# Forgettable, Mediocre Actors and Actresses Who Were Nevertheless Successful **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445 "2016-01-17T21:51:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/1 "2016-01-17T21:51:07Z")
So, Sabrina was on TV. Never having watched it, I said to Mrs. Evil Captor, “Who is that actress with Harrison Ford? She looks kinda familiar, but I can’t place her.” Mrs. Evil Captor said, “Me either, she was in a lot of movies at one time, but she wasn’t very good or very memorable. She was in First Knight.” “I thought Isabella Rosselini was in First Knight and wasn’t very good and was in a lot of movies,” I responded. “No, it was her, whoever she is,” responded Mrs. Evil Captor. "You are thinking of “Big Night.” “Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio?” I asked. “No,” replied Mrs. Evil Captor, "but she’s another one.’ “Anabella Sciorra?” I asked. “No,” replied Mrs. Evil Captor. “It’s Julia Ormond!” (I think she remembered just to shut me up.) But that got me thinking … there are an awful lot of actresses who’ve done a sapte of top of the line mainstream movies but never made much of an impression. What other actresses are there who’ve been all over the big screen without being all that memorable or all that good? ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/2 "2016-01-17T22:13:50Z")
I think Anabella Sciorra is a very good actress. (Sopranos, Law & Order) I agree that Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is mediocre. Isabella Rosselini? Seriously? She doesn’t even rate mediocre on my assessment. Julia Ormond… ok, somewhere between mediocre and good. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/3 "2016-01-17T22:36:05Z")
Sonny Tufts. Tab Hunter ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/4 "2016-01-17T22:47:19Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > I think Anabella Sciorra is a very good actress. (Sopranos, Law & Order) > > I agree that Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is mediocre. > > Isabella Rosselini? Seriously? She doesn’t even rate mediocre on my assessment. > > Julia Ormond… ok, somewhere between mediocre and good. Yeah, but Sciorra is kinda generic somehow, AFAIC. She never seems to make and impression. Maybe a great actress, I dunno, but I don’t remember her particularly in any role … yet I remember much crummier actresses much more vividly. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/5 "2016-01-17T22:50:01Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Yeah, but Sciorra is kinda generic somehow, AFAIC. She never seems to make and impression. Maybe a great actress, I dunno, but I don’t remember her particularly in any role … yet I remember much crummier actresses much more vividly. I think that is because she is kind of “quiet” in her personality. Another similar actress to this is Juliana Margoulies. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/6 "2016-01-17T22:50:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Sonny Tufts. > Tab Hunter ya know, I know the name Sonny Tufts, I’m sure I’ve seen pics he was in, but I don’t have any idea what he looks like, much less which movies he was in. So, yeah. Now, Tab Hunter is definitely a mediocre actor at best. But I remember him more, probably because he was the definition of Golden Boy in terms of looks. It was the only thing about him that was memorable, but he was memorable. I remember him from some beach movies, mostly, and it’s mostly a blur, but it’s more than I got for Sonny Tufts. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/7 "2016-01-17T23:15:41Z")
Keanu Reeves. His movies have made some money. I’m always impressed at how wooden he is. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/8 "2016-01-17T23:20:38Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Keanu Reeves. His movies have made some money. > > I’m always impressed at how wooden he is. I don’t think he is on the level of Philip Seymour Hoffman or Daniel Day Lewis… but… I don’t think he is as bad as people say. I find him entertaining and I think he tires hard in his roles. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/9 "2016-01-17T23:29:15Z")
Shatner - He can’t do it all - act, sing, dance. He’s had a powerful career for 60 years, for no particular reason. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy his work. I do. I just don’t know why. Going to spin up his version of “Rocket Man” now… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/10 "2016-01-17T23:29:34Z")
