# Worst working actors who are highly successful **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545 "2009-01-23T00:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 7
**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:** [January 25, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/121 "2009-01-25T14:00:40Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > He sucks as an actor - but is he highly successful? Beyond a bit role in Adam Sandler movies, he doesn’t do much. The only movie I saw him star in was The Benchwarmers. He was entertaining enough. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/122 "2009-01-25T16:13:02Z")
I’m not a big fan of Bill Paxton either, but he works in Big Love because he is channelling my uber-Mormon, 5th grade teacher Mr. Tobler. It’s a bit disturbing- I really did not like that teacher, but I will say that Bill had super Mormon down pat. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/123 "2009-01-25T19:59:44Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Madonna can do a good job when she’s in a second banana role such as “Desperately Seeking Susan,” or “Dick Tracey,” or “A League of Their Own.” She can’t carry a movie though, (though I liked “Who’s that Girl,”). She nailed _Evita_. But even as the biggest Madonna fan on the planet I have to agree with you she is a really terrible actress. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/124 "2009-01-25T21:29:39Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > Furthermore, I saw Caruso in an early episode of Miami CSI (or whatever it’s called). > On that very same show, there was another NYPD Blue graduate - I call her tits because on NYPD, she like to put her hands on her hips and stick, ger tits out. She was a detective. She has an Irish name, as I recall. > rtable acting way below his standards. Kim Delaney is the actress you’re referring to, I believe. I hate Caruso with the heat of a thousand suns, but based on his earlier performances, I would say: he’s competent, but now is satisfied earning a hefty paycheck doing self-parody in CSI. I will second all nominations for Melanie Griffiths who squeaky voice can scratch glass, and who plods along emphasizing all the wrong words in a sentence as if she doesn’t understand the context (or big words) of what she is saying. Edit: But then she and her plastic surgery ruined face aren’t exactly working much these days, so perhaps we’ll be spared future annoyances. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/125 "2009-01-25T21:48:01Z")
Every time I watch a Seinfeld rerun it jumps out at me how bad an actor Jerry was. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Punkyova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@The\_Punkyova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Punkyova)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/126 "2009-01-25T21:55:35Z")
Why are we all the way to page three and no one has mentioned Rebecca Pidgeon? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/127 "2009-01-25T22:00:55Z")
> [@The\_Punkyova](#): > > Why are we all the way to page three and no one has mentioned Rebecca Pidgeon? Perhaps because she like Rob Schneider are far from “Highly Successful”. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/128 "2009-01-25T22:11:00Z")
There is always the horrible Sondra Locke that Clint Eastwood gouged into our eyes. She was awful. Because she laid Clint well, he decided to screw the movie goers with her . She brought zero to the screen. I can watch bad actors and shrug them off during a movie. But with her I kept removing myself from the plot thinking "god she is horrible’. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/129 "2009-01-25T23:31:52Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I realize he’s taking a break from acting, but I think the Governator should really be on this list. Several of The Terminators on _Sarah Connor Chronicles_ are actually scary. Robert Patrick in T2 was scary. Ahnuld wasn’t. He was doofus Ahnuld trying to act tough. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/130 "2009-01-25T23:58:25Z")
> [@The\_Punkyova](#): > > Why are we all the way to page three and no one has mentioned Rebecca Pidgeon? She hasn’t been in anything in awhile, has she? She’s the worst actress I have ever seen in a substantial number of movies, but I haven’t seen her since “Heist.” ---
**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:** [January 26, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/131 "2009-01-26T04:42:06Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > He sucks as an actor - but is he highly successful? Beyond a bit role in Adam Sandler movies, he doesn’t do much. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Perhaps because she like Rob Schneider are far from “Highly Successful”. I disagree. He’s starred in several movies – highly forgettable ones, admittedly, but he has an almost cult following. They practically worship him in Thailand. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/132 "2009-01-26T04:59:47Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > I hate Caruso with the heat of a thousand suns, but based on his earlier performances, I would say: he’s competent, but now is satisfied earning a hefty paycheck doing self-parody in CSI. Not to turn this into too much of a David Curuso thread but I’d say there’s a good reason why he’s doing this. After his acrimonious departure from “NYPD Blue” after only one season to do movies, he now knows better not to blow a good thing. He’s going to play it safe and milk the CSI franchise for every last cent. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/133 "2009-01-26T13:14:57Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Yes, but the trailer for “Whore” is the funniest unintentionally funny trailer ever. > > Anyway… once David Caruso has been nominated it’s kind of hard to top that, if we’re limiting ourselves to actual working, successful actors. His continued employment can only be explained by the producers of CSI: Miami being under corporate orders not to rock the boat of a show that gets good ratings. Either that or the guy is so comically, hilariously bad that people watch the show for that reason. I’ve managed to struggle through a few episodes and he’s just jaw-droppingly bad. And he has NO defenders I’ve ever heard of. Many of the usual suspects in these threads are like Keanu Reeves, who will always have some people say “Now, to be fair, he was pretty good in this and that movie, he’s good in certain roles” but I’ve NEVER heard anyone say anything good about David Caruso. > > I can think of some pretty bad actors, and even some worse ones but none are acting regularly anymore. Any bad actor I can think of who’s working now, I can come up with at least one reason why he or she is better than David Caruso. As much as I _loathe_ Caruso, I’ll have to admit that I found him to be half decent in his **NYPD Blues** days. Like I said (and repeated) in various CSI threads, I love(d) the original wth a passion because of William Petersen, and I hate CSI: Miami with a passion because of David Caruso. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545/134 "2009-01-26T14:40:29Z")
**tygre** , although she’s a big 90210 fan, would have to agree with me that Tori Spelling, Ian Zehring and Brian Austin Green deserve to be on this list. Tori’s in reality TV hell and Zehring and BAG are gone forever but in 90210’s heyday they certainly qualified as “highly successful.” The sad thing was that for a while there was a guy on that show who made those three look like Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable, and Laurence Olivier. I can’t remember the guy’s name for the life of me, but he was dating Tori Spelling for a while and Tori convinced her dad to put him on the show in a minor role. He was just terrible; you could have picked somebody off the street in Moscow or Tokyo or Santiago and handed them a phonetic English script, and they would have done a better job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-working-actors-who-are-highly-successful/482545.md?page=6)