# The largest prick character actor in Hollywood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070 "2010-06-05T16:10:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/41 "2010-06-06T12:01:02Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Time After Time also- hell, he was freakin’ Jack the Ripper! Proof that Jack Warner is the greatest villain ever. You’re in a movie with the guy who played Alex de Large and who later killed Captain Kirk, and _you’re_ the villain? Greatest. Villain. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/42 "2010-06-06T12:07:00Z")
[John Holmes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Holmes_%28pornographic_actor%29) was obviously the largest-prick actor in the film industry. 😉 (C’mon, you know _somebody_ was going to!) ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/43 "2010-06-06T13:28:23Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > [John Holmes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Holmes_%28pornographic_actor%29) was obviously the largest-prick actor in the film industry. 😉 > > (C’mon, you know _somebody_ was going to!) And someone already did (see post #15) ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/44 "2010-06-06T13:30:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > [Ronny Cox](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001074/) has been an effective asshole, notably in _Robocop_. I’ll always think of him as the likeable Captain from Beverly Hills Cop, so he can play it both ways. > [@Polycarp](#): > > [John Holmes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Holmes_%28pornographic_actor%29) was obviously the largest-prick actor in the film industry. 😉 > > (C’mon, you know _somebody_ was going to!) I started suspecting someone would around…oh…post 15 or so…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/45 "2010-06-06T13:55:47Z")
> [@cardinal\_fang](#): > > Speaking of _Die Hard_, no hate for [Paul Gleason](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322339/) (a.k.a. [Principal Vernon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/))? THAT is the dude I was thinking of when I saw the OP. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/46 "2010-06-06T14:09:04Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Given that the only way I or anyone I know can remember this guy is as Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore, I have to vote for him. He was also party to what was perhaps the best exchange ever in an Adam Sandler movie (I know, to some people that may not be saying much, but still). Shooter: I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast. Happy: You eat pieces of shit for breakfast? Shooter: What? Uh…Nooooo! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/47 "2010-06-06T14:44:56Z")
I know he was alluded to, but someone should mention \*\*Malcolm McDowell \*\*by name. I guess I will! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/48 "2010-06-06T16:07:15Z")
Alessan, William Atherton’s character did not rape and kill Diane Keaton’s character in _Looking for Mr. Goodbar_. He didn’t even have sex with her, unlike Richard Gere’s character. It was Tom Berenger’s character that raped and killed her. In fact, William Atherton played a nice guy in that film, although the character was a little clueless. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/49 "2010-06-06T16:37:35Z")
Though not as despicable as Itzin, these guys can have you hoping they get their just deserts within minutes of their first appearance on screen: [Dylan Baker](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0048414/) [Martin Donovan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0233027/) And even when he’s a “good guy” [Bruce Dern](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001136/) can make your skin crawl. Does anybody else remember Frank Thring? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/50 "2010-06-06T17:15:38Z")
[Frank Langella](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001449/) makes a pretty good prick. His Richard Nixon was such a prick he got an Oscar nomination for it. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/51 "2010-06-06T18:56:08Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > [Frank Langella](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001449/) makes a pretty good prick. His Richard Nixon was such a prick he got an Oscar nomination for it. I’d say he got an Oscar nomination because he made him less of a prick. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/52 "2010-06-06T19:26:17Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Life does not imitate art in this case. Bill Daniels and his wife Bonnie are two of the nicest people I have ever met. Very different from Jeffrey Jones, who was busted on child porn charges. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/53 "2010-06-06T19:34:00Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Very different from Jeffrey Jones, who was busted on child porn charges. Wow. I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/54 "2010-06-06T21:39:17Z")
What, no love for that cocksucker Ian McShane? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/55 "2010-06-06T22:18:05Z")
My vote for evil actress is [Mary Woronov](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001862/). Really does the smirking sneer well, cf. _Rock ‘n’ Roll High School_ and _Eating Raoul_. _The Devil’s Rejects_ was great, Mary Woronov and Sid Haig. Sid is just plain nightmare fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/56 "2010-06-07T00:55:26Z")
OMG, I\* just \*came home from watching Dylan Baker live on Broadway in the closing show of [GOD OF CARNAGE](http://www.godofcarnage.com/home.php), in which he played Alan, a man who pulls such assholic moves thoughout the show such as taking calls on his cellphone during the action. Loudly. He’s a slimy lawyer talking a shady pharmaceutical company through a PR problem with one of their drugs, and doesn’t care who knows it. Finally, he has slicked-back hair, which screams assholery no matter what [these guys think.](http://www.theonion.com/articles/nations-slickedbackhair-men-rally-against-negative,2449/) In real life, though, he’s a nice guy and a fine director and married to a sweet, talented singer and actress named Becky Ann, who I’ve seen in shows many times. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/57 "2010-06-07T01:14:03Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I’d say he got an Oscar nomination because he made him less of a prick. Nixon was a prick and he was portrayed as such in the movie. IMHO. YMMV, BIBW (But it’d be wrong.) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/58 "2010-06-07T18:42:49Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Nixon was a prick and he was portrayed as such in the movie. IMHO. YMMV, BIBW (But it’d be wrong.) 😃 Here’s what I mean. I am 35 years old. Nixon has always been a stereotype. Langella portrayed him not only as a bad guy, but also human and frail. He showed that Nixon was so desperate to rehabilitate himself, that he got in bed with a character like Frost. He’s still a douche in the film, but he’s not a cartoonish villain out of central casting. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/59 "2010-06-07T18:54:04Z")
[Glenn Shadix](http://www.google.com/images?q=glenn%20shadix&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi) has a near monopoly on the suave gay prick. (He used to be rotund but he’s lost a lot of weight in recent years.) To me Jason Alexander is only believable when he plays pricks. (Personally I considered George Costanza one.) Prior to the lovable daffy Rose on _The Golden Girls_ Betty White specialized in playing she-pricks and still does a good job at it. Her appearance on _Ugly Betty_ as a version of herself (one who’d blown her _Golden Girls_ money at casinoes, played the sweet old beloved icon when cameras were rolling and turned into merciless self serving biatch when they were off) was hysterical as was her _Sunset Blvd_ parody episode on _The John Larroquette Show_. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070/60 "2010-06-07T19:01:38Z")
> [@kasuo](#): > > [Larry Miller](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0588777/) _Larry Miller_ …really? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-largest-prick-character-actor-in-hollywood/542070.md?page=4)