Actors You Used to Hate

Cafe Society
1

Inspired by the thread about actors you hate.

What actors did you hate (not necessarily for any good reason) for years until they delivered a performance that completely changed your mind?

Leonardo DiCaprio was an actor I couldn’t watch at all until after I saw him in The Aviator.. I don’t exactly love him, and I won’t be rushing out to see every movie he does now, but I do have a lot more respect for his abilities.

I never liked Jim Carrey until Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I will at least give his films a chance now, although he is still hit and miss.

2

I gotta agree with Jim Carrey in ESOTSM. He was great but I still won’t watch Ace Ventura

Keanu Reaves until I saw Devil’s Advocate. Then he undid it in The Matrix

3

I disliked Steve Martin until I saw him in Roxanne. I’ve liked most of the stuff I’ve seen him in since.

4

I couldn’t stand Bill Pullman until I saw The Zero Effect a few years ago. Now I’m OK with him, though he’s still not a favorite.

5

Familiarity breeds…familiarity.

I’ve had a couple of actors that, on first viewing, I practically barfed. But then I saw them over and over and, well, came around mostly.

Jim Carrey
Michael J. Fox
Adam Sandler
Tom Cruise

6

Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney. I’d written Wahlberg off as yet another singer with delusions of acting, and figured Clooney would disappear down the same black hole that sucks up most TV heart throbs who try to make it in movies. Then I saw them both in Three Kings. Fantastic movie, fantastic performances from both of them. They’re two of my favorite actors now.

7

Nic Cage has grown on me. I used to hate that whiny, nasally, ugly bastard. Now I can tolerate him.

8

Jack Nicholson used to make me cringe. He always played a leering, psycho degenerate, and I don’t have any particular fondness for leering, psycho degenerates.

His latest version of a LPD in The Departed, though, helped thaw me out a little. His portrayal of the Irish mob boss was the best performance in the film, IMO.

But I still hate his writer character in The Shining. My fingers itched to murder that bastard at his very first appearance.

9

Steve Martin until "Roxanne’
Burt Lancaster until “Atlantic City”

10

Tom Skerritt until I saw “A River Runs Through It”.

11

<Team America:World Police>
MATT DAMON!!!
</TA:WP>

I kinda conflated him Affleck, but his movie roles grew on me, perhaps starting with Bourne Identity.

12

Matt Damon, Leo Dicaprio, and Mark Wahlberg, after watching The Departed. Mark Wahlberg in particular, he’s my favorite character in the movie.

13

I have to agree with this movie. I have no idea why this isn’t more popular as a flick, but when it came out in the theater everyone around us was like, " Meh."

We loved it.

I think the opening scene to Clooney’s Really Big Leading Man debut with him screwing a reporter was brilliant.

14

I hated Joaquin Phoenix, due to his pantomime-evil character in Gladiator.

But I thought he redeemed himself in Walk the Line - quite something to pull off given Johnny Cash’s level of cool.

15

Russell Crowe until Master and Commander.

16

Will Ferrell, kind of. He makes me cringe in everything he is in but I really liked him in Stranger Than Fiction however since then he has reverted to plain old cringeworthy Will Ferrell.

17

Early in his career I disliked Bill Murray. Mostly because Chevy Chase sucks so much I just disliked all the former SNL alum.

But I ended up liking Stripes, Ghost Busters, Groundhog Day, Scrooged. Heck, most of his stuff ended up being good.

18

**Johnny Depp ** until the excellent Ed Wood.

19

**Adam Sandler **won me over in The Wedding Singer. Before that, I thought he was an obnoxious goofball. After that, I thought he could do gentle and sweet and sarcastic all at once. I still don’t think he’s a great actor, but I can watch him now.

Jim Carey in *Liar, Liar *almost got me, but I wrote it off as an aberrant tolerable role. Not until The Truman Show was I assured that he actually can do more than rubberface his way through a role.

I despised all things Patricia Arquette until Medium. 'Though I still wish she’d pony up some cash for some dental work and find an emotion other than Whine.

Julliette Lewis made me stabby until What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

I still don’t LIKE** Bill Murray**, and I hated Lost in Translation, (no, “hate” is too strong a word. I was rabidly indifferent about Lost in Translation) but even so that movie changed the way I view him as an actor. He *can *act for sure. I just still don’t like him.

20

Ben Affleck, until Hollywoodland.