# "Officially" Unattractive Actors/Models **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525 "2009-09-25T15:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/81 "2009-09-26T13:53:13Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You have to give Linda Hunt a hell of a lot of credit - not only is she not conventionally attractive, but she’s also a dwarf. Instead of always doing the weird typecast wise old dwarf roles she could have done, she went out and won an Oscar playing a _man_ in _The Year of Living Dangerously_. Not a transgendered person, an actual man. Now, me, I’d be offended. “I’d like to thank the Academy for deciding I am so convincingly ugly I don’t even look like a woman. You love me! You really love me!” She also does fantastic voice work and has won a bunch of theater awards. I always figured her nomination for Year of Living Dangerously was wrong. She was nominated for Best Actress. She should have been nominated for Best Actor. After all, there wasn’t a single moment in that movie when you were not convinced her character was male. In fact there wasn’t a moment when you were not convinced the character’s _actor_ was male. Brilliant work. I’ve also loved her later work, from Silverado to being the only thing worth watching on NCIS Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/82 "2009-09-26T14:32:11Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You have to give Linda Hunt a hell of a lot of credit - not only is she not conventionally attractive, but she’s also a dwarf. Instead of always doing the weird typecast wise old dwarf roles she could have done, she went out and won an Oscar playing a _man_ in _The Year of Living Dangerously_. A similar example from Poland, where the actress Krystyna Feldman won awards and was most appreciated for her role as the painter Nikifor Krynicki. The actress in costume. [http://img.interia.pl/rozrywka/nimg/Krystyna\_Feldman\_jako\_898152.jpg](http://img.interia.pl/rozrywka/nimg/Krystyna_Feldman_jako_898152.jpg) The painter. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Nikifor\_Krynicki\_01.jpg/240px-Nikifor\_Krynicki\_01.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Nikifor_Krynicki_01.jpg/240px-Nikifor_Krynicki_01.jpg) The actress sans costume. [http://i.wp.pl/a/f/film/033/63/95/0079563.jpg](http://i.wp.pl/a/f/film/033/63/95/0079563.jpg) Of course age helped, as wrinkles can really equalize people, but it was still a very impressive performance. She was also the go-to actress for roles of maids, cleaners, colourful background characters, ‘eccentric’ old ladies and similar. Here is a picture of the young actress, fourth one down to the right. [Rok 1960 - www.dubbing.fora.pl](http://www.dubbing.fora.pl/1960-69,19/rok-1960,75.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/83 "2009-09-26T16:34:17Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > As for Hollywood not exploiting the hotness of short, brunette, small-breasted pale chicks, I give you: > > [Rachel McAdams](http://vegasartscorner.com/images/RACHEL-McAdams.JPG) (5’5") > [Evangeline Lilly](http://www.mundodelocio.com/cine/imagenes/fotos-actrices/evangeline-lilly/evangeline-lilly11.jpg) (5’5") > [Eliza Dushku](http://thesmooterreport.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/3eliza-dushku.jpg) (5’5") > [Lizzy Caplan](http://www.blackbookmag.com/ee/images/uploads/pf_main_caplan.jpg) (5’5") > [Anna Paquin](http://cdn.mademan.com/chickipedia/images/1/11/Anna-paquin-picture-2_408.jpg) (5’5") > [Natalie Portman](http://www.natalie-portman.com.ar/pictures/natalie-portman.jpg) (5’3") > [Gabrielle Anwar](http://woodenspears.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/gabrielle_anwar.jpg) (5’3") > [Nora Zehetner](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1dbQ9dBM-xU/RXm5kf_m9II/AAAAAAAAAAg/OrbNN-vyRzM/s320/Nora+Zehetner2.jpg) (5’3") > [Shiri Appleby](http://2k3hd.com/nucleus/media/1/20071207-Shiri%20Appleby.jpg) (5’3") > [Rachel Leigh Cook](http://images.art.com/images/products/regular/10045000/10045731.jpg) (5’2") > [Rachel Bilson](http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/rachel-bilson/rachel-bilson-20070308-222827.jpg) (5’2") > [Ellen Page](http://www.splendicity.com/shopaholicsdaily/files/2008/06/ellen-page-mtvawards_nc.jpg) (5’1") > [Christina Ricci](http://www.nndb.com/people/752/000025677/christina_ricci_bubbles.jpg) (5’1") _(after breast reduction)_ > [Shannon Woodward](http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Shannon-Woodward-f01.jpg) (5’?") I’m not sure this list really proves your point. I’ve never heard of a lot of these women, and several of the ones I have heard of are B-list at best. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/84 "2009-09-26T17:01:23Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > [Counterpoint](http://www.indiewire.com/images/uploads/iw9/ots/StrangersWithCandy.jpg). [Counter counterpoint](http://www.amysedarisrocks.com/images/ilikeyou/whippedcreamonknees.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/85 "2009-09-26T18:12:28Z")
Oh, come on. No one’s mentioned that creepy bald dude that doesn’t even look human in _Men in Black_? Carel Struycken…[Carel Struycken - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0835393/) ---
