thinking that they should have cast Jeremy White in the role. Jeremy White’s lower jaw is very receding and distracts me. > [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > Another example could be people who have famous relatives and that’s all you can see when you look at them, ala Colin Hanks. . Yep, whenever I see him, I think, “well, I guess they couldn’t afford his father.” In general, it can take me out of a show when the actor is just _too_ good-looking. Why don’t the people around them notice? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/18 "2026-10-24T15:17:39Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > No one has mentioned Steve Buscemi yet? I was just stepping in to mention his teeth. I can’t take my eyes off his teeth. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/19 "2026-10-24T15:31:19Z")
Oh, you betcha, yah! ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115/20 "2026-10-24T15:32:27Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > > No one has mentioned Steve Buscemi yet? > > I was just stepping in to mention his teeth. I can’t take my eyes off his teeth. I think those things would distract me if he was cast in a “normal” role. But those looks fit just fine for a role like the guy that stirred the pot at the bar in Desperado or the guy who slid down the bungee cord ride in Grownups. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-appearance-you-find-distracting/1034115.md?page=2)