# Bad actors who show up in good movies with surprising frequency **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853 "2008-09-16T16:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/21 "2008-09-16T23:29:29Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > **Kris Kristofferson** is a shitty actor Really? He was scary real in [Lone Star](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1074022-lone_star/), I thought. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/22 "2008-09-16T23:57:39Z")
I don’t understand the universal hatred for Andie MacDowell. I think she’s no worse than thousands of other actors across Hollywood that seem to perpetually headline films. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/23 "2008-09-17T00:12:48Z")
All right, folks, I don’t mind you picking on Juliette Lewis, because she looks like she was born stoned, and the only way I can even watch onscreen is by imagining that she has an IQ of 60, after which it becomes cute and maybe even a little inspiring . . . . . . but if y’all don’t lay off the late great Brion James, you’re going to wake up one morning to find that someone’s dipped your kleenex in blotter acid. My pick would have to be Woody Harrelson who’s appeared in a few good movies and yet happend to suck harder than the Old Sow Whirlpool. He’s like the guy version of Juliette Lewis, except that he manages to come across as slightly dumber. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/24 "2008-09-17T01:18:26Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Holy crap, before I opened the thread I was ready to nominate Andie MacDowell. With almost anyone else in her role, I would have found Four Weddings and a Funeral perfect. Ditto squared. Although I do wonder if the casting of the sucky Ms. MacDowell was not deliberate – this way you feel far more sympathy for Fiona, since not only is the man of her dreams not interested in her, he wants the terrible American girl. You even end up feeling more sympathy for Duckface because of it. Well… I do. (Or at least feeling that Charles has deeply questionable taste in women). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/25 "2008-09-17T12:48:29Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I thought of Bill Paxton, who is the Worst Actor Ever. He’s in a string of stinkers, but he’s also in _The Terminator_… Well, he wasn’t in _The Terminator_ for very long. 😃 > [@](#): > > Punk: Nice night for a walk, eh? > Terminator: Nice night for a walk. > Punk: Wash day tomorrow? Nothing clean, right? > Terminator: Nothing clean. Right. > Punk: Hey, I think this guy’s a couple cans short of a six-pack. > Terminator: Your clothes…give them to me, now. > Punk: F\*ck you, asshole! ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/26 "2008-09-17T15:39:14Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Well, he wasn’t in _The Terminator_ for very long. 😃 That might have been one of the reasons it was a good movie! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/27 "2008-09-17T15:44:17Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I don’t understand the universal hatred for Andie MacDowell. I think she’s no worse than thousands of other actors across Hollywood that seem to perpetually headline films. “Oh. Is it raining? I hadn’t noticed.” GAH!!! HATE!!! Granted, it’s a stupid line, but her delivery did NOT help. (“Four Weddings and a Funeral.”) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/28 "2008-09-17T16:09:59Z")
> [@Stuffy](#): > > I was going to say Steve Guttenberg, but then I noticed the OP specified “good movies”, so nevermind. He was in _Cocoon_, which was really pretty good, except for him. Even the first _Police Academy_ was decent, except for him. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/29 "2008-09-17T16:18:36Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > > [@robby](#): > > > > Well, he wasn’t in The Terminator for very long. > > That might have been one of the reasons it was a good movie! And, worthy of a giggle to think of the Terminator I-sized Arnie fitting into Bill Paxton’s clothes. Which, by the way, is a nice segue to my nomination: The Governator. ---
**Author:** ![First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@First\_Amongst\_Daves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/First_Amongst_Daves)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/30 "2008-09-17T16:19:59Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I thought of Bill Paxton, who is the Worst Actor Ever. He’s in a string of stinkers, but he’s also in _The Terminator_, _Aliens_, _Boxing Helena_, _Tombstone_, _Apollo 13_ and _A Simple Plan_. I really enjoy all those movies… except for him! I also immediately thought of Bill Paxton. Only thing I thought he was good in was _True Lies_, where he played that sickening car salesman. He was painful in _Titanic_. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/31 "2008-09-17T16:25:24Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Juliette Lewis Man, I know what ya mean. Juliette Lewis always seems to play the slightly mentally diabled chick in every movie I see her in. I can’t help but think she really is like the character she played in \*\*\*Kalifornia. \*\*\* ---
**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:** [September 17, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/32 "2008-09-17T16:34:41Z")
Dennis Quaid has never been good in anything, yet has been getting star casting for years. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/33 "2008-09-17T16:39:20Z")
Orlando Bloom. In every movie in which I have ever seen him, he is a liability. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/34 "2008-09-17T16:52:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Dennis Quaid has never been good in anything, yet has been getting star casting for years. Dennis Quaid is good in EVERYTHING. You may be thinking of Randy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/35 "2008-09-17T16:57:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Dennis Quaid is good in EVERYTHING. You may be thinking of Randy. 😉 My mental image of Randy Quaid is a poor man’s Tom Arnold. I’m not sure how applicable that is to reality, but it’s what I think whenever I think of him. Dennis is the man. He’s got a great [shit-eating grin](http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MMPH/255095~Dennis-Quaid-Posters.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![AT\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@AT\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AT_Love)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/36 "2008-09-17T18:04:42Z")
Another nomination for Keanu “I know wheh the bahstahd sleeps” Reeves. I’m in the minority but I think if it has Scarlett Johansen(sp) in it its gonna be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/37 "2008-09-17T18:25:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Dennis Quaid has never been good in anything, yet has been getting star casting for years. Fool of a … wait, have I said that already today? Too lazy to check. Anyway, I liked him in Dragonheart, though the movie would have been vastly improved by more redheaded-girl-whose-name-I-should-know-but-don’t nudity. ---
**Author:** ![laughingboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@laughingboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laughingboy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/38 "2008-09-18T02:03:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Punk: Nice night for a walk, eh? > Terminator: Nice night for a walk. > Punk: Wash day tomorrow? Nothing clean, right? > Terminator: Nothing clean. Right. > Punk: Hey, I think this guy’s a couple cans short of a six-pack. > Terminator: Your clothes…give them to me, now. > Punk: F\*ck you, asshole! That was Bill Paxton?! Huh. I’ve watched that scene countless times, and I never noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/39 "2008-09-18T04:34:01Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > ETA: Not that I want to become a SG apologist (shudder), but he also did well in _The Boys From Brazil_. Hey, as long as his character gets killed in the first ten minutes, I wouldn’t mind seeing Steve Guttenberg in a few more films. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/40 "2008-09-18T05:40:24Z")
I liked Miss Congeniality too. A lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853.md?page=3)