**Author:** ![Hakuna\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hakuna\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakuna_Matata)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/86 "2009-09-26T18:38:21Z")
Along the same lines as the last poster–I can’t believe no one has mentioned Richard Kiel. I will always remember him from the James Bond Film. > **[Richard Kiel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kiel)** > > Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing 7 ft 2 in (218 cm) tall, he was known for portraying Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). Kiel's next-most-recognized role is the tough but eloquent Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore (1996). Other notable films include The Longest Yard (1974), Silver Streak (1976), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Cannonball Run II (1984), Pale Rider (1985), and Tangled (2010). > Kiel was born in Detroit. ... and [![](https://www.starbase21ok.com/rkcolor.jpg) ](https://www.starbase21ok.com/rkcolor.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/87 "2009-09-26T19:01:16Z")
How about Michael Berryman, otherwise known as _[that guy](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UGplL0SB3Gc/SqDDZM1zJsI/AAAAAAAAANc/F6t3LUpge44/s1600-h/michael_berryman.jpg)_. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/88 "2009-09-26T19:42:27Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > [moderator] I’m going to move this over to Cafe Society [/moderator] and [poster] mention [Allyce Beasley](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0064015/) and her late (ex?) husband, [Vincent Schiavelli](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001704/).[/poster] Allyce was cute-plain, like someone in the next cube with kitty pictures all over her monitor, or the gal you get set up on a blind date with and have some laughs and maybe a peck or two. Vince was vaguely nightmarish, like the guy who temps in the shipping department and can’t stop eating the rubber cement, or perhaps Steven Wright’s older brother, the one who was “not funny” crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/89 "2009-09-26T19:54:27Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’m not sure this list really proves your point. I’ve never heard of a lot of these women, and several of the ones I have heard of are B-list at best. Which is besides the point. They’re attractive and considered so, that’s the point. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/90 "2009-09-26T22:16:29Z")
Not ugly, but Sissy Spacek is frequently cast for plain.as a character of plain or homely looks. Peter Lorre unconventional look quickly got him typecast as a murderer, fiend, or psychopath. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/91 "2009-09-27T00:37:53Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Which is besides the point. They’re attractive and considered so, that’s the point. The point I was responding to was a claim that Hollywood “exploits the hotness” of short brunettes with small breasts. If many of the actresses on the list are obscure (Shannon Woodward isn’t exactly a household name) then that indicates that Hollywood has not been making much use of them. Natalie Portman is a pretty big star and I’ve definitely heard her described as “hot” by a number of men, but Shannon Woodward, Nora Zehetner, and Shiri Appleby? Come on. Regardless of how attractive these women might be, they can’t be widely considered as such unless people actually know who they are. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/92 "2009-09-27T02:17:11Z")
I recently started getting in to the British sketch show _French & Saunders_, and on one episode they had Julie T. Wallace as a guest (un-hyperlinked link because there is an outline of a female figure on the page: [http://www.mademan.com/chickipedia/julie-t.-wallace/](http://www.mademan.com/chickipedia/julie-t.-wallace/)) I guess she’s considered “the big ugly broad” in British film (which was part of the “plot” of the _F&S_ episode). **Argent Towers** ’ picture of [young Christopher Walken](http://www.tigriffith.com/textbilder/the_rose_tattoo_01.jpg) looks suspiciously like [that kid from _The Riches_](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0279720/) (Noel Fisher). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/93 "2009-09-27T03:06:54Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Allyce was cute-plain, like someone in the next cube with kitty pictures all over her monitor, or the gal you get set up on a blind date with and have some laughs and maybe a peck or two. She looks like she’s fun. There’s a lot to be said for fun. Vince looked more like entertaining. Fun I’ll sleep with. Entertaining I’ll get drunk. