# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/41 "2016-01-18T18:56:32Z")
Billy Zane. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/42 "2016-01-18T18:57:29Z")
Fred MacMurray was the first actor who came to mind. He appeared in an immense variety of crap on film, and in the sprinkling of fairly good movies in which he starred (i.e. The Caine Mutiny, Double Indemnity) he appeared out of place and was never sleazy enough for the roles he was given.\* He was competent enough, but just…blah. \*it didn’t help that my image of him was influenced by several dreadful years of My Three Sons on TV. ---
**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 18, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/43 "2016-01-18T19:04:53Z")
I was thinking there may be a gender bias involved here, too. Somebody in the other thread that was linked to nominated Denise Richards. I remember Denise Richards vividly, because she is SUCH a little sexpot. Same is probably true for Veronica Lake. But if you’re gay or a straight female, Richards’ and Lakes’ sexiness may not work for you, so you’d find them as forgettable as guys find male actors who got nothing but teh sexy going for them. I mean, Warren Beatty is handsome and affable, but other than that, I don’t remember much about him. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/44 "2016-01-18T19:15:10Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Guys, remember the “forgettable” part of the OP? > > …[snip]… > > 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 movie reviewer once remarked that the start of the movie he was rating was even more forgettable than Sam Worthington. Except, I don’t remember who it was or the movie he was acting in. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/45 "2016-01-18T19:18:01Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > A movie reviewer once remarked that the start of the movie he was rating was even more forgettable than Sam Worthington. Except, I don’t remember who it was or the movie he was acting in. I think [Jai Courtney](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2541974/) is getting the new Sam Worthington roles. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/46 "2016-01-18T19:20:18Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Another similar actress to this is Juliana Margoulies. The Good Wife? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/47 "2016-01-18T19:24:19Z")
Jennifer Tilly Melanie Griffith While they both had one or two roles where they didn’t completely suck, they practically define mediocre-but-successful. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/48 "2016-01-18T19:27:41Z")
> [@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. He is every bit as bad as people say. That doesn’t mean you can’t find him entertaining. I can’t because of how he took a steaming dump in the middle of the otherwise wonderful **Much Ado About Nothing**. ---
**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, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/49 "2016-01-18T19:28:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Fred MacMurray was the first actor who came to mind. > > He appeared in an immense variety of crap on film, and in the sprinkling of fairly good movies in which he starred (i.e. The Caine Mutiny, Double Indemnity) he appeared out of place and was never sleazy enough for the roles he was given.\* > > He was competent enough, but just…blah. McMurray was far from blah when he played a villain, especially when Billy Wilder was involved. **Double Indemnity** practically invented film noir, and his role as the sleezy boss in **The Apartment** was one of the best villains in film. The problem was that he wouldn’t get away from his nice guy image (which was why he was so effective in **The Apartment** ), so most of his work was pretty bland. Lash Larue was a pretty successful western star, but only because he had the gimmick of using a bullwhip. Harrison Ford supposedly took lessons from him for **Raiders** , but he quickly vanished from the scene (it didn’t help that he was a self-described jerk when he was a star). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/50 "2016-01-18T19:31:04Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Billy Zane. Put a cork in it Zane! ---
**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 18, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/51 "2016-01-18T19:32:19Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > I’d have to disagree with you on old Billy boy. 🙂 > > Ever since Aliens I always notice him in movies. In fact I’ve got the reverse problem with him, any movie I see with him in it, I immediately recognise him as Bill Paxton, rather than whatever character he is supposed to be playing. :smack: Maybe there can be a breakout role or scene for these guys … ever since “Aliens” the phrase “Game Over” conjures Paxton’s face for me, and I remember him from that, if not from much else. In the same way, to me Bill Pullman will always be “the stupidest man in the world” from “Ruthless People.” And the line that brings him to mind is his “I knew that!” when someone brings up something he clearly did not know, or forgot about. