# Bad actors who show up in good movies with surprising frequency

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853>\
**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:** 1\
**Showing post:** 15

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**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/15 "2008-09-16T19:46:06Z")

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> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#):
>
> He’s not the worst actor in the world, but I’ve never been impressed by anything that William Hurt has done – he always seems slightly lost, and plays pretty much the same blocked-up dude in every movie

See, now I _like_ William Hurt, despite the lack of a vast range. He’s not a chameleon like Gary Oldman, but then neither was Humphrey Bogart. It’s all a matter of casting - cast him properly and I think he works well. Blocked up and slightly lost is what is called for in films like _Accidental Tourist_ or _Rare Birds_. And he can twist slightly lost and vacant to slightly deranged and vacant with good effect ( IMO )as in _History of Violence_ or _I Love You To Death_.

But these actor things are always so subjective - I like Nicole Kidman as well, who many seem to regard with a shudder of horror :).

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