# "One Hit" Actors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569 "2021-09-12T23:02:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/242 "2021-10-25T04:22:48Z")
One of the underrated scary movies from the last few decades. It’s up there with [Frailty](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264616/), in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/243 "2021-10-27T01:23:38Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Tippi Hedren. She refused Hitchcock’s advances and he threatened to ruin her career. He did. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/244 "2022-01-10T17:56:09Z")
I would agree that there is a vas deferens between _Caligula_ and _A Clockwork Orange_. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/245 "2022-01-16T03:25:20Z")
How about a “two hit” actor - Jon Finch, in _MacBeth_ and _Frenzy_? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/246 "2022-01-16T03:53:32Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, Robin Wright was in Forrest Gump as well; I’d call that a big hit. It was a bigger hit than “The Princess Bride” to say the very least. As much as people love Princess Bride, it was not a big box office hit, and became popular through video and cable. I can’t be the first person to mention Marlee Matlin, surely? Matlin, of course, won an Oscar for her first role but has never had anything like it since. Harold Russell did the same, and for similar reasons. Actually a lot of actors have won Oscars for their first film roles. Some went on to be huge stars; you all might have heard of Julie Andrews or Barbra Striesand. Not so much Haing S. Ngor, and Tatum O’Neal was never in much else of note. Speaking of Ngor, the first Asian actor to win an Oscar was actually Miyoski Umeki, who qualifies. When I Googled this to remind me of the spelling of her name there was a link to the video of her winning the Oscar, and man, they were not screwing around. Anthony Quinn is the presenter. He rattles off the names of the actresses and the movies they were in like he’s auctioning the trophy off, and barely takes a breath before tearing open the envelope and simply saying “The winner is Miyoshi Umeki.” The crowd roars its approval, but Umeki isn’t taking any of that in or doing what they do now where the winner pretends to be surprised and then hugs and kisses everyone sitting near her who was involved in the movie. She leaps to her feet and absolutely hauls ass, literally running down the aisle as the band strikes up music from the movie, which was “Sayonara,” a title she is apparently taking literally because she’s moving like she has a cab outside with the meter running. She pauses only once, to give Quinn a polite bow, takes the Oscar, and is then delayed another ten seconds while the thunderous applause dies down; I guess she was the sentimental favourite. She speaks for twenty seconds and is off the stage. If they did it this way now you could wrap the whole thing up in an hour and a half and still have time for a few musical numbers and the Slideshow Of Death. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/247 "2022-01-17T01:08:58Z")
After some great acting in the Sopranos, **Aida Turturro** worked but nothing really big. Saw her recently in the most recent season of **What We Do In The Shadows**. That was the first I’d seen her since Sopranos. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/248 "2022-01-17T16:37:56Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > Jennifer Beals. . . .Flashdance, big hit, then nothing, at all that I can recall. I just saw her in Vampire’s Kiss with Nick Cage and I think that predates Flashdance. Currently appearing in _The Book of Boba Fett_ as the casino owner. Not a lot of screentime yet, but who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/249 "2022-01-18T01:42:22Z")
Tony Musante. My brain says “Toma” and a small part in the Pope of Greenwich Village" Apparently he was also in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/250 "2022-01-18T01:44:33Z")
Aaron Loves Angela ---
**Author:** ![bryanmaguire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bryanmaguire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmaguire)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/251 "2022-01-18T11:58:59Z")
He was 47 when he made Crocodile Dundee. He is also 16 years older than Bruce Willis. whatever action movie career he had was always going to be short-lived. He was more a comedian or comic actor than he was an action movie start. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/252 "2022-01-18T12:48:17Z")
