# What’s the least dignified scene you’ve ever seen a respected actor do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517 "2010-02-18T20:03:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/1 "2010-02-18T20:03:40Z")
First one who mentioned Michael Caine in “Jaws: The Revenge” gets the back of my hand. We’ve all read the quote before. Anyway, that’s not what this thread is about. I’m not talking about great actors doing lousy movies. I’m talking about good/great actors doing bizarre or humiliating things for the good of their art (the quality of said art aside). The first example that comes to mind is Jennifer Connelly’s (in)famous scene in “Requiem for a Dream,” though it doesn’t have to be limited to sexual scenes (I just have a filthy mind like that). Toby McGuire turning into an emo lesbian and playing jazz piano in “Spiderman 3” would count too, as would about half the career of Nicholas Cage. So, have at it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/2 "2010-02-18T20:08:49Z")
The one that springs immediately to mind is **Ned Beatty** in _Deliverance._ He wasn’t a respected actor at the time since it seemed to be his first film role but he definitely went on to become a respected actor. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/3 "2010-02-18T20:15:49Z")
Hilary Swank in **Boys Don’t Cry**. No, not playing a transgender character. I mean the very brutal rape scene that seems to just go on and on…Gah! Divine was well respected as an entertainer/comedienne by many folks despite the fact that she is most famous for…well, you know. (And if you don’t know, DON"T ASK! Because you definitely don’t want to!) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/4 "2010-02-18T20:17:57Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > The one that springs immediately to mind is **Ned Beatty** in _Deliverance._ > He wasn’t a respected actor at the time since it seemed to be his first film role but he definitely went on to become a respected actor. This will be next to impossible to top! However, Harvey Keitel deserves mentioning for displaying his shortcomings in The Piano. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/5 "2010-02-18T20:18:49Z")
[Eric Braeden-Since My Baby Turned Gay](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7jSEVBbk2I) ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/6 "2010-02-18T20:27:17Z")
I can’t believe that it took 6 posts for anyone to mention Chloe Sevigny giving an authentic blow job in _Brown Bunny_. It’s ironic that _Boys Don’t Cry_ was mentioned and she wasn’t the subject considering the OP, frankly I don’t think there’s anything undignified about Swank’s scene since it’s integral to the movie, ditto Jodie Foster in _The Accused_. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/7 "2010-02-18T20:27:24Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > The one that springs immediately to mind is **Ned Beatty** in _Deliverance._ > He wasn’t a respected actor at the time since it seemed to be his first film role but he definitely went on to become a respected actor. Nailed it in the 2nd post - well done ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/8 "2010-02-18T20:41:25Z")
Burgess Meredith in **Such Good Friends**. His first nude scene. At age 64. He ran around at a party with a book on a chain that covered the naughty bits. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/9 "2010-02-18T20:50:36Z")
Rip Torn in _Freddie Got Fingered_. Dropping his pants and telling Tom Green to fuck him. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/10 "2010-02-18T21:12:45Z")
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but the first thing that came to my mind was Patrick Stewart doing a sketch about pornographic cakes on SNL. It was not particularly funny, which could have excused it. But he’s always such a good sport about things like that, I didn’t get any sense that he wasn’t happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/11 "2010-02-18T21:17:24Z")
First scene that came to MY mind was Frank Langella wearing an open bathrobe and running in slo-mo towards the camera, showing us his bouncing nutsack, in Lolita. I’m sitll traumatized. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/12 "2010-02-18T21:25:48Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > First scene that came to MY mind was Frank Langella wearing an open bathrobe and running in slo-mo towards the camera, showing us his bouncing nutsack, in Lolita. > > I’m sitll traumatized. That was not nearly as bad as Langella stooping to playing Skeletor in a live-action “Masters of the Universe” flick. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/13 "2010-02-18T21:30:12Z")
Is Ewan MacGregor considered a respectable actor? Because diving headfirst into the filthiest toilet in Scotland to retrieve a heroin suppository was pretty undignified. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/14 "2010-02-18T21:54:43Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > The one that springs immediately to mind is **Ned Beatty** in _Deliverance._ > [@Zeldar](#): > > This will be next to impossible to top! I saw what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/15 "2010-02-18T21:59:11Z")
I thought of Isabella Rossalini in _Blue Velvet_. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/16 "2010-02-18T22:23:30Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but the first thing that came to my mind was Patrick Stewart doing a sketch about pornographic cakes on SNL. > > It was not particularly funny, which could have excused it. But he’s always such a good sport about things like that, I didn’t get any sense that he wasn’t happy about it. I think that sketch is the funniest of the episode. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make you a cake with a man peeing AAAANND a woman peeing that way you can be happy and your friends can be happy.” Sir Alec Guiness in Star Wars.. HAH. I went there. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/17 "2010-02-18T22:31:45Z")
Marlon Brando in _Last Tango in Paris_, “I want you to put your fingers up my ass” ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/18 "2010-02-18T23:12:23Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Hilary Swank in **Boys Don’t Cry**. No, not playing a transgender character. I mean the very brutal rape scene that seems to just go on and on…Gah! At the time the movie was made, she wasn’t exactly at “respected actor” status yet. Her only claim to fame before that was **The Next Karate Kid** , mixed with a few made-for-TV movies, along with small non-recurring roles on various TV shows. Given her status now however, if put in the same role, then I would have to agree. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/19 "2010-02-18T23:28:53Z")
Many of mine have already been listed, so I’ll go with Burt Reynolds covering himself with Vaseline in Striptease. Burt, what the hell happened to you? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/20 "2010-02-18T23:34:44Z")
I suspect that this doesn’t count, as Sacha Baron Cohen kind of goes for the gross out humour, but his scene in Borat in the hotel. Without clothing. And the large man. Without clothing. I was honestly peeking through my fingers (like in a slasher flick) from the horror of it all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517.md?page=2)