# Have you ever seen an actor who never made a good film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** netflix, movies, actor-characters\ **Created:** [March 22, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203 "2024-03-22T13:35:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/121 "2024-03-23T23:39:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > Yahoo Serious He’s made a grand total of three films (and I found _Young Einstein_ to be exceptionally silly, but fun anyway). So, I suppose he technically qualifies, but he has a very small body of work, compared to most of the others being discussed. FWIW, in all three of the films in which he starred, he was also the writer, director, and producer. So, if they were bad, he certainly only had himself to blame. 😉 ---
**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 23, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/122 "2024-03-23T23:57:58Z")
Also, Roxanne, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, Pennies From Heaven, The Three Amigos, The Man With Two Brains, Bowfinger, Grand Canyon, All Of Me and Little Shop Of Horrors. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/123 "2024-03-24T00:04:46Z")
And Leap of Faith. Which also had Liam Neeson in it. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/124 "2024-03-24T00:30:48Z")
Don’t forget _The Jerk_. Thoroughly enjoyable. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/125 "2024-03-24T00:38:07Z")
I quite liked _The Spanish Prisoner_ (which I see has a pretty danged high score on Rotten Tomatoes). ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/126 "2024-03-24T01:47:30Z")
> [@SlipperyPete](#): > > Jennifer Lopez She was quite good in _Out of Sight,_ and it was a very good movie. Elmore Leonard, just sayin’. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/127 "2024-03-24T04:01:38Z")
Seriously! Yahoo! Somebody beat me to it! In Defense of Elvis, yes, the movies sucked, but they were King Shit back in the Day. Doesn’t qualify. Otherwise, I’d nominate Charles Chaplin. Utter shite! (But see above, about Elvis) ---
**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 24, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/128 "2024-03-24T12:45:49Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > And when you want both, you watch _Demolition Man_, one of the cinematic masterpieces of the 20th Century. Or you could end up watching _Judge Dredd_, which is utter shit. ---
**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 24, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/129 "2024-03-24T12:53:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Even Jim Belushi has a few exceptions, Tom Arnold has only the one I’m aware of. He was fine in _Nine Months_, which was a perfectly fine rom-com regardless of what the critics or Hugh Grant think. ---
**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 24, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/130 "2024-03-24T13:03:35Z")
> SlipperyPete > BrickBat > Mar 23 > Tommy Lee Jones? From The Fugitive and No Country for Old Men? That Tommy Lee Jones?? Not to mention _Coal Miner’s Daughter._ ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/131 "2024-03-24T13:09:58Z")
I actually think Tommy Lee Jones is an excellent actor and has been in a lot of good films. _[Cobb](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cobb)_ was one of the first that came to my mind, but it is only a 65%/58%. He was outstanding in _Captain America: The First Avenger_ with a 805/75% rating. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/132 "2024-03-24T15:56:08Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Otherwise, I’d nominate Charles Chaplin. Utter shite! (But see above, about Elvis) Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chaplin of _The Gold Rush_, _Modern Times_, _City Lights_, and _The Great Dictator_? Recipient of not one, but two honorary Academy Awards for " versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing, and producing _The Circus_" and “the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century”. OK- this thread has officially transitioned into what in the NBA is called “garbage time”. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/133 "2024-03-24T19:14:45Z")
John Cazale _ducks and runs_ ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/134 "2024-03-24T19:26:40Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > John Cazale With the Deer Hunter as his lowest rated movie, I suspect he has the highest average of all actors with more than 1 movie. > **[John Cazale](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/john_cazale)** > > Explore the filmography of John Cazale on Rotten Tomatoes! Discover ratings, reviews, and more. Click for details! ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/135 "2024-03-24T20:29:50Z")
Unbelievable. We’re what - 131 posts in? Udo Kier? (ok _maybe_ I’ll grant “The End of Violence” and the Danish “The Kingdom”. Other than that, though) ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/136 "2024-03-24T20:34:29Z")
I know he was around forever and not a good actor, but wasn’t he in _Suspiria_original? My guess is he has a dozen or more good movies where he was probably a weak part of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/137 "2024-03-24T21:47:01Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > C. Thomas Howell. Soul Man had some redeeming qualities. That’s it. _The Hitcher_. Granted, Rutger Hauer did most of the heavy lifting, but Howell was good as the young driver tormented by Hauer’s psychopathic killer. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Gwyneth Paltrow. Mom is Blythe Danner, dad is producer/director Bruce Danner. Cousin to senators Gabby Giffords and Mike Kelly. Her godfather is Steven Spielberg for Christ sake!. There is more. > > No talent ass clown who’s most convincing roll was when her head was cut off and pulled out of a box in the movie, Se7en. Disagree. She was very good in _Shakespeare In Love_ and _Sliding Doors._ Furthermore, she’s one of the few American actors whose English accent is good enough to fool Brits. I mean yeah, all her Goop stuff is ridiculous woo, but she’s a competent-to-good actor. ETA: Ninja’d by @DrDeth. I’d forgotten she won an Oscar for _Shakespeare In Love._ My nominee: Katharine Heigl. She’s made some “okay” movies, like _Knocked Up_, but has she ever made a really _good_ one? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/138 "2024-03-24T22:27:10Z")
I’m blown away I’d ever hear a [reference](https://botch.bandcamp.com/track/c-thomas-howell-as-the-soul-man-3) to that again. Has Stacey Keach been mentioned yet? ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/139 "2024-03-24T22:59:22Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Udo Kier? He was very good starring in _Swan Song_ (2021) Critics said: “Udo Kier’s layered performance lends _Swan Song_ a nuance and poignancy that offset its potentially outlandish story.” ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/140 "2024-03-24T23:18:37Z")
But accordiong to the OP, it’s films, and I myself FWIW am not the hugest fan of sentimentally warm clone films. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203.md?page=8)