# Why does everyone hate Elisabeth Rohm?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 17, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894 "2006-02-17T01:52:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/21 "2006-02-17T14:53:08Z")
I’ve never seen her in anything else, so it may be unfair to judge her overall acting ability (or lack thereof) on just the one role, but holy cow, I can’t see how you \*could \* think she’s good on L & O.
> [@](#):
>
> I have a suspicion that many people have the inescapable expectation that acting shouldn’t be portrayed as ‘real’ and should instead be portrayed as ‘hollywood-style performing’. And any actor who comes along and then creates a performance that is actually very naturalistic and real can be accepted as a great actor when in amongst a similar calibre cast, or can look extremely wrong when in a different calibre cast.
>
> I think she was going for realistic acting, and comes across to hose who dislike her as ‘inappropriately matched with her cast’ which translates to being ‘bad’.
Since when does “real” = boring and monotone? Most everyone I know IRL has more than one expression, and does in fact use varying inflections when they speak. I just don’t see how her utter lack of …eh…well…_anything_can be interpreted as “naturalistic”
However, not to be a total hater, I’ll grant you she is a beautiful woman, and I’d be willing to watch her in something else, but I can’t see changing my mind about her L & O performance.
---
### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/22 "2006-02-17T15:17:01Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> The problem isn’t her acting style…
Excuse me? Wasn’t it you yourself who wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> I have a suspicion that many people have the inescapable expectation that acting shouldn’t be portrayed as ‘real’ and should instead be portrayed as ‘hollywood-style performing’. And any actor who comes along and then creates a performance that is actually very naturalistic and real can be accepted as a great actor when in amongst a similar calibre cast, or can look extremely wrong when in a different calibre cast.
>
> I think she was going for realistic acting, and comes across to hose who dislike her as ‘inappropriately matched with her cast’ which translates to being ‘bad’.
I ask again: can you provide us with the names of any actors who use this style who are considered to be good actors?
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/23 "2006-02-17T15:31:52Z")
Could all this have something to do with Elisabeth’s leaving her RL husband Dan Abrams (TV lawyer-commentator) shortly after he contracted testicular cancer?
No cause/effect relationship implied. Not be my, anyway. But one wonders…
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/24 "2006-02-17T15:35:05Z")
Correction: Rohm & Abrams were engaged but not yet married.
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### Author:  [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/25 "2006-02-17T15:43:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#):
>
> I have a suspicion that many people have the inescapable expectation that acting shouldn’t be portrayed as ‘real’ and should instead be portrayed as ‘hollywood-style performing’. And any actor who comes along and then creates a performance that is actually very naturalistic and real can be accepted as a great actor when in amongst a similar calibre cast, or can look extremely wrong when in a different calibre cast.
So the problem isn’t Elizabeth Röhm—the problem is that the likes of Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach simply weren’t good enough to match her? Wow.
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### Author:  [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/26 "2006-02-17T16:06:02Z")
I think she is a decent enough actress, but there is something very off-putting about her.
I think it is something in her face but I really cannot put my finger on it.
Maybe it is because I really, really disliked the character of Kate on _Angel_.
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### Author:  [@mazinger\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mazinger_z)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/27 "2006-02-17T16:20:58Z")
I don’t hate her. I don’t think she’s a great actress either. Angie Harmon is a tough act to follow, but I couldn’t stand her on Angel either. On Angel, I thought, well, she’s looks pretty, even though I’m not that attracted to blondes. Then, she started getting really annoying. She didn’t seem to emote any range. If she was upset, she only had one type of upset. She also doesn’t seem tough enough for either part (cop or ADA). She can say lines like she isn’t reading them, so that I appreciate (and that’s my usual standard of juding whether or not an actor is good – I haven’t studied anything on acting). The best way I can describe her acting is “acting by numbers.”
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### Author:  [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/28 "2006-02-17T18:01:40Z")
> [@Leaper](#):
>
> I think this is a big factor, given that her predecessor was Angie Harmon’s character Abbie Carmichael, whom many fans really liked for the realistic portrayal of her political views, her no-nonsense attitude, and her strength as a character.
And don’t forget the smokey voice… damn.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/29 "2006-02-17T18:58:06Z")
> [@Leaper](#):
>
> I think this is a big factor, given that her predecessor was Angie Harmon’s character Abbie Carmichael, whom many fans really liked for the realistic portrayal of her political views, her no-nonsense attitude, and her strength as a character…
I’m only an occasional L&O watcher, but I really liked Angie Harmon, too. Don’t remember anything about her political views, though - what were they? Were they different from McCoy’s? (For that matter, what were _his_?)
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### Author:  [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/30 "2006-02-17T20:08:51Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#):
>
> I’m only an occasional L&O watcher, but I really liked Angie Harmon, too. Don’t remember anything about her political views, though - what were they? Were they different from McCoy’s? (For that matter, what were _his_?)
Abby was pretty conservative in the sense that she wasn’t interested in sociologic/economic/familial reasons (or excuses) for why people became criminals; as far as she was concerned, they were simply Bad People, who needed to be locked up for a good long time if not executed outright. McCoy, who does not generally brim with sympathy for the criminal element (and supports the death penalty) himself, often appeared shocked by how uncompromising Abby was in her views.