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/52 "2016-01-18T19:35:18Z")
This thread prompted me to look up > **[ID This Hollywood Starlet From 1965](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=649073)** > > This pic was taken from a 1965 celebrity baseball game at Dodger Stadium. I can ID Annette Funicello, Phyllis Diller and Nancy Sinatra (far right), but who is the blonde in the middle wearing #28? ID This Hollywood Starlet From 1965 04-20-2012, 01:10 PM Pashnish Ewing which provided much fun in trying to identify somebody in a picture. The Fay Spain add-on above was what sent me looking for the thread. Maybe we need a new thread with “who looks like whom” criteria? For instance, who nowadays looks the most like [Lola Albright](https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrBT9dDO51WsPkAjp5XNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA3lzZXRfaWVfc3ljX29yYWNsZS1zBGdwcmlkAzZqdkY0V3prVEtpcmFPcWRiSktEd0EEbl9yc2x0AzAEbl9zdWdnAzEwBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzEzBHF1ZXJ5A2xvbGEgYWxicmlnaHQEdF9zdG1wAzE0NTMxNDU2MDg-?p=lola+albright&fr2=sb-top-search&fr=yset_ie_syc_oracle-s&type=orcl_hpset&fp=1)(from **Peter Gunn** )? Anybody up for such a spinoff? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/53 "2016-01-18T19:35:41Z")
How about Sienna Miller? She’s in a ton of successful films, and a lot of crappy ones. Katherine Hahn (Step Brothers, Anchorman, Tomorrowland, Bad Words). Also in a ton of films, but always as someone’s best friend, the best friend’s wife, or some tertiary character. And she always plays the same shrill character. ---
**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 18, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/54 "2016-01-18T19:51:17Z")
Chris Hemsworth isn’t a great actor, but he has personality and charm. Liam Hemsworth isn’t a great actor, but he has a brother named Chris. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/55 "2016-01-18T20:06:34Z")
Maybe I’m wrong here, but aren’t character actors supposed to sort of inhabit their character and be unmemorable as themselves? Aren’t we really talking about lead actors and actresses or maybe high profile supporting actors/actresses? And I think the OP already picked the queen of the category in Julia Ormond. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/56 "2016-01-18T20:16:24Z")
> [@Salad\_Smell](#): > > The entire generation of late-nineties teen actors: Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Ethan Embry, Tara Reid, the entire casts of the “American Pie” movies, etc. It was a bumper crop of uniquely forgettable, uninteresting, no-talent bohacks that had a surprisingly long tail. Slight hijack. Compare the _American Pie_ cast to the cast of the similarly-themed, generation-earlier cast of _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_. Multiple future Oscar winners and nominees in the _FTARH_ cast. End hijack ---
**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 18, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/57 "2016-01-18T20:24:56Z")
> [@Salad\_Smell](#): > > The entire generation of late-nineties teen actors: Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Ethan Embry, Tara Reid, the entire casts of the “American Pie” movies, etc. It was a bumper crop of uniquely forgettable, uninteresting, no-talent bohacks that had a surprisingly long tail. I’d argue that Matthew Lillard is a memorable guy with genuine talent. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/58 "2016-01-18T20:26:55Z")
You get those actors who, without you being aware, suddenly seem to be in every movie you see. Lately they are Domhnall Gleeson and Jesse Plemons, and I like them both. However back in the 90s every second movie seemed to feature [Rene Russo](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000623/?ref_=nv_sr_1). I don’t think I could watch a movie with her in it without regretting the fact that they didn’t get someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/59 "2016-01-18T20:34:55Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Slight hijack. > > Compare the _American Pie_ cast to the cast of the similarly-themed, generation-earlier cast of _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_. Multiple future Oscar winners and nominees in the _FTARH_ cast. > > End hijack A more accurate comparison would be the cast of _American Pie_ to the cast of _Porky’s_. FTARH wasn’t really all that similar to AP. AP was an example of the comedic over-the-top raunchy horny teen genre. FTARH, which isn’t a particular favorite of mine, aspired to something a little more sophisticated. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445/60 "2016-01-18T20:52:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Jennifer Tilly > > Melanie Griffith > > While they both had one or two roles where they didn’t completely suck, they practically define mediocre-but-successful. I’d have to take issue with you on Melanie Griffith. Her Academy Award for best actress disqualifies her as mediocre and forgettable IMHO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgettable-mediocre-actors-and-actresses-who-were-nevertheless-successful/743445.md?page=4)