# 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:** 4
**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, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/61 "2012-07-17T16:41:42Z")
> [@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! You mention Mod Squad. Although he’s an acclaimed actor now (I hear), the guy who played “Linc” (Clarence Williams III) could have been replaced with a wooden post and nobody would have been able to tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/62 "2012-07-17T17:10:33Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > [Michael Rapaport](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001650/). > > [I win](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zcj6eqkzjY). You can just watch the first 10 seconds in which his direction is to enter and remark on the pleasant smell in the kitchen. What a natural. Or you can watch him in literally anything else. He’s the only bad thing in True Romance 'fer instance. Damn. I concede defeat. He is almost mesmerizingly awful. ---
**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, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/63 "2012-07-17T17:18:20Z")
> [@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! Who, Emily Proctor? She was good as Ainsley Hayes on _the West Wing_, although I suppose the Sorkin dialog helped. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/64 "2012-07-17T17:32:34Z")
> [@HeadNinja](#): > > 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. Finally, I can contribute to this thread. Because my daughter basically commands the tv (and it’s usually not worth the argument with an aspergergers girl to change channels), I can talk about tween shows. Jerry Trainor is the best thing about _iCarly_, but there is plenty of good talent on _vicTORIous_. Also, the entire cast of _How to Rock_ are the collective worst actor on television. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/65 "2012-07-17T18:14:29Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > My Mount Rushmore of shitty TV actors is Belushi, Lopez, David Spade and the Olsen twins. Unless you’re using one face for the Olsens, you have too many faces. 🙂 ---
**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, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/66 "2012-07-17T18:21:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Who, Emily Proctor? She was good as Ainsley Hayes on _the West Wing_, although I suppose the Sorkin dialog helped. Never watched “The West Wing,” so I can’t comment on that. But I crack up every time my daughter comes out with an EP-style “Oh, wait!” 😃 ---
**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, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/67 "2012-07-17T18:27:59Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > You mention Mod Squad. Although he’s an acclaimed actor now (I hear), the guy who played “Linc” (Clarence Williams III) could have been replaced with a wooden post and nobody would have been able to tell the difference. Of all the classic series I can think of, “Mod Squad” probably wins the Worst Ever Acting award hands down, along with certain moments in STAR TREK (and I’m a hard-core Trekkie, so I can say that without a twinge of guilt). On “Hawaii Five-O” (the original!), I always liked Zulu as Kono, though I felt his acting skills left something to be desired. (The same might be said for most of the locals they recruited as bit players, though that may have been a cultural thing.) I was quite disappointed when I realized he’d gotten canned from the show. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/68 "2012-07-17T19:36:45Z")
Just saw a few episodes for the first time last night of **The Big C**. Not having ever seen **Precious** , I can only gauge Gabourey Sidibe’s acting based on what I watched last night, and it was utterly atrocious. She completely dismantled every scene she was in with her awful line readings. I was shocked at how bad she was. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/69 "2012-07-17T20:11:01Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Not having ever seen **Precious** , Don’t you mean: **Precious, Based On The Novel Push by Sapphire**? God, I hated hearing that all the damn time. It sounds so damn pretentious. Maybe that’s what they should have called it. You don’t see **Cujo, Based on the Novel Cujo by Stephen King** do you? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/70 "2012-07-17T21:07:01Z")
Can I go back a few years? If so, then I nominate the girl who played Wanda (Doogie’s girlfriend) on “Doogie Howser, M. D.” If she’d been any more wooden, they’d have had to treat her for termites. The fact that her badness stands out to me so strongly this many years later must say something. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/71 "2012-07-17T23:20:14Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Unless you’re using one face for the Olsens, you have too many faces. 🙂 He trades them out once in a while and nobody seems to notice. (Worked on _Full House_.) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/72 "2012-07-17T23:26:43Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Jerry O’Connell. I think he is between jobs right now, his series with that other great thespian Jim Belushi cancelled, but I’m always amazed by the facts that (a) he can keep getting jobs and (b) he bedded Rebecca Romjin. Life just ain’t fair. He was on Broadway in “Seminar” this spring. I saw it in March (when it still had Alan Rickman). He was much better in that than in anything I’ve seen him in on TV. He should do more Broadway. We got to speak with him for a while after the performance. He’s very charming and a nice guy. Later we saw him walking home, when we were walking back to our hotel. He thanked us again and told us to enjoy the rest of our trip. He seems like a genuine nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/73 "2012-07-17T23:30:27Z")
I don’t think Kat Dennings is acting badly per se, the issue I’ve noticed with her and the other actors on the show is that they are a little too aware of the studio audience and wait too long for the laughter to die down to deliver their next line. So it comes off more like a winking stage performance than a TV show. Even Stifler’s mom, who has a lot more acting experience, seems to fall into the same trap. I would nominate David Caruso if he was still on. Soooo hammy. And sadly, Marina Sirtis. ---
**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 18, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/74 "2012-07-18T01:55:32Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I would nominate David Caruso if he was still on. Soooo hammy. > > And sadly, Marina Sirtis. I sense … hostility! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/75 "2012-07-18T02:15:21Z")
Pretty much everyone on Big Bang Theory that isn’t Leonard. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/76 "2012-07-18T05:39:35Z")
[QUOTE=jackdavinci] I would nominate David Caruso if he was still on. Soooo hammy. [/QUOTE] You try and remember which line you take your sunglasses _off_ on and which ones you put them back _on_ during and see if you can remember to act with that much on your mind. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/77 "2012-07-18T06:32:13Z")
I neglected to check my watch, but isn’t Paul Walker due in here to do a shitty TV show for two eps before he tends to his Subway franchise? I hate to break it to y’all, but he can’t act, bro. (he got paid $2700 for that last bro, it’s in his contract, that’s how he eats.) ---
**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 18, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/78 "2012-07-18T12:50:41Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > Pretty much everyone on Big Bang Theory that isn’t Leonard. I totally disagree. I think they are all fine sitcom actors. Which I think is a much different skill than other acting. Their abilities make the show much better than the writing. IMHO of course. > [@jackdavinci](#): > > I don’t think Kat Dennings is acting badly per se, the issue I’ve noticed with her and the other actors on the show is that they are a little too aware of the studio audience and wait too long for the laughter to die down to deliver their next line. So it comes off more like a winking stage performance than a TV show. Even Stifler’s mom, who has a lot more acting experience, seems to fall into the same trap. You may be right about that. For whatever the reason the acting makes the show unwatchable to me. And the forced naughty humor. ---
**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 18, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/79 "2012-07-18T12:52:37Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I would nominate David Caruso if he was still on. Soooo hammy. Does anyone remember when he was good in NYPD Blue? I swear to god he really was good in it. Then he lost his mind. ---
**Author:** ![raran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c57346/32.png) [@raran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raran)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-the-worst-actor-on-tv/628422/80 "2012-07-18T12:56:40Z")
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