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/31 "2006-02-17T20:28:35Z")
It was amusing to see McCoy getting in touch with his “Voice Of Reason” side when debating with Carmichael.
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### Author:  [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/32 "2006-02-19T23:46:50Z")
Perhaps they are reminded of Ernst Röhm, head of the Nazi SA or 'Stormtroopers".
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/33 "2006-02-20T00:30:53Z")
I don’t hate Rohm, but her face was kinda masklike in its immobility (I know her only from her stint on Law & Order). Thinking about it, I haven’t seen acting that wooden outside of hardcore porn. A lot of softcore porn actresses do better in terms of facial expressiveness.
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### Author:  [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/34 "2006-02-20T12:01:06Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> Since when does “real” = boring and monotone?
Obviously you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting my eighth-grade Algebra teacher. 😃
I liked Röhm.
I’ll grant the naysayers that she certainly wasn’t the greatest actress ever to grace L&O’s fabled halls of justice, but people seem to go _ **way** _ overboard in their condemnations of her. She’s not porno-bad. She’s not even soap opera-bad.
I really can’t understannd how anyone would actually quit watching the show because of Röhm. Her character showed a lot of sympathy and understanding, perhaps moreso than any of the other ADAs.
> [@lissener](#):
>
> She only has one facial expression.
[I](http://img49.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm104tz.jpg) [think](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm18pb.jpg) [that](http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm23pg.jpg) [statement](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm31io.jpg) [is](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm48ib.jpg) [vastly](http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm96ve.jpg) [hyperbolic](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm69sl.jpg) [at](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm72nu.jpg) [best](http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm84px.jpg)[.](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohm50ea.jpg)
It’s not like I had to search very hard through my collection of Law & Order videos to snag and crop those frames, either. They represent cursory scrolls through a mere two episodes.
> [@lissener](#):
>
> She never blinks.
[Wrong.](http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rohmblink3pm.jpg)
I also have to admit that I find myself mystified by the lionization of Angie Harmon. As I saw it, _she_ was the ADA who only seemed to have one facial expression - incredibly pissed off.
Her character was so devoid of any type of compassion that my ex and I took to calling her “The Ice Queen Bitch.” Abbie Carmichael was perpetually out for blood. Hell, she seemed as evil as some of the defendants! Also, her speaking voice was about as feminine as your average construction worker.
I don’t see my hatred for Abbie as some kind of liberal/conservative thing, either. She was a reprehensible snake - mean almost to the point of caricature.
Contrast that with Arthur Branch, who, though his values are pretty close to Abbie’s, actually comes off as a reasonable and likable human being.
Abbie was more like some kind of mutant killbot with her switch permanently hardwired to the “crush, kill, destroy” position.
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### Author:  [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/35 "2006-02-20T16:41:40Z")
> [@sjc](#):
>
> Perhaps they are reminded of Ernst Röhm, head of the Nazi SA or 'Stormtroopers".
I believe the two had the same parting words.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/36 "2006-02-20T18:07:42Z")
Don’t watch L&O so I don’t know how she was on that show, but I liked her fine on “Angel.” She was supposed to be a tough, stoic cop and I liked her chemistry with Boreanaz.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/37 "2006-02-20T18:57:09Z")
> [@neutron star](#):
>
> I also have to admit that I find myself mystified by the lionization of Angie Harmon. As I saw it, _she_ was the ADA who only seemed to have one facial expression - incredibly pissed off.
>
> Her character was so devoid of any type of compassion that my ex and I took to calling her “The Ice Queen Bitch.” Abbie Carmichael was perpetually out for blood. Hell, she seemed as evil as some of the defendants! Also, her speaking voice was about as feminine as your average construction worker.
>
> I don’t see my hatred for Abbie as some kind of liberal/conservative thing, either. She was a reprehensible snake - mean almost to the point of caricature.
>
> Contrast that with Arthur Branch, who, though his values are pretty close to Abbie’s, actually comes off as a reasonable and likable human being.
>
> Abbie was more like some kind of mutant killbot with her switch permanently hardwired to the “crush, kill, destroy” position.
It’s probably worthy of mention here that Harmon was a speaker at the 2004 Republican National Convention. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie\_Harmon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Harmon)
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/38 "2006-02-20T19:00:44Z")
> [@saoirse](#):
>
> I believe the two had the same parting words.
😃
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### Author:  [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/39 "2006-02-20T19:22:22Z")
> [@saoirse](#):
>
> I believe the two had the same parting words.
I second **BrainGlutton** ’s 😃 and wish I had thought of that joke myself.
Actually, I think it’s funnier that someone else said it. Good one.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-elisabeth-rohm/344894/40 "2006-02-20T19:30:27Z")
[nitpick]
Actually, Ernest Rohm’s last words were “Heil, Hitler!” He believed to the last he had gotten caught up in an anti-Hitler coup.
[/nitpick]
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