# Who's the worst actor on tv? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422 "2012-07-16T17:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/41 "2012-07-17T12:33:20Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I have a personal beef with Thomas Gibson: During his broke and hungry days he did an internship with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. While he was on _Dharma and Greg_ he mentioned this during a Jay Leno appearance, at which Leno immediately went off on a “tuh bay er not tuh bay, that thar’s the question” southern accent joke and then asked something like “Alabama Shakespeare Festival, was it in the back of a truckstop?”, to which Gibson laughed and said “You’re not too far off”. > > For those not familiar, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival is one of the best and most famous repertory companies in the United States. It was endowed by a billionaire who basically said “spare no expense” in building it, it’s internationally famous, QE2 recognized it by sending an item from the Crown Jewels (admittedly a cheap item I’m sure, but still- only done for very worthy Shakespearean theaters- I think 2 or 3 others in North America have that distinction). [Pictures.](http://www.google.com/search?q=alabama%20shakespeare%20festival&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=-t4EUMaOG4Km8ATCvvDOBw&biw=1440&bih=712&sei=_N4EUMKOOpCu8QTOxZT0Bw) > Its members have gone on to Broadway and movies. (Norbert Leo Butz is one of the most famous alumni and he has publicly praised it.) Say what you will about Alabama, the Shakespeare Festival kicks ass. Pissed me the hell off that he didn’t stand up for them or give just a two second “no, actually, it’s really nice” defense. Sounds like he was playing along with a little joke. Not something to put him on your mortal enemies list for. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/42 "2012-07-17T12:44:22Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > Them’s fighting words. I love when he gets to do other characters while he’s undercover and I believe he does them well. His smiles do look kind of fake though. I agree with you - and furthermore, I think that his smiles are \*supposed \*to look fake. His character never actually wants to smile. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/43 "2012-07-17T13:05:29Z")
I have to vote for Joanne Kelly from warehouse 13. She was so bad, I almost stopped watching (and I had to use Google to find her name, because I just couldn’t be bothered). However, I thought the potential for greatness was there and stuck with it. It was the first time I’ve ever had such a negative reaction to an actor/actress that I seriously considered quitting watching. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/44 "2012-07-17T13:16:03Z")
Kat Dennings. I know the writing is awful on 2 Broke Girls but she manages to make it even worse. But her boobs deserve to win an emmy. Or two. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/45 "2012-07-17T13:24:28Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Kat Dennings. I know the writing is awful on 2 Broke Girls but she manages to make it even worse. But her boobs deserve to win an emmy. Or two. They are spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/46 "2012-07-17T13:36:37Z")
I don’t know the names of the actors and I’ve never seen more than the last few minutes of the shows or the commercials, but there are a few on those TBS Tyler Perry series that are gawd-awful! Especially the rotund man who wears mis-matched clothes - he could open his own school of Bad Acting and Emoting and Annoying Voices. Of course, since I’ve never seen these shows, I could be missing the point - for all I know, they’re profound commentaries on life framed in bad slapstick… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/47 "2012-07-17T13:41:03Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I agree with your criticism of tween shows generally (_The Suite Life_ first and foremost), but I actually like this guy. He has great comic timing and almost always makes me laugh. I would go so far as to say he’s the best thing on the show, which my boys watch just about whenever it’s on. You are incorrect. I am sorry, but you are simply wrong, and you must now change the error of your ways. However, I was wrong too. I said the actor’s name was Spencer Shay. That is the CHARACTER’S name; the actor is Jerry Trainor. [QUOTE=Loach] Kat Dennings. [/QUOTE] The problem with nominating Kat Dennings is that she has put in perfectly serviceable work in movies and such. So it has to be the writing, really, or that she’s miscast. If you went by her performance in “The Phantom Menace,” you would have to conclude that Natalie Portman was the worst actress to ever step before a camera; her work in that movie is hilariously incompetent. But in fact she has turned in excellent work in many other films, so nobody really thought she was a bad actress; they just assumed, correctly, that it was the writing and/or direction. I’m not suggesting Kat Dennings is Natalie Portman, but she’s put in good work elsewhere, so you can’t blame her entirely for the shit on “Two Broke Girls.” But to pull back out the example of George Lopez, Lopez is always bad. In every show, every movie, he’s terrible. My kid watched “Shark Boy and Lavagirl” the other day and the movie isn’t very good to say the least, but Lopez was ten times worse than anything else in it. He played two roles, one of which was stupid easy and anyone who’s ever taken high school drama should have done a competent job, and he was terrible in both. You can’t blame his bad acting on context, because it’s always bad. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/48 "2012-07-17T14:27:03Z")
