# Nathan Lane isn't an actor; he's a ham. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695 "2010-04-11T03:36:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/1 "2010-04-11T03:36:29Z")
And some people don’t mind that. Me? I can’t stand hams, and I can’t stand Nathan Lane. I just saw _The Addams Family_ musical on Broadway. There are so many things wrong with the show it’s unfair to blame the bomb on him, but he certainly wasn’t helping. I just can’t stand when people mug and prance around in that “BIG SHOWY WAY!” Ugh. It’s pure D amateur. And he had this Spanish “accent” that he decided to go in and out of. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded him as much as usual except for that dreadful attempt of a crappy accent. He was on _Late Night_ about a week ago. I purposely watched just to see if maybe he dials it down below 11 in real life. He was WORSE than his usual over done, amateurish, ham fest. My next post is about he Bebe Neuwirth (as Morticia) can’t act and that her monotone in _Cheers_ was, apparently, real and not “acting.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/2 "2010-04-11T03:41:37Z")
Based on the [really bad review](http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/theater/reviews/09addams.html) the show got in the New York Times, I wouldn’t put the blame entirely at Nathan Lane’s feet. It seems that there’s plenty of blame to go round. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/3 "2010-04-11T04:27:15Z")
Most of the roles Nathan Lane is best known for REQUIRED a hammy performance. Gomez Addams and Max Bialystock are not parts that can or should be played with subtlety and restraint. Is Lane a good enough actor to play a part effectively with subtlety and restraint? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/4 "2010-04-11T04:44:54Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Most of the roles Nathan Lane is best known for REQUIRED a hammy performance. Gomez Addams and Max Bialystock are not parts that can or should be played with subtlety and restraint. This. Who the hell would go to something like \*The Addams Family Musical \*and expect to be treated to an evening of delicately nuanced theatre? Lane is more of an entertainer than a serious actor, and his personality is pure schmaltz . . . exactly what is called for in such roles. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/5 "2010-04-11T04:50:02Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Most of the roles Nathan Lane is best known for REQUIRED a hammy performance. Gomez Addams and Max Bialystock are not parts that can or should be played with subtlety and restraint. > > Is Lane a good enough actor to play a part effectively with subtlety and restraint? I dunno. Besides being overly hammy, he also comes across as entirely gay. Watching him in the Producers, I just couldn’t buy that he’d be going after the girl. (Of course, Matthew Broderick hardly sold his part either.) ---
**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:** [April 11, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/6 "2010-04-11T05:00:31Z")
The only non-ham-required role I have seen Lane in was the vision therapist in the Val Kilmer movie\* At First Sight\*. He was one of the better things about the movie, though the part is not huge. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/7 "2010-04-11T05:12:11Z")
Apparently [Lane might be starring](http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138639-Will-Nathan-Lane-Star-in-The-Iceman-Cometh-in-Chicago) in a production of **The Iceman Cometh** in Chicago! I just cannot picture him as Hickey **at all**. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/8 "2010-04-11T15:16:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Most of the roles Nathan Lane is best known for REQUIRED a hammy performance. Gomez Addams and Max Bialystock are not parts that can or should be played with subtlety and restraint. I think that comes down to personal preference. I don’t go to the theater that often…I see about six performances a year. I’ve seen parts played really well without the in-your-face-aren’t-I-funny style. But more often than not, it’s the ham fest. Maybe my rant ought to be taken up with directors. I just think “punching up” plays with grotesque physical movements, exaggerated facial expressions, and a lot of ZING! BAM! WOW! is amateurish. It’s also an insult to the audience’s intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/9 "2010-04-11T15:31:25Z")
John Astin knew how to play Gomez Addams just right; he didn’t need to go over the top. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/10 "2010-04-11T15:54:11Z")
Stage actors are supposed to be more theatrical that movie and TV actors. The audience is too far away to see nuance. All the movies I recall seeing Lane in are comedies where he would be expected to have some dramatic flair. He did a good job on an episode of Frasier wheere he played Frasier’s identity thief. That wasn’t over-the-top as I recall. I certainly agree though that he’s not worthy of the acting accolades he’s gotten. ---
**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:** [April 11, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/11 "2010-04-11T16:00:03Z")
I once saw the Michael O’Hare demonstrating the difference between stage and TV/Film acting. He pretended to watch someone cross the room. For TV/Film acting, he just moved his eyes; his face was stationary. For stage acting, he turned his whole head. Broad gestures are needed, and Gomez on stage (even with a good script) is going to be more broad that Gomez on TV. As for Astin, I saw him in _Leading Ladies_ on stage a few years ago. He went wayyyyy over the top. I’m sure he’d have played Gomez the same way on stage. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/12 "2010-04-11T16:10:28Z")
The [Large Ham](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LargeHam) is an ancient theatrical tradition… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/13 "2010-04-11T16:17:09Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > John Astin knew how to play Gomez Addams just right; he didn’t need to go over the top. I’m fonder of Raul Julia’s take, myself. He was good at playing up the horror of dealing with normality, i.e. fainting at the sight of a curly-haired happy baby. Nathan Lane was in the second movie, coincidentally, as a desk sergeant. He went with sarcasm and eventually losing his patience with Gomez. Not hammy at all. [Musical cast on Letterman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ini6m__QkaU). Within a few seconds of hearing Lane’s crappy accent, I felt the OP’s pain. Over-acting Addamses completely miss the point. I thought the premise is that they were were fairly relaxed and confident in the social circle and the joke was that they would calmly do something outsiders would be horrified at. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/14 "2010-04-11T17:59:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I thought the premise is that they were were fairly relaxed and confident in the social circle and the joke was that they would calmly do something outsiders would be horrified at. I’ll put the basic plot summary in a spoiler box. Wednesday wants to marry a “normal” boy so she requires the rest of the family to act “normally.” It sapped ALL the fun out of them being The Addams Family. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/15 "2010-04-11T18:39:16Z")
Oh, I was talking about the premise of the Addams Family in general, i.e. they do these creepy, kooky, altogether ooky things, but to them it’s perfectly normal, if not banal. This is somewhat undercut if they act in an overly theatrical way. Of course, Lane’s is a literally theatrical adaptation, being on stage and all. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/16 "2010-04-11T20:47:25Z")
I get the feeling he is trying to be Zero Mostel, who actually could be bigger than the play he was in. Zero was a scene stealer . Nathan can be an irritant. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/17 "2010-04-11T20:52:50Z")
LOVED him in The Birdcage, can’t stand him in interviews. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/18 "2010-04-11T20:53:34Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Besides being overly hammy, he also comes across as entirely gay. That pretty much sums up the current archetype/stereotype of the popular Broadway actor. Broadway is not entertainment for the general public anymore: it’s ritual for a subculture. The groups in the subculture, the ritual of the theater, and its tendency to be self-referential, define Broadway today. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/19 "2010-04-11T21:01:41Z")
continuing from above (damn this time limit): Some important - dare I say privileged? - subcultures in today’s theater audience are gays, who have been a constant presence in the theater for so long that it’s hard to say which has done more for the other; New Yorkers, as guardians of culture and celebrators of difference; and Jews, who play important roles as creators, consumers, and culture-keepers (Lane and Broderick are both half Jewish, FWTW). ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695/20 "2010-04-11T21:03:33Z")
I like hamminess; I wish actors would do it more often. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nathan-lane-isnt-an-actor-hes-a-ham/535695.md?page=2)