# "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:** 5
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/81 "2007-12-18T19:56:38Z")
Colin Farrell impressed me in Phone Booth. Until then I had always seen him in the cocky young man roles. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/82 "2007-12-18T19:57:14Z")
I feel like I’ve made this comment about 5 times in various threads, but… why is anyone ever surprised that **Leonardo Di Caprio** can act? He’s an AMAZING actor. Is it just because he was in Titanic and was a teen-girl-heartthrob for a while? However much you hate Titanic (and everyone seems to hate it, these days), I’ve rarely heard anyone seriously suggest that what it needed was better actors in the lead roles. Anyhow, my contribution to the thread is **Will Smith** in **Six Degrees of Separation**. I was vaguely aware of him as **The Fresh Prince** and some rap something or other, and he was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/83 "2007-12-18T20:22:10Z")
For a “Wow! He can act again!” moment, De Niro in **Stardust**. For the first time in years, he wasn’t phoning in another Robert De Niro impression. Robin Williams was great in **The World According to Garp**. That was the first time I’d seen him as anything other than Mork. Keira Knightley is actually very good in **Atonement**. I knew her only from her rather shrill character in the **Pirates of the Caribbean** series. Harrison Ford showed he had some range in **The Mosquito Coast** and **Presumed Innocent** but he seemed to have decided not to pursue that type of acting after that period. Michael Keaton was excellent in non-comedic roles in **Clean and Sober** and as the cold-blooded sociopath in **Pacific Heights**. ---
**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, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/84 "2007-12-18T20:24:49Z")
Sean Hayes in Martin & Lewis. He didn’t just portray Jerry Lewis, he became Jerry Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/85 "2007-12-18T20:38:18Z")
[QUOTE=Reno Nevada] 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. [/QUOTE] I came in here specifically to mention Hugh Laurie, and Stephen Fry, and there already seems to be an ongoing conversation. 🙂 For me, it was _Peter’s Friends_ that did it. Up `til then, I’d been fans of the pair in Jeeves & Wooster, various Blackadders, and their own Bits of Fry & Laurie, but there was always a smirk behind the performance–I never felt it went all the way down to the heart. In _Peter’s Friends_, there’s a moment when Laurie is talking about what it’s like for a father to lose a child, he chokes up for just a second. That was the first time I’d seen him act “all the way down.” ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/86 "2007-12-18T21:05:12Z")
Although I melted every time David Boreanaz appeared as “Angel” on Buffy (because he was so good looking), I really didn’t think he could really act until he switched to Angelus. The episode that really impressed me was “I only have eyes for you.” In this particular episode, Angelus and Buffy were swept up in a time warp and forced to relive the night of a murder/suicide of a teacher by her lovesick student. In a twist, Angelus assumed the part of the female teacher, who was crying and pleading to save herself and her student. At one point, the estranged lovers kissed, and instantly the spell was broken. Boreanaz had to switch immediately from lovesick woman into the cocky, cold Angelus. And he did good. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/87 "2007-12-18T21:07:55Z")
Will Smith in “I Am Legend”. Yah, the movie had problems towards the end - but none of them had a thing to do with Smith’s acting. Robert Neville is a badly damaged, lonely, obsessive character who’s done some very questionable things - and Smith nails him, spot on. He’s not an action hero, he’s not a wise-cracking funny guy - he’s Robert Neville, as fine and nuanced a portrayal as you’ll ever see. Brilliant, superb work. ---
**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 19, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/88 "2007-12-19T00:59:03Z")
> [@Scupper](#): > > Keira Knightley is actually very good in Atonement. I knew her only from her rather shrill character in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Check out _Bend it Like Beckham_ if you get the chance. **Mr. Excellent** , thanks for the “I am Legend” info. I’ll have to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/89 "2007-12-19T01:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] **Illuminatiprimus** , have you seen Kevin Bacon in _The Woodsman_? All of the main actors–Kevin Bacon, Mos Def, Benjamin Bratt, Kyra Sedgwick–were stellar. Sedgwick really blew me away, since she’s so awful in The Closer. And this was the movie that made it clear that Mos Def and Benjamin Bratt are serious actors. [/QUOTE] Speaking of Mos Def, I was really impressed by his performance in “16 Blocks.” He totally embodied that twitchy, kind of dorky character and made his mannerisms seem completely natural. ---
**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 19, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/90 "2007-12-19T01:13:55Z")
He’s got a hell of a lot of range, then. He was anything but twitchy and dorky in _The Woodsman_; he played a take-shit-from-no-one PO. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/91 "2007-12-19T01:45:37Z")