I’d love to mention most of the cast of the CSI shows (cancelled or no), especially New York and Miami, but they’re usually master thespians compared to the Pretty People who are guest starring in any given week. Holy crap, some of those people are appallingly bad actors and actresses; they’re basically just business cards for their plastic surgeons (with all the personality and talent of a small square of card). Fortunately we never see them again because the characters are mostly dead or in jail, so that’s a silver lining. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/49 "2012-07-17T14:44:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > You are incorrect. I am sorry, but you are simply wrong, and you must now change the error of your ways. > > However, I was wrong too. I said the actor’s name was Spencer Shay. That is the CHARACTER’S name; the actor is Jerry Trainor. > The problem with nominating Kat Dennings is that she has put in perfectly serviceable work in movies and such. So it has to be the writing, really, or that she’s miscast. I would say TV acting and especially sitcom acting are much different skills than movie acting. I only remember seeing her in Thor and her “leaked” nude cell phone photos. Neither role was very demanding. The unrealistic manner she delivers her lines on the show really annoys me. Even if there were any good lines I couldn’t watch. I swear she isnt looking at her costars and is reading off cards. Her costar doesn’t have any better lines but she seems at least competent. I won’t argue with you about George Lopez. But I think it takes a special actor to rise above a Rogert Rodriguez kids movie. The only one I have seen accomplish it is Jeremy Piven. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/50 "2012-07-17T15:02:34Z")
I channel-surfed onto Hanna Montana a couple times and hereby nominate Miley Cyrus. She made my brain hurt. Any given character on CSI - I mean the guest characters, not the main cast. But post-Grissom I nominate the entire cast. Finlay drives me nuts with that constant smirk. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/51 "2012-07-17T15:03:03Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Fortunately we never see them again because the characters are mostly dead or in jail, so that’s a silver lining. Is that a “for sure” thing? I’ve looked up old actors on IMDB, and some of them have reappeared in the same old tv show numerous times as different characters. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/52 "2012-07-17T15:04:02Z")
I can’t believe there have been so many nominations for David Caruso and not one for the blonde who played Callie Duquesne on “CSI: Miami.” She was the most wooden actress I’d ever seen since Peggy Lipton in “The Mod Squad” 40+ ( :eek: ) years ago! ---
**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:** [July 17, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/53 "2012-07-17T15:10:25Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Manny on **Modern Family**. Doing him no favors are the other kid actors on the show, who are all exceptional. A. No, the two girls are worse. Especially the older one. Rico Rodriguez is a limited actor but he’s trying. Sarah Hyland isn’t even pretending to act. B. The worse actress by far on that show is Sofia Vergara. Without that body she’d never get work. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/54 "2012-07-17T15:18:37Z")
With that body, she doesn’t \*need \*to work. ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/55 "2012-07-17T15:26:38Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > David Caruso. Didn’t know it had been cancelled. He’s so bad it is highly entertaining. Worse than Lee Majors. I’ve seen the Burn Notice and Criminal Minds guys, and they are better than Caruso. He’s so bad they took the micky out of him on Burn Notice… ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/56 "2012-07-17T15:28:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I can’t believe there have been so many nominations for David Caruso and not one for the blonde who played Callie Duquesne on “CSI: Miami.” She was the most wooden actress I’d ever seen since Peggy Lipton in “The Mod Squad” 40+ ( :eek: ) years ago! I agree, but I think she has a fairly wooden role, too. I like Jorja Fox (from the original), but I didn’t chare much for her character. Every time she was onscreen, I saw and heard 99. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/57 "2012-07-17T15:31:42Z")
Mitt Romney ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/58 "2012-07-17T15:44:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Mitt Romney Again: let’s keep the politics out of this. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/59 "2012-07-17T15:45:32Z")
:o ---
**Author:** ![HeadNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b4bc9f/32.png) [@HeadNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadNinja)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/60 "2012-07-17T16:08:38Z")
In defense of Eric McCormack, he was in Dead Like Me playing someone blandly likeable. Then the character went to a place visited by Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast or Robert Carlyle in Trainspotting. A genuinely disturbing psychopath. This has greatly colored my watching of Will and Grace. Jeffery Trainor was the best thing about Drake and Josh, and if it weren’t for Sam he’d be the best thing in iCarly. That said, I agree that every other tween show is shit. To get back to throwing people on the bonfire: The mom on Suite Life comes to mind as the worst grown up actor on a tween show, which is about as low as you can get. Fiona on Burn Notice makes Bruce Campbell seem subtle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422.md?page=4)