# Good Performances from People You Don't Normally Like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716 "2017-11-26T01:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/21 "2017-11-26T15:39:25Z")
I generally find Seth Rogen insufferable, but I liked him in This is the End, and his voice work (In Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs Aliens) is good. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/22 "2017-11-26T15:41:50Z")
I can’t stand Demi Moore, but I liked _GI Jane_. I’ve been in the military, and while I’ve never been a Navy Seal, I can see it being like that, just based on what I experienced in Basic, and OTC. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/23 "2017-11-26T16:04:05Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nicolas Cage. Terrible actor, period. However, he hit it in City of Angels. I’d echo this, except with _Leaving Las Vegas_ subbed in. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/24 "2017-11-26T17:15:55Z")
I can’t stand Reese Witherspoon, but she was terrific in _Election_ and _Freeway_. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/25 "2017-11-26T19:00:00Z")
I can’t stand Robert Downey Jr., so it was nice to see him get shot in _Natural Born Killers._ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/26 "2017-11-26T19:46:24Z")
> [@Lickety\_Split](#): > > I still think Keanu Reeves is the worst actor in Hollywood, but he did OK in the movie “_The Replacements_” as the QB. > > Leo DiCaprio really won me over and proved his acting skills when he played Howard Hughes in\* The Aviator.\* Keanu was born to play Theodore “Ted” Logan, period. End of sentence. My respect for Leo took a quantum leap when I saw him in _ **What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?** _ It took some time before it sunk in just who I was watching on screen. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/27 "2017-11-27T03:20:33Z")
Matt Lillard. The guy was seriously phenomenal playing Shaggy in the live action Scooby Doo movies. If you think I’m kidding go check it out. Easily the most accurate live action representation of a cartoon character. Period. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/28 "2017-11-27T03:45:09Z")
I never cared for John Wayne. I liked a handful of the movies he was in, not because of his appearance in them but despite it. For the longest time I couldn’t believe he ever won an Oscar. Then I finally saw his Oscar-winning performance in the original _True Grit_. It was like he was born to play the part of Rooster Cogburn. ---
**Author:** ![Lickety\_Split\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lickety\_Split\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety_Split_1)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/29 "2017-11-27T04:09:40Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Nicolas Cage. Terrible actor, period. However, he hit it in City of Angels. I beg to differ about Cage. Are you forgetting he won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in "_Leaving Las Vegas?"_ And he was hilarious in "_Raising Arizona."_ And…in _Moonstruck._ Just my two cents. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/30 "2017-11-27T11:33:07Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I can’t stand Robert Downey Jr., so it was nice to see him get shot in _Natural Born Killers._ A number of people on this board hate Steve Guttenberg. For them, I recommend _The Boys from Brazil_, in which he appears for a few minutes, then dies violently. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/31 "2017-11-27T12:05:43Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > A critic I read once said something like, “Someone deserved a Best Actor Oscar for Rain Man - but it wasn’t Dustin Hoffman.” Cruise was also excellent in “Collateral.” He’s good in everything, really. His personal life is much made fun of but he is a fine actor. Most of his movies are fluffy, but when asked to carry some weight, he delivers. > [@bibliophage](#): > > I never cared for John Wayne. I liked a handful of the movies he was in, not because of his appearance in them but despite it. For the longest time I couldn’t believe he ever won an Oscar. Then I finally saw his Oscar-winning performance in the original True Grit. It was like he was born to play the part of Rooster Cogburn. I always liked his Oscar speech; “If I’d have known that I would have put that patch on 35 years earlier!” It’s a short, warm, and humble speech, rather unlike his screen persona. Wayne might actually have been even better in “The Shootist,” which IIRC was his last film. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2017, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/32 "2017-11-27T12:37:40Z")
Generally not a huge fan of Sacha Baron Cohen in his own movies, but he was great in _Hugo_ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/33 "2017-11-27T12:42:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Cruise was also excellent in “Collateral.” > > He’s good in everything, really. His personal life is much made fun of but he is a fine actor. Most of his movies are fluffy, but when asked to carry some weight, he delivers. > I always liked his Oscar speech; “If I’d have known that I would have put that patch on 35 years earlier!” It’s a short, warm, and humble speech, rather unlike his screen persona. > > Wayne might actually have been even better in “The Shootist,” which IIRC was his last film. Also toward the end of his career, he was very good in _ **The Cowboys** _ (1972). Of it, he once said (from my memory) “It’s the only movie I’ve ever _re_acted in, instead of acting.” It’s been 40 years since I last saw _ **The High and the Mighty** _ (1954), the grandpappy of all _ **Airplane** _-type movies (it even had Robert Stack in it), but I seem to recall he was very good as the pilot in that, too. One fairly obscure movie in which I thought he also gave a good performance was Howard Hughes’ _ **Jet Pilot** _ (1957), in which his co-star was Janet Leigh as a Russian officer who defected to the US in a plane that looked remarkably like a T-33. Maybe not an Oscar winner, but definitely a fun flick to watch in bed with your SO late on a Saturday night. :o ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/34 "2017-11-27T12:52:43Z")
Cameron Diaz is mostly a shit actor, annoying as hell, but I thought she hit the right note in _A Life Less Ordinary_. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/35 "2017-11-27T13:09:11Z")
Keira “The Jaw” Knightley is almost unbearable to me (though she is quite beautiful when her mouth isn’t moving)but she was terrific in _Atonement_. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/36 "2017-11-27T14:09:52Z")
I hate Will Ferrell, but really enjoyed Stranger Than Fiction. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/37 "2017-11-27T14:20:44Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > I hate Will Ferrell, but really enjoyed Stranger Than Fiction. I liked _Will Ferrell_ in **Elf** , but generally can’t stand him but he was perfect in **Stranger Than Fiction**. _Nicolas Cage_ can be quite good in some rare occasions or among the worst which sadly is more likely. I liked him in **Moonstruck** , though not great acting, just competant for the role. Same for the **National Treasure** movies and **Con Air**. I though he was excellent in **Guarding Tess**. Then there are about 20 films starting with \*\*Vampire’s Kiss \*\*where he was terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/38 "2017-11-27T14:22:13Z")
How did Neil Diamond record “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show”? It sounds like him, and I love it, but it is not his usual style. And while the songs in Starlight Express are fair to middling at best, as critic Michael Walsh wrote “One Rock and Roll Too Many” sounds like it wandered in from another show." ---
**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:** [November 27, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/39 "2017-11-27T14:59:04Z")
How about Crystal Gayle on the “One From The Heart” soundtrack? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716/40 "2017-11-27T19:45:17Z")
Mark Wahlberg in _Boogie Nights_, and Bruce Willis in _Pulp Fiction_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-performances-from-people-you-dont-normally-like/802716.md?page=3)