# Bold assertion: No really big star is genuinely bad (actors) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838 "2010-12-12T01:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/41 "2010-12-13T00:29:56Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I was genuinely surprised by how good he was in **A Walk in the Clouds** , which is the only reason I wasn’t surprised by how good he was in **The Gift**. He’s not a great actor, but he’s not as bad as all that. I agree he was good in **A Walk in the Clouds** , too. The issue with Reeves is that his best performances were all in low-profile movies that few have seen. Has anyone here seen **Tune in Tomorrow**? How about **I Love You to Death**? **Feeling Minnesota**? The problem with Reeves is that he does have a mannered way of saying things (much like John Wayne did). But given the right script, he can give a fine performance (much like John Wayne could – you probably don’t remember how reviled Wayne was as an actor before **True Grit** , in exactly the same terms people complain about Reeves). ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/42 "2010-12-13T00:35:59Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Jim Carrey… My point remains - I don’t care that there are worse actors who are not in Hollywood; when I see bad acting, I call the person a bad actor. I will have to disagree. None of these people are even close to being bad actors. But I’ll accept that they are not great actors. I think that neither Sandra or julia deserved their Oscars…but Oscars are (suppposedly) great performances, not competent ones. They were both completely competent. Carrey has been solid in more than one film, and like many comics who can act (Robin Williams) he just needs a director to reign him in. I say again…_genuinely_ bad acting makes even Keanu look like he’s good. And I’m not talking about forcing the local dry cleaner to act and seeing how bad it can be, I’m talking about people who have agents, who take classes, and who have _actually been cast in actual films that you can actually see_. They can be stunningly, jaw-droppingly, are-you-fucking-kidding-me-am I being-punked-is-this-a-gigantic-joke- who -the-hell-cast-this-shit bad. And apart from Sofia Coppola in The Godfather (who isnt’ actually a big star and wasn’t then, it was just a big movie with other big stars) I don’t think anyone else in this thread can honestly be said to be as bad as that. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/43 "2010-12-13T01:16:03Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > They can be stunningly, jaw-droppingly, are-you-fucking-kidding-me-am I being-punked-is-this-a-gigantic-joke- who -the-hell-cast-this-shit bad. And apart from Sofia Coppola in The Godfather (who isnt’ actually a big star and wasn’t then, it was just a big movie with other big stars) I don’t think anyone else in this thread can honestly be said to be as bad as that. I think Keanu perfectly qualifies for his performance in _Much ado…_ His other works don’t qualify your above criteria (although they usually make me cringe) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/44 "2010-12-13T02:11:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Rebecca Pidgeon is another, and again, it’s nepotism - she’s DAvid Mamet’s wife. David Mamet also inflicted [Lindsay Crouse](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001080/bio) on us. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/45 "2010-12-13T02:54:56Z")
How can I possibly be the first to mention Bo Derek? So pretty, yet so awful. Laugh out loud awful. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/46 "2010-12-13T03:00:52Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > How can I possibly be the first to mention Bo Derek? So pretty, yet so awful. Laugh out loud awful. Bo Derek is someone I’d classfy as being not really a professional actor; she was a model who was used in movies as a name draw. You can’t really blame her for being a bad actress any more than you can blame Brett Favre for being a sht actor in “There’s Something About Mary.” If you want to see genuinely bad acting, watch a geniune shit indie film. That’s how wannaba actors act. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/47 "2010-12-13T03:54:32Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > David Mamet also inflicted [Lindsay Crouse](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001080/bio) on us. I don’t consider her a bad actress, simply a one-note actress. She plays cold, unfeeling automatons with incredible believability! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/48 "2010-12-13T07:18:04Z")
I just don’t really think you judge what bad acting is until you’ve seen The Room. There are two video reviews on [tgwtg.com](http://tgwtg.com) [right](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/ol/olp/23496-the-room) [now](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/25743-the-room). The “star” also wrote and directed it, though. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/49 "2010-12-13T07:26:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just don’t really think you judge what bad acting is until you’ve seen The Room. There are two video reviews on [tgwtg.com](http://tgwtg.com) [right](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/ol/olp/23496-the-room) [now](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/25743-the-room). > > The “star” also wrote and directed it, though. Yeah, but that’s a place where it is sometimes difficult to disentangle the bad acting from the bad directing and writing. Also, the “star” and “creator” is a total moron, and not at all a star or famous other than as the result of his failure. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2010, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/50 "2010-12-13T07:56:24Z")
How is this a “bold” assertion? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/51 "2010-12-13T08:00:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I just don’t really think you judge what bad acting is until you’ve seen The Room. There are two video reviews on [tgwtg.com](http://tgwtg.com) [right](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/ol/olp/23496-the-room) [now](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/25743-the-room). > > The “star” also wrote and directed it, though. Oh BLESS you, Big T! That was a film i had been thinking about in thinking about aggressively bad films… ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/52 "2010-12-13T08:54:49Z")
I’ve been saying this for years. Surprised to see so many agreeing with it, actually, because I usually get ignored when I post it here. Something must’ve caused a shift in the zeitgeist. Fact is, the vast majority don’t know acting from their assholes, and just say “X is a bad actor” or “Y really chewed the scenery” every once in awhile because they heard someone else say it and they want to feel like they know what the fuck they’re talking about. Go work on a student film with a bunch of 19 year olds who have never acted before. You’ll worship at Saint Keanu’s shrine that night. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/53 "2010-12-13T16:23:04Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I don’t consider [[Lindsay Crouse](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001080/bio)] a bad actress, simply a one-note actress. She plays cold, unfeeling automatons with incredible believability! She ruined _House of Games_ with her “creepy animatron” delivery. Some lines were not meant to be delivered with flat affect. It’s just a shame that she has a career, while some really good actress out there who was never married to David Mamet _doesn’t_. However, I will say that she does not contradict the OP, since she is not a “really big star.” ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/54 "2010-12-13T22:32:44Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > It’s my opinion that, given the right role, ANYONE can give a great performance. (It’s ‘the right role’ part that’s hard.) So, so, so not true. I have seen painfully bad acting - the acting equivalent of the guy singing “Oh holy night” from the “Christmas songs that won’t get airplay” thread. Frankly, if you can memorize a line and say that line in front of a camera, and give the impression that you are a reasonably normal human that just thought up those words right then, then you are at least a competent actor. Whether you can be a both a competent actor and yet a bad actor is another question entirely. I think that anyone who wants to declare that someone is a good actor or a bad actor should be required to take at least a month or two of acting classes. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/55 "2010-12-14T00:14:34Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > She ruined _House of Games_ with her “creepy animatron” delivery. Some lines were not meant to be delivered with flat affect." I thought that was a Mamet thing- he directed it. And she was the absolute flattest she’s ever been in that film. God, she really is icky. I don’t think about it much I just viscerally recoil when I see her onscreen without pondering it. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838/56 "2010-12-14T00:35:21Z")
It’s kind of like when a sports fan says something like, “Jake Delhomme sucks as a quarterback”. Well he is certainly, at this point, one of the worst qbs in the NFL. But in the world he is clearly one of the best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bold-assertion-no-really-big-star-is-genuinely-bad-actors/563838.md?page=2)