# Actors you can't believe still get work **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700 "2003-11-28T08:01:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/61 "2003-11-29T19:20:08Z")
_miscegenated_??? As far as Spacey is concerned, I personally think he’s one of the best, most versatile, actors around. Same with Sarandon. Although, you’re in very good company in the case of Glen Close, **BrandyFine** : none other than Ms. Hepburn herself said that she couldn’t stand her. I probably wouldn’t go THAT far… Your mileage will obviously vary. ---
**Author:** ![Bucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Bucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bucky)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/62 "2003-11-29T22:05:32Z")
Gyrate said, "3) Certain actors work well in character parts or in very specific roles, and are mistakenly given greater prominence and other roles because they were good at one type of role. See: Keanu Reeves, Ashton Kutcher, Tobey Maguire, and (above all) Madonna. 1. Certain actors are quite talented but desperately need either a director who can keep a tight leash on them to prevent overacting or a more balanced ensemble cast to keep them from grandstanding. See: Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Jim Carrey, and Robin Williams." My questions are: 1. What type of role was Madonna ever good at? And it has to be an early film for your theory to work. 2. Demi Moore is talented? Are we from alternate universes? Maybe you’re from the one where she’s smart and has real breasts. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/63 "2003-11-29T22:43:13Z")
Madonna has great range. She can be boring and cliche, adolescently pretentious, or laughably awful. I watched about thirty seconds of her recent Letterman appearance just to hear her latest attempt at a faux British accent, it did not disappoint. Though she has been famous for as long as I can remember, I still don’t understand why anyone would drop a dollar for any of her stuff. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/64 "2003-11-29T23:04:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Death \* > \*_Well, I wouldn’t want to do that - not while I still have breath to scream it out loud. Chicago is a fucking awful movie, probably the worst ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture - including Titanic, which at least had some nice FX and a dead DiCaprio. I would rather tread barefoot in dogshit than watch that miscegenated_ tripe again. > > Back on topic for this thread, Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger are both grotesquely overrated. \*\* (\* I read your “miscegenated” as “misbegotten”, but I wouldn’t want to put words in your mouth. ) Agreed. That movie was one of the most disappointing I’ve seen in recent years. Its only redeeming grace was Amos’s “Mister Cellophane” song. A bit schmaltzy, but still the best moment of the movie. Everyone on my list has already been mentioned, but I want to add a vote to the Richard Gere list. Julia Roberts may not be a bad actress, but I will avoid any movie in which she acts. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/65 "2003-11-29T23:08:30Z")
Madonna was good in Desperately Seeking Susan, playing her then current persona. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gyrate \* > \*\*Have I missed any categories? \*\* 1. Some movies are huge because of their premise, or because their target audience are tuning into it on some visceral level, and the Studios misinterpret this to mean the lead actor is some kind of talent they must desperately cling to. See: Macaulay Culkin, Paul Walker (from _The Fast and the Furious_), Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes. ---
**Author:** ![bigdfrombigd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bigdfrombigd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bigdfrombigd)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/66 "2003-11-29T23:12:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Julius Henry \* > \*\*I will never understand why Tom Arnold isn’t an assistant manager at a Dairy Queen. \*\* 😃 I wish I said that! You are tooo funny! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/67 "2003-11-29T23:24:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MoodIndigo1 \* > \*\*Julia Roberts may not be a bad actress, but I will avoid any movie in which she acts. \*\* That means you have to watch them all. She’s never acted in anything. She’s just there. With that gigantic mouth of hers. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/68 "2003-11-30T00:55:55Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by MoodIndigo1 \* > ( I read your “miscegenated” as “misbegotten”, but I wouldn’t want to put words in your mouth. )_ No, the word stands. Miscegenation is when two different things are mated together, with a connotation of wrongness. Chicago the movie is a mating of Broadway show with cinema, and about as wrong as it’s ever been. \*\* > [@](#): > > Everyone on my list has already been mentioned, but I want to add a vote to the Richard Gere list. Julia Roberts may not be a bad actress, but I will avoid any movie in which she acts. \*\* Erin Brockovich was fairly decent. I’ll concede that most of her other movies are crap, but at least she isn’t J-Ho. