# Good performances by otherwise "bad" actors
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 9, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212 "2012-10-09T14:12:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/1 "2012-10-09T14:12:25Z")
Yes I know “bad” is subjective but
Madonna in **Evita**
Kevin Costner in **Thirteen Days**
Hayden Christensen in **Shattered Glass** \* and **Life as a House**
Justin Timberlake in **Social Network**
Stallone in… damn there must have been something!
\*In fact I am pretty sure that the only reason he did not get nominated for awards for this was due to Star Wars backlash
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### Author:  [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/2 "2012-10-09T14:26:46Z")
> [@AK84](#):
>
> Hayden Christensen in **Shattered Glass**
The very first thing that came to mind, although I actually thought he wasn’t good at all in **Life as a House**.
> [@](#):
>
> Kevin Costner in Thirteen Days
Eh, I think Costner has given more than his fair share of good performances. He doesn’t have a lot of range, but when he finds something within his wheelhouse, he can be very good. See **Bull Durham** , **Tin Cup** , **A Perfect World** , **Open Range** , and **The Upside of Anger**.
Maybe not a great performance, but Sam Worthington was decent in **Terminator: Salvation** , whereas he’s been abysmal in everything else I’ve ever seen him in ( **Avatar** , **Clash of the Titans** , **Last Night** , **Texas Killing Fields** , **Man on a Ledge** ).
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### Author:  [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/3 "2012-10-09T14:40:07Z")
> [@AK84](#):
>
> Stallone in… damn there must have been something!
**Rocky** , of course it was written by him for him.
**Oscar** , **Demolition Man** and as the voice of Weaver in **Antz**. He actually does comedy surprisingly well, at times.
Unless, you meant [Frank](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Stallone), in which case, I got nothin’. 😃
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/4 "2012-10-09T14:41:33Z")
Nicolas Cage in “Leaving Las Vegas.” Only performance of his I can stand.
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### Author:  [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/5 "2012-10-09T14:46:31Z")
Keanu Reeves in the first Matrix movie. I think Keanu has a lot of charisma, & I enjoy watching him, but I’m the first to admit he’s not a good actor.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/6 "2012-10-09T14:50:44Z")
Keanu Reeves-Parenthood, The Matrix. [Clip from Parenthood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WehtHFweILY) that proves he can act. Spoilered for slightly NSFW language.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/7 "2012-10-09T14:56:19Z")
I thought Adam Sandler could have earned an Oscar nod for his role in _Punch-Drunk Love_.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/8 "2012-10-09T15:01:59Z")
> [@AK84](#):
>
> Madonna in **Evita**
>
> Kevin Costner in **Thirteen Days**
>
> Hayden Christensen in **Shattered Glass** \* and **Life as a House**
>
> Justin Timberlake in **Social Network**
They weren’t good in those movies.
> [@](#):
>
> Stallone in… damn there must have been something!
Rocky and maybe CopLand.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/9 "2012-10-09T15:14:46Z")
Will Ferrell-_Stranger than Fiction_
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/10 "2012-10-09T15:15:01Z")
Andie MacDowell in _sex, lies and videotape_ - always comes to mind as the example of a part that seems to perfectly fit a very limited range.
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### Author:  [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/11 "2012-10-09T15:43:05Z")
Marky Mark in Boogie Nights.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/12 "2012-10-09T15:51:27Z")
Paris Hilton is a hoot in **Repo, the Genetic Opera**.
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/13 "2012-10-09T15:59:16Z")
I thought Keanu Reeves did pretty well in [Little Buddha](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107426/). He was playing Siddhartha, as parents tell the stories to their children, so his speech patterns did not seem out of place.
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### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/14 "2012-10-09T16:12:43Z")
> [@AK84](#):
>
> Stallone in… damn there must have been something!
I think it was called _Prisoner of Second Avenue_. Excellent performance due to the fact that he was on screen for all of two minutes and got the crap beat out of him by Jack Lemmon.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/15 "2012-10-09T16:19:56Z")
> [@mbh](#):
>
> I thought Keanu Reeves did pretty well in [Little Buddha](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107426/). He was playing Siddhartha, as parents tell the stories to their children, so his speech patterns did not seem out of place.
Reeves was quite good in **I Love You to Death, Tune in Tomorrow, Feeling Minnesota, My Own Private Idaho** and **Little Buddha**. His best roles were usually in obscure movies which fit his talents and which most people haven’t actually seen.
Dorothy Comingore is clearly a terrible actress, but it works very well in **Citizen Kane**.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/16 "2012-10-09T18:39:21Z")
Daryl Hannah in the _Kill Bill_ movies.
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### Author:  [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/17 "2012-10-09T19:02:30Z")
It seems that there haven’t been too many compliments about Bill Paxton on SDMBCS, but he was good in _One False Move (1992_). IMHO, he has some other good, maybe not great performances.
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### Author:  [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/18 "2012-10-09T19:21:35Z")
> [@AK84](#):
>
> Yes I know “bad” is subjective but
>
> Kevin Costner in **Thirteen Days**
Costner’s was possibly the worst accent ever caught on film.
I offer Tom Arnold in **True Lies.**
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### Author:  [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/19 "2012-10-09T19:30:19Z")
> [@kevja](#):
>
> It seems that there haven’t been too many compliments about Bill Paxton on SDMBCS, but he was good in _One False Move (1992_). IMHO, he has some other good, maybe not great performances.
People think Bill Paxton is a bad actor? I mean, he’s not Daniel Day-Lewis or anything, but he’s perfectly decent:
**One False Move
Apollo 13
A Simple Plan
Tombstone
Frailty**
And of course…
**Aliens**
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### Author:  [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-by-otherwise-bad-actors/637212/20 "2012-10-09T19:43:45Z")
[QUOTE=runner pat]
Keanu Reeves-Parenthood
[/QUOTE]
Beaten to it. He brings such depth to an otherwise very cookie-cutter character, I don’t think any other actor could have done that better. But then, I’ve never seen him as a bad actor, just as a wrongly typecast one. He really belongs in the quirky little character parts.
It’s such a wonderful movie, though I can’t stand Steve Martin otherwise. Really great acting from nearly everyone involved, and all the bit-players get to shine.
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