# One Performance that destroyed another **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266 "2006-07-27T15:01:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/1 "2006-07-27T15:01:54Z")
Specifically, Kevin Kline’s work in “Fish Called Wanda” has destroyed the film of “Sophie’s Choice” for me. We rewatched “Wanda” recently & enjoyed it again, esp. Mr. Kline (“Don’t call me stupid!”). Then last night attempted to watch “Sophie” with my daughter. Couldn’t get past Kline’s first goofy scene. Totally saw his Wanda character instead. Granted, his Sophie character is supposed to be nuts, but not in exactly that funny way. Anyway, I’ll give up trying to explain - if you’ve seen the movies, you know what I mean. But seriously, “Sophie’s Choice” is totally wrecked as a movie for me now. Has this sort of thing ever happened to anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/2 "2006-07-27T16:51:40Z")
I just can’t help hearing Smith say: “Hobbits…are a _disease_” the Matrix also ruined **The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert** for all future viewings. [Hugo Weaving - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915989/) if I’m being too obtuse ---
**Author:** ![muzzynyc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@muzzynyc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muzzynyc)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/3 "2006-07-27T16:54:51Z")
Tom Cruise’s recent performance as a human being has forever sullied one of my favorite movies – “Jerry Maguire” – for me. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/4 "2006-07-27T16:59:03Z")
Ditto on Elrond, UB. Continuing down the chain, I couldn’t help but hear Willy Wonka’s dad go “You could have stopped eating candy willingly, but instead you have chosen the way of … PAIN!” ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/5 "2006-07-27T17:01:41Z")
Well, since seeing Pirates of the Caribbean, I haven’t been able to listen to or watch the movie version of _Evita_ without the mental image of Governor Swann being seduced by Madonna. Damn you, Jonathan Pryce! The worst is when I only know an actor from one role in a TV show and then see them in a movie or something. I rented _Kate and Leopold_ soon after watching the first two seasons of The West Wing on DVD, and seeing Brad Whitford completely threw me out of it. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/6 "2006-07-27T17:17:37Z")
I can’t see Mandy Patinkin in anything without hearing “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/7 "2006-07-27T17:24:55Z")
On a personal note… A very talented actor friend of mine did two back-to-back shows last summer, one a goofy comedy and one a dark and disturbing musical. He was hilarious in the comedy. Really memorable facial expressions, great physical shtick and some deliveries that turned decent lines into catch-phrase quotables. Then he did the musical. Every night, he opened the musical with a solo number. And every night as he walked out, and people would start to giggle. The audience was peppered with season-ticket holders who had just seen him as a goof, and it was all they could think of as he began his performance of a dark and tortured character. In the wider world… When [Jeff Conaway](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001063/) joined the cast of Babylon 5, I couldn’t help but think “Hey, [Bobby](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077089/) got a regular gig!” thwartme ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/8 "2006-07-27T17:42:38Z")
Ever since seeing Leslie Nielsen in _Airplane!_ (which I can’t believe came out 25 years ago) I can’t take his previous work as a more straight-laced actor seriously. He played the ship captiain in the original _Poseiden Adventure_ which was on cable not too long ago and I kept expecting him to be funny, which he wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/9 "2006-07-27T17:44:06Z")
A friend of mine refused to see _Silence of the Lambs_ for fear it would ruin “C.S. Lewis” in _Shadowlands_ for her. (C.S. Lewis and Hannibal Lector both being played by Anthony Hopkins. Having seen both movies, I don’t blame her for not wanting to see _Silence of the Lambs_\*, but I thought her reasoning was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/10 "2006-07-27T17:47:02Z")
Well, I just had a hard time with the last episode of Season 2 of Deadwood - everybody in the show has been tiptoeing and conniving and everything around George Hearst’s agent all season, right? So the man himself arrives! Powerful, wealthy man. A force to be contended with. It was Major Dad. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/11 "2006-07-27T17:52:25Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > I just can’t help hearing Smith say: > > “Hobbits…are a _disease_” On a similar note, when Sam was doing something heroic I had a hard time keeping from chanting “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy”. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/12 "2006-07-27T17:56:16Z")
AKA the “CattleStar Galactica” phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/13 "2006-07-27T18:01:26Z")
Roger Lloyd-Pack plays Owen on **The Vicar of Dibley**. I had a difficult time seeing him as Barty Crouch in the new Harry Potter movie. I kept waiting for him to start telling Harry about his three-legged cows. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/14 "2006-07-27T18:38:08Z")
I saw this thread and immediately thought Elrond: every line he says in a Lord of the Rings movie sounds like it should be followed by “Mr. Anderson.” ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/15 "2006-07-27T19:11:44Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#): > > The worst is when I only know an actor from one role in a TV show and then see them in a movie or something. I rented _Kate and Leopold_ soon after watching the first two seasons of The West Wing on DVD, and seeing Brad Whitford completely threw me out of it. I’m the same way. He’s Josh Lyman in every role. And if you really want to screw yourself up, watch The American President. It’s like bizarro-West Wing. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/16 "2006-07-27T19:26:12Z")
> [@](#): > > On a similar note, when Sam was doing something heroic I had a hard time keeping from chanting “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy”. And similarly – Watching _Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World_, my first thought on seeing the character Bonden was “there’s a Hobbit steering the ship!” Bonden = Pippin Took = [Billy Boyd](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0101710/). And, of course, Christopher Reeve was forever Superman, no matter how hard he tried to play anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/17 "2006-07-27T19:32:33Z")
This is a little more literal than the OP and most of the replies, but… The first thing I thought of was Sean Penn’s performance in _The Assassination of Richard Nixon_. For whatever reason, god help him, he kept lapsing into his character from _I Am Sam_. It was jarring, disengaging, disappointing… Ah, you get the picture. Totally ruined the film. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/18 "2006-07-27T19:51:15Z")
First off, I think Tommy Shaw is a complete ass, and I never really like Styx too much either. I heard him totally trash his former band and material when he played in Damn Yankees. You’re pretty cool, now aren’t ya? Torch that bridge! Now I get a real kick seeing him hopping around stage playing moldy old Styx tunes on Fester-rock tours. Whatsa matter, Tommy? Didn’t invest all that Damn Yankees money? Suck it up and swallow it down, you hick. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/19 "2006-07-27T19:58:07Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Ever since seeing Leslie Nielsen in _Airplane!_ (which I can’t believe came out 25 years ago) I can’t take his previous work as a more straight-laced actor seriously. He played the ship captiain in the original _Poseiden Adventure_ which was on cable not too long ago and I kept expecting him to be funny, which he wasn’t. I recently re-watched _Forbidden Planet_, where he plays the space ship captain, and couldn’t get the _Naked Gun_ movies out of my head. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266/20 "2006-07-27T20:00:29Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I can’t see Mandy Patinkin in anything without hearing “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” I can’t see him without remembering him singing in falsetto on **Chicago Hope** , and I hated that with the power of 1000 suns. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-performance-that-destroyed-another/366266.md?page=2)