**Sandra Oh** I’ve never seen her and thought she was a good selection for anything. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/11 "2016-01-17T23:35:15Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > I don’t think he is on the level of Philip Seymour Hoffman or Daniel Day Lewis… but… I don’t think he is as bad as people say. I find him entertaining and I think he tires hard in his roles. Each to his own. I like a lot of his movies, but he always seems to have this wooden look of confusion on his face. Most believable line he’s ever delivered: “Whoa!” Quick Googling found some hilarious reviews on [this page](http://www.movie-film-review.com/devharsh.asp?act=2¶m=755). > [@](#): > > A fixed fight: putting Keanu Reeves up against Al Pacino is a bit like throwing wood on to a fire to see if it burns. > > Keanu Reeves must be taking some kind of super-strength Botox to look like this. It is beyond anything as vulgar as bad acting. Those exotic chops are patently not in receipt of electrical impulses from the brain in the conventional manner. Maybe Keanu is shooting up Botox with the calibre of needle they use to subdue a rhinoceros; or maybe he is munching his bodyweight in Botox brownies in the location catering van or smoking rock after rock of a special kind of Botox crack. On screen, he runs; he jumps; he gestures dramatically at the heavens or at his co-star, and those features are set immovably, like an ovoid latex pudding. Perhaps he is in shock and it is all part of the act. > > Reeves stars, giving the kind of tepid performance that lesser beings can only approximate by necking a hundredweight of Temazepam. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/12 "2016-01-17T23:35:44Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > I think he tires hard in his roles. I see what you did there. Also, the guy from AVATAR. You know, he was in that TERMINATOR movie? And those CLASH OF THE TITANS movies? He was blandly handsome, looked like he could take a punch, knew how to deliver his lines seriously? Yeah, that guy. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/13 "2016-01-17T23:46:14Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I see what you did there. > > Also, the guy from AVATAR. You know, he was in that TERMINATOR movie? And those CLASH OF THE TITANS movies? He was blandly handsome, looked like he could take a punch, knew how to deliver his lines seriously? Yeah, that guy. Yeah, he is kind of boring but I also thin he tries hard to be a good actor. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/14 "2016-01-18T16:21:41Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Now, Tab Hunter is definitely a mediocre actor at best. But I remember him more, probably because he was the definition of Golden Boy in terms of looks. It was the only thing about him that was memorable, but he was memorable. I remember him from some beach movies, mostly, and it’s mostly a blur, but it’s more than I got for Sonny Tufts. Tufts was no different. He was a big beefcake star, all because of his looks. The only difference was his heyday was ten years earlier. By the time Hunter came along, Tufts was a punchline (literally). Other names: Steven Seagal Tom Laughlin Veronica Lake (steamy sex symbol, mostly because of her hair) ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/15 "2016-01-18T16:27:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Steven Seagal The OP asked about “forgettable, mediocre actors” who were nonetheless successful. Steven Seagal doesn’t even rise to the level of mediocre. He barely even qualifies to be called an actor. I suppose he’s an actor in the sense that he gets paid to do whatever it is he does, and he has a union card and all that, but whatever he’s doing, it isn’t “acting.” ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/16 "2016-01-18T16:58:07Z")
Guys, remember the “forgettable” part of the OP? Keanu Reeves may not be a good actor but he’s not forgettable. Same with Bill Shatner. Shatner has, let’s put it this way, his own particular style of acting. But Shatner is not forgettable. Neither is Steven Seagal. Steven Seagal is a terrible actor, but he’s not forgettable. These are people who have a distinctive persona, who never ever disappear into a role. You never watch a movie with Keanu Reeves in it, and then next week you remember the movie and liked it but can’t remember the lead actor. So the guy who was in Avatar and Clash of the Titans and Terminator is an actual example. He’s not a terrible actor, but he’s not memorable, even though he’s played the lead role in quite a few hit movies. If he walked into your local supermarket you might not even recognize him. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/17 "2016-01-18T17:05:25Z")
Ronald Reagan ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/18 "2016-01-18T17:05:54Z")
How about Arnold Schwarzenegger? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/19 "2016-01-18T17:09:09Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > So the guy who was in Avatar and Clash of the Titans and Terminator is an actual example. He’s not a terrible actor, but he’s not memorable, even though he’s played the lead role in quite a few hit movies. If he walked into your local supermarket you might not even recognize him. A couple of years ago, I started a very similar thread ( **Actors and actresses that have no charisma and leave no impression** ), and specified Sam Worthington as my favorite example: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=697379&highlight=worthington](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=697379&highlight=worthington) I’m guessing even a thread about him left no impression! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/20 "2016-01-18T17:11:51Z")
Bill Paxton Remember him in Twister? No, you remember Helen Hunt and a lot of CGI. Remember him in Apollo 13? Just like his character, he was left behind. Remember him in Independence Day? Oh, wait. That was Bill Pullman! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445.md?page=2)