# What/Who are the best "Chewing the Scenery" Films/Actors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359 "2017-02-09T00:12:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/21 "2017-02-09T04:07:38Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > First actor that comes to mind is George C. Scott in Dr. Strangelove. Good God…Exorcist 3 has Scott\*, Superpriest Nicol Williamson, Brad Dourif…and its amazing. “I KNOWWWWW…PAIN!!! And I KNOWWWWW…FEAR!!!” ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/22 "2017-02-09T11:22:33Z")
Pretty much the last 20 years of Jeremy Irons’s career. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/23 "2017-02-09T12:57:39Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > Al Pacino’s performance in **The Devil’s Advocate** is crazy over the top, and I love every second of it. I would say the same for **Scarface.** I guess one could argue that most of his work now is scenery-chewing, but those are my favorites. I was going to say _Scent of a Woman_, for which Pacino got Best Actor. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/24 "2017-02-09T13:16:52Z")
Streep Streep Streep ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/25 "2017-02-09T13:35:17Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Reason I mention it is I just watched “Buckaroo Banzai”, where John Lithgow, who has won more than a few awards for his undeniable acting ability, simply owns the movie with his _way_ over-the-top portrayal of alien-possessed Dr. Emil Lizardo (“Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife; doomed is your soul and dammed is your life.”) “Laugh-a while you can, Monkey Boy!!” I love this movie. Why? Because it’s Perfect. Otherwise, yeah, Hans Gruber in Die Hard. Alan Rickman just jumped off the screen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/26 "2017-02-09T13:52:03Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > In case anyone isn’t familiar with the term, “Chewing the Scenery” is defined as: _Displaying excessive emotion or acting in an exaggerated manner while performing; to be melodramatic; to be flamboyant._ I believe the German term for it is _“Christoph Waltz”_. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/27 "2017-02-09T13:54:19Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > The original scenery chewer, Gloria Swanson, of course, in _Sunset Boulevard_. > > Faye Dunaway in _Mommie Dearest_. > > Shirley MacLaine in _Terms of Endearment_. > > Gary Oldman in _True Romance_. > > Daniel Day Lewis in _There Will Be Blood_. > > Dennis Hopper in _Blue Velvet_. > > Christopher Walken in _Pulp Fiction_. Can’t disagree with any but the last. Walken’s appearance in Pulp Fiction is fairly gentle and low-key. Certainly it is _mannered_, but it is Walken…that’s always an element of any role he takes, but it isn’t scenery-chewing I don’t think. True Romance? far more so I’d suggest. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/28 "2017-02-09T13:59:18Z")
Joe Morton who plays Olivia’s father on _Scandal_. The first of his “daddy rants” sounds really good. Great performance. The second one makes you think “Didn’t I just hear this exact same speech before?” The 50th one makes you scream “Enough! Stop giving the same rant over and over. We’ve heard it all before. Do it some other way for once.” ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/29 "2017-02-09T14:28:50Z")
No love for Calculon? ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/30 "2017-02-09T14:38:09Z")
Nancy Kelly and Eileen Heckart TAKE. THE. CAKE. for scenery chewing, all-time division, in “The Bad Seed.” Kelly comes out ahead only because she had more screen time. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/31 "2017-02-09T14:38:26Z")
Sir Antony Hopkins in pretty much every scene of his in Westworld. Also, James Spader as Ultron in “Age of” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/32 "2017-02-09T14:44:26Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Joe Morton who plays Olivia’s father on _Scandal_. > > The first of his “daddy rants” sounds really good. Great performance. The second one makes you think “Didn’t I just hear this exact same speech before?” The 50th one makes you scream “Enough! Stop giving the same rant over and over. We’ve heard it all before. Do it some other way for once.” Pretty much every character on that show takes turns delivering melodramatic rants like you describe. It’s starting to get tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/33 "2017-02-09T15:07:30Z")
Peter Ustinov in _Quo Vadis_. Even the camera lenses had bite marks in them after[Nero’s artist speech.](https://youtu.be/iZ04KhQra6M) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/34 "2017-02-09T15:53:56Z")
Nicol Williamson in _Excalibur_. Laurence Olivier in _Richard III_. Ian Mckellan in _Richard III_. R Lee Ermy in _Full Metal Jacket_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/35 "2017-02-09T16:29:19Z")
Jack Cassidy got nominated for a couple of Emmys before he got asked to play a COLUMBO villain over and over – and, like I happened to mention [not all that long ago,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19890665) his scenery-chewing is actually the key to his alibi: > [@Nearly as heinous crime as an alibi for murder?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nearly-as-heinous-crime-as-an-alibi-for-murder/776032/6): > > The plot in a COLUMBO episode – “Publish or Perish” – had Jack Cassidy, the man with the most punchable face ever seen, establish his alibi by smashing his car into someone else’s before getting locked up for drunkenness. > > He hams it up like mad, since the point is for (a) the bartender to remember the irritating loudmouth who was boozing it up and for (b) it to be plausible that he was _so_ drunk that, when asked where he was during the murder, apparently doesn’t even recall smashing into that vehicle – because the best alibi is one the insult-slinger clearly didn’t set up, to the point where he honestly doesn’t seem to realize he has it. (Come to think of it, COLUMBO villains are probably a natural for this – given how William Shatner and Nicol Williamson have come up, and Ricardo Montalban has been, uh, referenced indirectly. I mean, have you seen Patrick McGoohan when he’s really going for it? He’s not just chewing scenery; he’s _relishing_ it.) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/36 "2017-02-09T16:31:06Z")
Nicolas Cage in every film he’s ever been in. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/37 "2017-02-09T16:32:58Z")
Rowan Atkinson in all the **Blackadder** series. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/38 "2017-02-09T17:17:15Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Daniel Day Lewis in pretty much anything. Especially Gangs and TWWB. Love him in both of those, but man he’s intense. I just rewatched _Gangs of New York_ yesterday, and afterwards read some trivia on IMDB. It said DDL stayed in character all the time he was filming the movie, even when going about his personal life. He went out to dinner with Scorcese and DiCaprio, and the character terrified the waitress, who wouldn’t go near him. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/39 "2017-02-09T17:24:38Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > R Lee Ermy in _Full Metal Jacket_. Clearly you haven’t spent much time around Marines. That’s their default. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359/40 "2017-02-09T17:42:01Z")
Madeline Kahn! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-best-chewing-the-scenery-films-actors/779359.md?page=3)