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/69 "2003-11-30T01:01:55Z")
Try as she might, Julia Roberts couldn’t spoil _Confessions of a Dangerous Mind_ for me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/70 "2003-11-30T01:38:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bucky \* > \*\*My questions are: > > 1. What type of role was Madonna ever good at? And it has to be an early film for your theory to work. > > 2. Demi Moore is talented? Are we from alternate universes? Maybe you’re from the one where she’s smart and has real breasts. \*\* _Desperately Seeking Susan_ and _A League of Their Own_ were the only movies I’ve seen Madonna in that I could tolerate her; in both films she essentially plays herself, and only in secondary roles. I almost kinda liked Demi Moore in _A Few Good Men_ and _Indecent Proposal_; in both cases, she had better actors to play against who kept her from ruining the film completely. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/71 "2003-11-30T04:59:31Z")
DANA CARVEY!!! DIE YOU TALENTLESS WASTE OF AIR! Well maybe not die…Thats a little too harsh. Maybe just a bad case of the clap. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/72 "2003-11-30T05:40:11Z")
\*\*Danny DeVito Nicolas Cage Marisa Tomei Gary Busey Robin Williams Ice T\*\* 4 out of 5 screen appearances by \*\*Eddie Murphy John Revol\*\*-- I mean, \*\*Travolta DMX Joan Cusack Lisa Bonet Corey Feldman, Gary Coleman\*\*, every **Baldwin** brother without exception, every **Wayans** with the sole exception of **Damon** , every [singing] **Jackson,** especially the weird skinny white girl with no tits. If she’s not near naked or in a two-piece, **Halle Berry**. …and, as ever, **Don “Must Give Great Head In Auditions” Cheadle.** ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/73 "2003-11-30T06:35:14Z")
Meg Ryan…That cutsie wootsie act and simpering smile…gah! Hugh Grant…" " " " " " " " ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/74 "2003-11-30T08:04:18Z")
Tony Danza What the hell is USA network thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/75 "2003-11-30T08:21:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Long Road \* > \*\*Tony Danza > > What the hell is USA network thinking? \*\* OH MAN! I keep seeing that ad on Yahoo. I nearly started a Tony Danza LIVES thread! ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/76 "2003-11-30T08:30:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Julius Henry \* > \*\*I will never understand why Tom Arnold isn’t an assistant manager at a Dairy Queen. \*\* I mean, my movies weren’t great, but I never tied anyone down and forced them to watch. And I could have, 'cause I’m a big guy, and I’m good with knots! ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/77 "2003-11-30T08:48:06Z")
Wow, I’m surprised at some of the names mentioned. Don Cheadle, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, John Travolta and Nicholas Cage are very talented actors, IMO (Cage was fantastic in **Adaptation** ). Cheadle deserves Denzel-type stardom, he’s infinitely more talented and has much greater range than Washington (who’s not a bad actor, but he is terribly overrated–Best Actor Oscar for **Training Day**?). Tony Danza is a television actor (oh, dear God, I called Tony Danza an actor!), so he doesn’t count. As I stated in the OP, there are sooo many talentless morons on working on TV (the cast of “Friends”) that we could just continue adding to this thread for years if we were to include them. I am amazed that he even gets TV gigs, though. He must have an agent that adores him and has lots of clout in the TV industry. And last time I checked, Corey Feldman’s only recent work was reality shows (“The Surreal Life”) and talk shows (Howard Stern and Larry King) and Gary Coleman is a security guard. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/78 "2003-11-30T09:23:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Wow, I’m surprised at some of the names mentioned. That tends to happen. In any thread like this, you usually have to put forth a lot of effort to separate out the nominations that are serious and deserving, and the nominations that were made because the nominator feels like the little insignificant bit of nonconformity makes them a superior person. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/79 "2003-11-30T11:02:20Z")
Agreed, **SPOOFE**. For example, while Tony Danza may not be a great actor, I would hardly call him talentless. Ditto for the cast of Friends, several of whom have impeccable comedic timing. Methinks that some of the criticisms being bandied about are a bit extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700/80 "2003-11-30T11:26:41Z")
You guys aren’t telling me you aactually like Whoopi Goldberg, are ya?? Man, is she ever awful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-you-cant-believe-still-get-work/215700.md?page=5)