# 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:** 3
**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:** [February 19, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/41 "2010-02-19T04:23:26Z")
How about Joan Collins being mentally controlled by ants – _ants!!_ – in **Empire of the Ants**. And she had to go out on the road and _promote_ this film, too! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/42 "2010-02-19T04:25:38Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > It was a brave scene for any actor. Brave is not a phrase that I would use for Christian Slater in Alone in the Dark. > [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > John Travolta dying on the can in Pulp Fiction. Mr. Travolta in a fright wig during the entirety of Battlefield Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/43 "2010-02-19T04:54:28Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I was about to say, “just staring in a bad movie doesn’t count!” Then I clicked the link. You win. … Dayum. I was going to bring up getting eaten TWICE by a shittily animated snake in _Anaconda_, but never mind. Never mind at all. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/44 "2010-02-19T05:16:43Z")
John Gielgud in Bob Guccione’s _Caligula._ No particular scene, just having anything at all to do with the project. ---
**Author:** ![tesseract](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@tesseract](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tesseract)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/45 "2010-02-19T06:49:29Z")
What about Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton’s pre-sex scene in _Monster’s Ball_? Although I have read that some people thought it was awful acting, I always thought it was weird and awkward enough to sort of ring true. But it did seem pretty undignified. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/46 "2010-02-19T07:42:28Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > 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? Burt always did comedy well, and this is one of them. Besides, his toes in the boots felt all squishy, and he liked that. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/47 "2010-02-19T08:05:38Z")
Jeez, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to top that Jon Voight clip. Holy crap, that was… WTF \*was \*that!? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/48 "2010-02-19T08:07:48Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Jeez, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to top that Jon Voight clip. Holy crap, that was… WTF \*was \*that!? A paycheck. For doing a kids movie. So what? I’ve seen worse Saturday Night Live episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/49 "2010-02-19T08:27:49Z")
In _Straightheads_, Gillian Anderson anally raping a guy with a shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/50 "2010-02-19T09:38:08Z")
You’d figure a guy with a shotgun could put a stop to that - if he wanted to 🙂 George C Scott in Firestarter, in the scene where he plays a guy who is pretending to be afraid of the dark (to gain Drew Barrymore’s trust). Really embarrassing fake crying. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/51 "2010-02-19T10:45:33Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I would call it unglamorous, but NOT undignified. He was under attack, fighting for his life in a very intense scene - even if he WAS naked. It was a brave scene for any actor. Partly improvised, if this is correct > [@](#): > > Ned Beatty states that he created the infamous “squeal piggy” line while he and actor Bill McKinney were improvising the scene.[3] James Dickey’s son, Christopher Dickey, in his book, Summer of Deliverance, said that it was one of the crewmen who suggested that Ned Beatty’s character, “Bobby”, “squeal like a pig” — to add some backwoods horror to the scene and to make it more shocking. According to Boorman’s running commentary for the HD DVD and Blu-ray editions, the studio wanted the scene shot two ways, one of which would be acceptable for TV. Boorman didn’t want to do this, and as “Squeal like a pig” was a good replacement for the (presumably obscene) dialog in the script, it was substituted, as it would work for both the theatrical and TV versions. > **[Deliverance | Plot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliverance#Plot)** > > Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe, and Drew Ballinger are Atlanta businessmen who decide to canoe down the Cahulawassee River in the remote northern Georgia wilderness before it is dammed. Lewis is an avid outdoorsman and survivalist who leads the group, and Ed has been on several trips but lacks Lewis's ego, while Bobby and Drew are novices. En route to their launch site, the men, in particular Bobby, are rude toward the locals, who are hostile to the "city boys". At a local gas station, Dr... ---
**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:** [February 19, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/52 "2010-02-19T10:54:40Z")
In the full-frontal middle-aged man category, Bob Hoskins in _Mrs Henderson Presents_. Urgh. Plus it was a terrible film anyway, made only (as far as i can tell) to give Judi Dench something to do. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/53 "2010-02-19T11:04:45Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I mentioned it Weird. I searched the thread for Caligula, and I didn’t see your post. ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/54 "2010-02-19T13:11:10Z")
How about Disney princess Anne Hathaway having sex with street punks in **Havoc**? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/55 "2010-02-19T13:30:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > In the full-frontal middle-aged man category, Bob Hoskins in _Mrs Henderson Presents_. Urgh. Plus it was a terrible film anyway, made only (as far as i can tell) to give Judi Dench something to do. I disagree. I thought it was a delightful film and Hoskins was charming. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/56 "2010-02-19T13:41:42Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > 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.” Funnier than Love Boat TNG or Choking Devil? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/57 "2010-02-19T14:06:29Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > A paycheck. For doing a kids movie. So what? I’ve seen worse Saturday Night Live episodes. Oh, sure. But that doesn’t mean it was dignified. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/58 "2010-02-19T18:35:31Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > Helen Mirren & co- _Caligula_ > > The whole thing was one long undignified scene. You beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/59 "2010-02-20T02:49:23Z")
As long as we’re nominating Helen Mirren, what about [Shadowboxer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowboxer). Technically might not fit with the OP since I haven’t actually seen it. But even reading a synopsis and hearing about it from someone who did see it makes me wish I could bleach my brain. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517/60 "2010-02-20T05:51:33Z")
Veronica Cartwright does an extremely brief spreadshot in “Inserts.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-the-least-dignified-scene-you-ve-ever-seen-a-respected-actor-do/529517.md?page=4)