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/94 "2009-09-27T04:04:56Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > The point I was responding to was a claim that Hollywood “exploits the hotness” of short brunettes with small breasts. They were cast in “cute chick” roles. It doesn’t matter how high profile they were. Nora Zehetner played the seductress in _Brick_, which was lauded by dopers. (The movie, not the actress.) She also played Eden in the first (two?) season(s) of _Heroes_, which was quite popular among dopers back then. Shannon Woodward played the hot daughter on _The Riches_. Not huge among dopers, but there were praises for her beauty in the episode threads. Shiri Appleby played the lead role on the series _Roswell_ on the WB, costarring a young Katherine Heigl. She was more recently cast as “Jailbait - Charlie’s Angels” in _Charlie Wilson’s War_. As I recall, that means she was cast as one of the gaggle of hot chicks who worked in his office. But really, it feels like you’re arguing simply for the sake of arguing. I know that’s a big doper pasttime, but I really don’t see the point to it. So I concede this point. Yes, Hollywood can’t possibly view a short, pale, small-chested brunette as attractive. Can’t happen, won’t happen; just not possible. Stupid Hollywood force-feeding their own idea of beauty to the unwashed masses. Every woman Hollywood presents as a “hot chick” looks exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/95 "2009-09-27T19:48:46Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I’d hesitate calling her ugly, but [Tilda Swinton’s](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3298989568/nm0842770) looks are unconventional, at best. Come on, she sure is not the stereotype hollywood bimbo, but she’s an attractive woman. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/96 "2009-09-27T19:55:55Z")
NVM. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/97 "2009-09-27T20:05:40Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > **Argent Towers** ’ picture of [young Christopher Walken](http://www.tigriffith.com/textbilder/the_rose_tattoo_01.jpg) looks suspiciously like [that kid from _The Riches_](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0279720/) (Noel Fisher). I don’t see the resemblance _at all._ The young Walken’s facial symmetry - the so-called golden ratio - is nearly flawless. The other guy’s features are totally asymmetrical (and not very handsome, IMO.) He has a fatter lip, a weaker chin and a higher forehead. [Another shot](http://chriswalken.com/graphics/ms04.jpg) of the young Walken and a [profile](http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b204/pivotandsway/CW/walken_young7.jpg) which displays the exceptional facial structure he had in his youth. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/98 "2009-09-27T20:57:57Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > [Another shot](http://chriswalken.com/graphics/ms04.jpg) of the young Walken and a [profile](http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b204/pivotandsway/CW/walken_young7.jpg) which displays the exceptional facial structure he had in his youth. Nice profile. Still damned scary looking, though, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/99 "2009-09-29T05:09:38Z")
The OP seemed not so much to be asking for a list of unattractive actors as how such people are cast, and how they feel about it: > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I’m talking about actors/models that are used in situations in which an unattractive person specifically is called for, and where the character’s unattractiveness will be highlighted in the scene or plot. > \*\* > I’m wondering how that works and how these people think about it.\*\* > > “OK, Jones, we have a scene in which we need someone really unattractive, who will really gross everyone out, and I thought right away that you’d be the perfect fit! The basic idea is that you will be held up as an example of a really really ugly person, and the audience will gaze at your body flaws in disgust. So waddya say? The price is good.” [_Emphasis mine._] ISTR asking my father a similar question about the actress he cast as Buttercup in a community theater production of _The Pirates of Penzance_, way back in the 1960s. (For those who may not be up on Gilbert and Sullivan, she’s supposed to be an older, overweight, and relatively unattractive woman.) Dad said of the actress, “She knows who she is and what she can do.” So although Hollywood is known for being home to vain and self-deluded people, presumably there are plenty of actors and actresses in the ordinary-to-ugly range who realize they won’t be cast as romantic leads but are willing to ply their trade anyway. They know who they are and what they can do. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525/100 "2009-09-29T11:57:51Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > They know who they are and what they can do. And probably get a whole lot more work than they would if they were actually attractive but not “movie star” attractive. There is ALWAYS work for character actors, even when a lot of would-be leading men and ladies who aren’t quite _there_ as far as charisma and “star quality” are drawing unemployment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officially-unattractive-actors-models/511525.md?page=6)