The actor who played the man named July in “Lonesome Dove”. He’s been tough as nails in other flicks but this character makes you want to just punch him in the throat.
Bob Balaban in A Mighty Wind.
Though the character wasn’t a “wimp” by any means, Leslie Howard’s limp portrayal of Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind left millions wondering why in God’s good name would Scarlett prefer Ashley over Rhett.
Yes. He was such an over the top waste of space. I love the scene where Sam has figured out everything for him, all he needs to do is sign a piece of paper, but he can’t because his wrist hurts too much.
I always figured he was faking about hurting his wrist; he was just terrified of putting his name on something (in this case, Mrs. Buttle’s refund check) that would get attention within the bureaucracy.
However, Paxton’s character dies standing up to the aliens while attempting to take out as many as possible which I think redeems him enough to get out of the wimpy cellar. I’m going with the husband in High Plains Drifter who lets Clint have his way with his wife.
Wow…
There are some excellent choices in this thread! I have to say, Moriarty’s Hull Barrett is getting a run fir his money, and i thought he was a clear winner. Mso many of these roles i forgot, but they are great choices…
I especially liked Macy in Fargo, Smith in American Graffiti and Glover in Back To The Future.
However, this one
Is a great choice. Ashley Wilkes was a very wimpy character (I disagree with JohnT on this) I know he was supposed to be introspective and an intellectual, but with the backdrop of the Civil War and Rhett Butler as his alter-ego, he really comes off badly. Trevor Howard may have also been a wimp in real life, I don’t know. But his Ashley Wilkes? He was so wimpy, the name Ashley has been turned into a woman’s name in today’s world. I don’t think I’ve ever known one guy named Ashley in real life, probably because they all would have been beaten to a pulp in grade school.
Keep them coming!
Ashley led men in battle, personally killed enemy combatants, and fought the carpetbaggers, knowing his life was forfeit if caught.
Delicate, yes; wimpy, no.
Ranse is a complex character with good and bad traits who makes good and bad decisions. He is not what I would call a wimp though. Any man who can punch John Wayne and knock him to the ground and who is willing to meet Lee Marvin in a showdown on the street is not a character intended to be portrayed as a wimp.
I would like to nominate Larry Hankin, who played Charlie Butts in “Escape From Alcatraz”.
Good lord, what a waste. Clint Eastwood would have NEVER let this guy be part of any escape attempt.
Well, under the circumstances, I think he kinda had reason to be terrified …
They never made a movie with him (just a TV series), but Casper Milquetoast (the Timid Soul) is the all-time winner.
Edward Everett Horton in The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Holiday, His Night Out, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Bachelor Daddy…
Fred MacMurray in The Caine Mutiny. Not only a wimp, but a sniveling weasel.
Another great example. I wanted to kick the crap out of him, and couldn’t understand why no one actually did in the movie.
The guy who played Willie in the movie was so wooden, they could have whittled him into a walking stick. He would at least have had a personality. He was a wimp in that movie too, as he almost lost his girlfriend because his mommy disapproved of her.
Before I forget, from 80’s teen movies:
John Cryer in anything;
Brian Backer in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Mark Rattner),
And the winner,
Lawrence Monoson, who played Gary in “The Last American Virgin” was beyond a wimp. He was a wuss. “Part wimp, part pussy” - (Mike Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, speaking to Mark Rattner)
But Gary was pathetic. Sexy girl has sex with another guy, gets pregnant, other guy dumps her, Gary pays for the abortion by selling his stereo, she goes back with guy who impregnated her in the first place.
here is the end of The Last American Virgin, where you can see Gary’s big lower lip dropping in the permanent pout when he sees the girl of his dreams kissing the guy who got her pregnant and dumped her… Thanks for cleaning up the mess, Gary!
I thought J.T. Walsh played a pretty wimpy character in “Hoffa.” Much in contrast to the roles he’s better known for.
I like the one where he’s in the ocean smoking a cigar, and has to obey a “No Smoking” sign that floats by.
Looks like he wasn’t wimpy in real life, but Leslie Howard’s character in Of Human Bondage came across as fully justifying Bette Davis’s character’s contempt.
Wimpiest of all time was Andrew McCarthy’s Blaine in Pretty in Pink.
Andrew MCarthy was pretty much a wimp in St. Elmo’s Fire and Class, too. I think that was part of his persona. He always has a kicked-in-the-ribs puppy dog look, always on the verge of tears, and one pill away from a depression medication suicidal overdose.
But wait… How could i be the first person to mention
Jon Favreau in Swingers?
What a whiny, annoying pussy. I can’t believe his friends stuck by him through that entire movie. I hated that guy! He wasn’t “money” in that movie, unless he was 8 cents of nasty change found between the cushions in a couch. What a tool.
My first thought was Alvy Singer.