# "Wow! They really can act!" moments **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346 "2007-12-17T16:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/61 "2007-12-18T06:28:58Z")
_Brokeback Mountain_ sealed the deal with Heath Ledger for me. I couldn’t believe I was watching the same guy from _A Knight’s Tale_ and _10 Things I Hate About You_. _Shattered Glass_: huh. Hayden Christensen’s actually pretty decent if you give him a semi-intelligible script to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/62 "2007-12-18T06:32:18Z")
I didn’t get all the fuss about Dustin Hoffman until I saw _Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium._ Hot diggity dog, that ol’ boy can act up a storm! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/63 "2007-12-18T06:49:04Z")
If you didn’t think Dustin Hoffman could act, you clearly hadn’t seen I Heart Huckabees or Wag the Dog. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/64 "2007-12-18T07:20:08Z")
Jim Carrey in _The Truman Show_ - He doesn’t go crazy in this movie until his character is under some extreme stress, and then it makes sense for him to act that way. He just generally comes off as a slightly kooky guy who is noticing his world isn’t quite right. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/65 "2007-12-18T13:20:38Z")
Jerry Orbach in _Prince of the City_. Until then, he was just a good song-and-dance man. Who knew he could act? And I think of Hugh Laurie in the reverse–he was just a damn good British slapstick comedy song-and-dance man. It wasn’t until _House_ that I recognized his acting abilities and his range. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/66 "2007-12-18T14:57:58Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] If you didn’t think Dustin Hoffman could act, you clearly hadn’t seen I Heart Huckabees or Wag the Dog. [/QUOTE] I think you got whooshed. I never knew what all the Fuss about Robert De Niro was until I saw _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/67 "2007-12-18T15:08:22Z")
I had such a moment seeing Lindsay Lohan in the Prairie Home Companion movie. There’s a scene where she’s talking to Garrison Keillor about her father and a story about the kite, that’s very well done. ‘Damn, she really can act.’ I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/68 "2007-12-18T15:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=kellner] Hugh Laurie in _Jeeves and Wooster_. Up to that point I had only known him as House. Although I enjoyed it a lot the really impressive thing was his range. [/QUOTE] For me, the Hugh Laurie moment was in _Sense and Sensibility_. I had seen \*Blackadder \* and _Jeeves and Wooster_, so I knew him as a broad comic actor, but there he had maybe 3 minutes on screen to portray a very complex character, and he nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Sug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Daniel\_Sug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel_Sug)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/69 "2007-12-18T16:12:25Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] Now for my additions, it’d have to be **Will Ferrell** in Stranger Than Fiction… [/QUOTE] This is what came to my mind after reading the OP. All my friends look at me like I’m from Mars when I say I can see him eventually becoming like Tom Hanks due to this role. Let’s see…goofy, comedic actor who slowly, but firmly, becomes respected for strong, dramatic acting skills…yep, entirely within the realm of possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/70 "2007-12-18T16:19:00Z")
[QUOTE=drm] The Fact that Tommy Solomon can act ( **Joseph Gordon-Levitt** ) was a bit of a shock to me when I saw Mysterious Skin (and subsequently The Lookout) [/QUOTE] Before that, he had a five minute scene in a Roseanne that was brilliant. And before that, there was Angels in the Outfield, where he holds his own acting-wise with Danny Glover and Christopher Lloyd. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/71 "2007-12-18T17:06:27Z")
Bruce Willis in the Sixth Sense ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/72 "2007-12-18T17:50:36Z")
Marshall Mathers left me impresseed with **8 Mile** , but that could be because my expectations were so low. On a related note I thought Courtney Love did a great job playing a crack whore in **The People vs. Larry Flynt** …but well, was that acting? \*\*\* I’m scratching the bottom of the barrel here, you guys took all the good ones. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/73 "2007-12-18T18:00:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sitnam] Marshall Mathers left me impresseed with **8 Mile** , but that could be because my expectations were so low. [/QUOTE] No that’s a good one, he did an amazing job. And you reminded me by mentioning _8 Mile_ how impressed I was by Brittany Murphy in _Freeway_. God, I didn’t even recognize her until I was listening to the commentary. Keifer as well - I’ve been vaguely terrified of him ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/74 "2007-12-18T18:09:34Z")
I always though of Cameron Diaz as just another pretty face until I saw her in **Very Bad Things** followed by **Being John Malkovich**. That woman is hampered by some poor film choices, but she can act. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/75 "2007-12-18T18:37:04Z")
Cate Blanchette in the underrated, utterly amazing Australian film _Little Fish_. I’d seen her in _Elizabeth_ and as Galadriel, but she never made any impression on me. In _Little Fish_ she’s at the center of a stellar cast, and blew me away. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/76 "2007-12-18T18:45:38Z")
I discovered that Cameron Diaz could act when I watched “In her Shoes” - Also in that film Shirley Maclaine does NOT play Shirley Maclaine, as she usually seems too. and "Freeway’ is where I realized Reese Witherspoon could act, tho I didn’t really like the movie. ---
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/77 "2007-12-18T18:46:06Z")
Ok, I’ll second (or third, or fourth) Will Farrell in **Stranger Than Fiction**. I’m easy to amuse and like a lot of his less intellectually challenging roles… but Stranger Than Fiction really stuck with me. Now, all the mention of Keanu Reeves has got me to thinking I should watch \*\*Little Buddha \*\* again to see if this would qualify. Has anyone seen that movie recently and care to weigh in on it? ---
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/78 "2007-12-18T18:47:29Z")
Oh, and I forgot to mention (while we’re on a Keanu Reeves kick) the woman that played Gabriel in **Constantine**. (I should look these names up, as well as spellings, but I trust you all will know who I’m talking about) ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/79 "2007-12-18T18:59:11Z")
[QUOTE=simply\_cats] Oh, and I forgot to mention (while we’re on a Keanu Reeves kick) the woman that played Gabriel in **Constantine**. (I should look these names up, as well as spellings, but I trust you all will know who I’m talking about) [/QUOTE] The terrifying and amazing Tilda Swinton, but I can’t say I’ve ever not been impressed by her. Unimpressed by some of her film choices, perhaps, but she’s always very watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/80 "2007-12-18T19:43:07Z")
[QUOTE=manx] The terrifying and amazing Tilda Swinton, but I can’t say I’ve ever not been impressed by her. Unimpressed by some of her film choices, perhaps, but she’s always very watchable. [/QUOTE] Her role in **The Beach** was haunting and convincing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346.md?page=5)