[QUOTE=Equipoise] I just thought of another one, more recent, that surprised the hell out of me: Justin Timberlake in **Alpha Dog**. And if I thought that was some sort of fluke, he blew me away again in **Black Snake Moan**. I know nothing about his music or his boy band days or his persona, but I do know that he’s a really good actor, and if he keeps on improving, he can be a great actor. [/QUOTE] He’s also one of the better guest hosts SNL has had in a while. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/92 "2007-12-19T02:25:17Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] I’ll second Brad Pitt after seeing him in \*12 Monkeys \* and _Seven_, almost back to back in 1995. I thought he was a useless pretty-boy from all those ads for _Legends of the Fall_, the period piece where he had long blond Fabio-like hair and rode a lot of horses. [/QUOTE] \*\*Legends of the Fall \*\* was pretty bad-ass if you haven’t seen it. \*\*Pitt \*\* was pretty good in it as well. > [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I feel like I’ve made this comment about 5 times in various threads, but… why is anyone ever surprised that Leonardo Di Caprio can act? He’s an AMAZING actor. I knew\*\* Di Caprio \*\* could act since I saw him in **The Basketball Diaries** , one of his earlier films. I generally like **Matt Damon** as well, but he really does a fine acting job as a strung out soldier in **Courage Under Fire.** > [@drm](#): > > I actually came in here to mention Justin Timberlake in both Black Snake Moan and Alpha Dog. I haven’t seen either movie, but he had me at SNL’s Dick in a Box sketch. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/93 "2007-12-19T03:22:12Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] Speaking of Mos Def, I was really impressed by his performance in “16 Blocks.” He totally embodied that twitchy, kind of dorky character and made his mannerisms seem completely natural. [/QUOTE] He was amazingly acceptable as Ford Prefect, too. A gifted, versatile actor. I suppose it can’t come as a huge surprise, though, if a professional singer/rapper/musician can also act; we’ve already mentioned a number of examples, like Mos Def, Mark Wahlberg, Justin Timberlake, et al. They’re entertainers and performers by trae, and moving from one medium to another isn’t that big a shift. It always surprises me more when a good musical performer CAN’T act, like Madonna. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/94 "2007-12-19T03:30:41Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I suppose it can’t come as a huge surprise, though, if a professional singer/rapper/musician can also act; we’ve already mentioned a number of examples, like Mos Def, Mark Wahlberg, Justin Timberlake, et al. They’re entertainers and performers by trae, and moving from one medium to another isn’t that big a shift. It always surprises me more when a good musical performer CAN’T act, like Madonna. [/QUOTE] No props for **Ice Cube** (Boyz NThe Hood, Higher Learning, Three Kings) or **Ice-T** (New Jack City, Law & Order: SVU)? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/95 "2007-12-19T03:45:09Z")
I only ever saw Robert De Niro play Robert De Niro, so I never really appreciated him…until I saw **Jackie Brown**. I couldn’t believe how impressed I was I really feel that De Niro should only be allowed to work with Tarantino. In that regards, Al Pacino should only be allowed to work with Christopher Nolan ( see **Insomnia** ). **Jackie Brown** also featured a great turn from Michael Keaton. Likewise, I’ve always _heard_ that Brando was brilliant, but being young and ignorant, I had no idea why anybody ever said that. And then I saw him as Mark Antony in one of his earliest movies **Julius Caesar**. I was utterly entranced by him. I could not look away. Hayden Christensen absolutely blew me away in **Shattered Glass**. It was a role that required subtlety and nuance and a very careful balance. So much of the character was expressed in the eyes and in tiny little moments–and by god, he pulled it off! ---
**Author:** ![threnodyangelfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/96 "2007-12-19T03:56:42Z")
[QUOTE=faithfool] Now for my additions, it’d have to be **Will Ferrell** in Stranger Than Fiction [/QUOTE] I came in to mention this. He absolutely blew me away in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/97 "2007-12-19T04:21:59Z")
Another eons-ago entry to the list — Lucille freakin’ Ball, I kid you not, in a silly/cute fluff romantic comedy, _Yours, Mine & Ours_, circa 1968. Not something that would have been a breakout role for anyone else, but I was under the impression that she couldn’t do anything but mug in front of the camera like a chimpanzee while the laugh-track runs, and I was amazed to find that she was actually pretty decent in this. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/98 "2007-12-19T04:40:41Z")
Another good Keanu Reeves performance is in **My Own Private Idaho**. He doesn’t have much range, but in the right role, he can be good. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/99 "2007-12-19T06:54:18Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] Oh, well then. 🙂 The commentary on _Serenity_ was the first place I’d heard of it, so I figured it was his own little director/producer’s trick. [/QUOTE] It’s a truism that comedy is harder than drama, but I’ve never before heard a director specifically say that he prefers casting comic actors in dramatic roles. SO you might be correct that it’s more or less his own little trick. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346/100 "2007-12-19T07:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] Speaking of Mos Def, I was really impressed by his performance in “16 Blocks.” He totally embodied that twitchy, kind of dorky character and made his mannerisms seem completely natural. [/QUOTE] Seeing him in _16 Blocks_ after seeing [_Something the Lord Made_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386792/), the man can act! Add me to the Will Ferrell in _Stranger Than Fiction_ club, I almost didn’t watch it because he was in it. I too was blown away, love that movie. CMC +fnord! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-they-really-can-act-moments/430346.md?page=6)