# Favorite Actor Who Was Never In A GREAT Movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980 "2020-03-05T21:17:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/41 "2020-03-07T14:48:26Z")
Sean Connery. _Marnie_ and _The Untouchables_ were well-made films, and his first five Bond films were enjoyable for what they were, but these were not exactly great cinema. He made a career out of being the best thing about the awful movies he was in. (I haven’t seen _The Man Who Would Be King_ or _The Wind and the Lion_, maybe they were amazing. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/42 "2020-03-07T15:06:10Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Sean Connery. _Marnie_ and _The Untouchables_ were well-made films, and his first five Bond films were enjoyable for what they were, but these were not exactly great cinema. He made a career out of being the best thing about the awful movies he was in. (I haven’t seen _The Man Who Would Be King_ or _The Wind and the Lion_, maybe they were amazing. The Man Who Would Be King is pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/43 "2020-03-07T15:11:36Z")
> [@Biggus\_Richard](#): > > The only nearly good movie with Brendan Fraser was “With Honors”. _The Quiet American_ was really good. Maybe close to great. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/44 "2020-03-07T15:31:53Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > The Man Who Would Be King is pretty amazing. _The Hunt for Red October_ is great. Well made, suspenseful, entertaining, well acted, and emotionally satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/45 "2020-03-07T15:40:17Z")
James Gandolfini is my pick. He probably would have done a lot more movies including some great ones had he not died young. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/46 "2020-03-07T16:56:11Z")
> [@](#): > > (The Other Waldo Pepper) _The Fly — which, for what it’s worth, has a higher IMDB rating — strikes me as being pretty much perfect at exactly what it set out to do._ Haven’t seen that one, either, and have heard that it’s very good. > [@](#): > > (Alessan) \*This may be a controversial choice, but: George Clooney. > > Look at his filmography: lots of good films, lots of mediocre ones, but the only films of his I personally would consider calling “great” are Out of Sight, Oceans 11 and O Brother Where Art Thou - and even for them, I fear I may be in the minority. He’s a very good actor who’s never quite found the perfect project.\* I’m surprised you didn’t mention Up in the Air. I’d call that a great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/47 "2020-03-07T17:01:19Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > > [@Biggus\_Richard](#): > > > > The only nearly good movie with Brendan Fraser was “With Honors”. > > _The Quiet American_ was really good. Maybe close to great. Gods and Monsters, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/48 "2020-03-07T22:02:04Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > The Man Who Would Be King is pretty amazing. Yep. And so is **The Name of the Rose.** ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/49 "2020-03-07T22:10:05Z")
I enjoy the hell out of hammy Vincent Price in the A.I. Poe movies and other horror flicks, but hesitate to call them Great Cinema. However, he played a handsome young southern ne’er-do-well in **Laura** (1944); Richelieu in **The Three Musketeers** (1948); Baka in **The Ten Commandments** (1956); and did the voice work for Deacon Mushrat in **Pogo for President** (1980). Of those, **Laura** , at least, is a great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/50 "2020-03-07T22:19:25Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > I find CR-67 the best of all 007 films. And yes, I _did_ crack my skull in infancy. It shows? “He lets his intestines down…and washes them…by hand.” Still trying to parse that line. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/51 "2020-03-08T12:52:49Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I think Matthew Lillard is great, but I won’t defend calling any of his movies that. _The Descendants_ won an Oscar, and \*Scream \*is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/52 "2020-03-08T14:27:53Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > I’m surprised you didn’t mention Up in the Air. I’d call that a great movie. It was. As were _the Descendants_ and _Michael Clayton._ …you know what? I stand corrected. Ignore what I said about Clooney. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/53 "2020-03-08T14:31:59Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > It was. As were _the Descendants_ and _Michael Clayton._ > > …you know what? I stand corrected. Ignore what I said about Clooney. And there’s Good Night, and Good Luck, if you liked that. He is irregular, though. I haven’t liked everything he’s done. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/54 "2020-03-08T17:06:17Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > “Blue Collar” is a very good movie. Directed by Paul Schrader, who wrote the story and screenplay of “Taxi Driver” AMEN! Blue Collar must be seen. And the live movies? Why aren’t they great? They are the greatest. Mae West ws the screenwriter of her own great movies. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/55 "2020-03-08T17:35:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > It was. As were _the Descendants_ and _Michael Clayton._ > > …you know what? I stand corrected. Ignore what I said about Clooney. It’s been ages since I’ve seen it, but I recall being really moved by _Three Kings_. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/56 "2020-03-08T19:18:08Z")
Idris Elba. A very watchable, charismatic actor who needs a better agent. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/57 "2020-03-09T02:13:38Z")
I’ll probably get some disagreement on this, but: Robin Williams. He was in some pretty good movies (Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society; some would say Good Will Hunting although I personally dislike everything about that movie except for Williams) but none that were truly great. Then there were the bad movies, like the inexcusably maudlin Patch Adams. I always wanted to see Robin Williams in the right role in a great movie, but it never happened. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/58 "2020-03-09T14:32:18Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I’ll probably get some disagreement on this, but: Robin Williams. > > He was in some pretty good movies (Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society; some would say Good Will Hunting although I personally dislike everything about that movie except for Williams) but none that were truly great. Then there were the bad movies, like the inexcusably maudlin Patch Adams. > > I always wanted to see Robin Williams in the right role in a great movie, but it never happened. I think this is a good example. Some good movies, but nothing GREAT. I liked “Good Will Hunting” and “Dead Poets Society” (even “One Hour Photo”), didn’t LOVE them, though. I did enjoy his humanity - movies like “Awakenings”, too. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/59 "2020-03-09T15:58:59Z")
How about _The World According to Garp_? _Moscow on the Hudson_? _The Fisher King_? At least one of those has to be considered “great”. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980/60 "2020-03-09T23:16:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > How about _The World According to Garp_? _Moscow on the Hudson_? _The Fisher King_? At least one of those has to be considered “great”. If you want a GREAT movie, check out Paul Mazursky’s “Harry and Tonto” (he directed “Moscow on the Hudson”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-actor-who-was-never-in-a-great-movie/848980.md?page=4)