> [@bryanmaguire](#): > > He is also 16 years older than Bruce Willis. whatever action movie career he had was always going to be short-lived. He was more a comedian or comic actor than he was an action movie start. I remember when Bruce Willis was a comic actor. When _Died Hard_ was announced, the general reaction reaction was “Him? The guy from _Moonlighting_? Nah.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/253 "2022-01-18T22:26:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > “Him? The guy from _Moonlighting_ ? Nah.” I was one of those people. His comedic timing was perfect, and he certainly didn’t project “Action Hero… or Action Anything”. And I was just as aghast when they cast Mr. Mom as Batman… ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/254 "2022-01-19T00:05:12Z")
Roberto Begigni. Came out of nowhere in '97 to win an Oscar for Life is Beautiful. Made the ill-advised Pinocchio in 2002…and his film list is pretty sparse after that. …except…get this…he starred Pinocchio AGAIN in 2019. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/255 "2022-01-19T00:07:03Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > “Him? The guy from _Moonlighting_ ? Nah.” > > I was one of those people. His comedic timing was perfect, and he certainly didn’t project “Action Hero… or Action Anything”. > > And I was just as aghast when they cast Mr. Mom as Batman… And now, when younger people are told Bruce Willis got his start in rom-com TV detective show, their first reaction is, “Bruce Willis in a _comedy_? He’s less funny than a concrete block.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/256 "2022-01-19T16:09:23Z")
Not what the OP was looking for, I’m sure, and I’ve mentioned it many times on this Board, but it’s a Fun Fact Duncan “Dean” Parkin only appeared in two movies, ever – **War of the Colossal Beast** and **The Cyclops**. His entire acting career consisted of playing bald, one-eyed, mentally clouded giants in Bert I. Gordon movies. (Glenn Langan, who originated the role of Col. Manning that Parkin took over for War of the Colossal Beast, had no interest in repeating the role with heavy makeup. I can’t blame him. ) ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/257 "2022-02-01T14:36:37Z")
Vincent Gallo in his own movie, “Buffalo '66” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/258 "2022-02-01T16:38:33Z")
> [@tingbudong](#): > > Roberto Begigni. > > Came out of nowhere in '97 to win an Oscar for Life is Beautiful. He didn’t quite come out of nowhere (I think I had seen him in Night on Earth, Son of the Pink Panther and Johnny Stecchino before Life is Beautiful came out, and Down by Law and The Monster were also moderately successful). But he certainly hasn’t been doing much since. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/259 "2022-02-04T17:51:29Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I was one of those people. His comedic timing was perfect, and he certainly didn’t project “Action Hero… or Action Anything”. That was especially true in the 1980s, of course, because action movies were different then. It was the age of Invincible Killing Machine Heroes; Arnold was the king, and his court included Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Willis worked as John McClane because John McClane was a different sort of action hero. He was much more like Ellen Ripley. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/260 "2022-02-07T12:58:47Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > > > “Him? The guy from _Moonlighting_ ? Nah.” > > > > I was one of those people. His comedic timing was perfect, and he certainly didn’t project “Action Hero… or Action Anything”. > > > > And I was just as aghast when they cast Mr. Mom as Batman… > > And now, when younger people are told Bruce Willis got his start in rom-com TV detective show, their first reaction is, “Bruce Willis in a _comedy_? He’s less funny than a concrete block.” Being old, I watched “Moonlighting” in its original run. I loved the broken fourth wall elements. I laughed plenty- which as I look back now is as much a commentary on how that kind of sexist droll detached irony crap played in the sexist cocaine-drenched 1980’s as it is on my lack of maturity. They have zero “chemistry”- something loudly confirmed by all concerned while the show was shooting as well as in subsequent decades. The plot-lines were garbage and by the second season most folks were tiring of the "how edgy and funny and clever it is that they talk at the same time !! " routine. Willis is no comic actor. His smirk made him millions. He fits much better into the action-hero mold, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569/261 "2022-02-07T12:59:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > I was one of those people. His comedic timing was perfect, and he certainly didn’t project “Action Hero… or Action Anything”. > > Willis worked as John McClane because John McClane was a different sort of action hero. He was much more like Ellen Ripley. That is a remarkably astute connection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hit-actors/950569.md?page=14)