# You know who's always good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840 "2008-09-16T14:33:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/41 "2008-09-17T01:02:03Z")
Edward Norton. ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/42 "2008-09-17T01:07:35Z")
Another vote for Gary Oldman. You could cast him in a film as a \*cold sore \*and he’d make you believe it. ---
**Author:** ![D.Fenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@D.Fenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.Fenestrator)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/43 "2008-09-17T01:23:33Z")
Another vote for Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman. And Chris Cooper. Always worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/44 "2008-09-17T01:27:50Z")
Gary Oldman gets another vote. I find I like Russell Crow and Christian Bale in just about everything they do. Of Actresses, I usually like Kiera Knightly in all her roles. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/45 "2008-09-17T02:42:30Z")
Gary Cole. Making every movie he’s in that much better. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/46 "2008-09-17T02:52:15Z")
Peter O’Toole Alan Rickman Jodie Foster James Earl Jones Susan Sarandon Gary Oldman Steve Buscemi Christopher Walken Anthony Hopkins Matt Damon actually as I think about it. **Was always great** Henry Fonda Spncer Tracy Katherine Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (no relation) Gary Cooper Gregory Peck I stop with those. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/47 "2008-09-17T10:51:20Z")
I’m going to go out on a limb and say Brad Pitt. And before you criticize my selection, did you see Charlize Theron in Reindeer Games or The Astronaut’s Wife? Yeah, didn’t think so. heh. I’m actually a big Charlize fan, but she has some real stinkers on her resume. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/48 "2008-09-17T11:03:16Z")
Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Even all the way back to **3rd Rock**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/49 "2008-09-17T11:28:44Z")
Stockard Channing. I am always a little surprised her film/screen career never really took off, relatively speaking that is – I realize that her success on _The West Wing_ is certainly impressive, but she has a lot of Made for TV-type movies on her resume. Anyway, I think she is always on top of things with her performances, even when the material is not so hot. And her work in live theater is absolutely incredible. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/50 "2008-09-17T11:29:26Z")
Laurence Olivier. No idea where he is these days, but he’s always pretty damn good. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/51 "2008-09-17T11:30:45Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Edward Norton. I love him. Also, Leonardo DiCaprio is always good. I watched him in The Man in the Iron Mask the other day. Excellent performance! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/52 "2008-09-17T13:45:10Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Laurence Olivier. > > No idea where he is these days, but he’s always pretty damn good. Dead since 1989, but that didn’t stop the makers of _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_ from resurrecting him through old footage. ---
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/53 "2008-09-17T13:55:33Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m going to go out on a limb and say Brad Pitt. Ha! I came in here to say that! It’s not a very outrageous nomination, he wouldn’t be making the big bucks if lots of other people didn’t agree but for a long time I thought he was cast only because he’s hot. It turns out he’s a good actor, too. ---
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/54 "2008-09-17T14:17:16Z")
I’ll vote for Charlize Theron as well. _The Devil’s Advocate_ had a pretty loaded cast, but her performance may have been the best in the film. I nominate Parker Posey. She’s been in most of the Chris Guest films, for better (_Best In Show_) or for worse (_For Your Consideration_) and she does well with a wide range of characters. _Superman Returns_ was CGI fluff with a dollop of glurgy Godsploitation, but she and Kevin Spacey made it watchable. She absolutely nailed the combination of ditziness and cunning self-interest that makes the perfect Bad Guy’s Girlfriend. Paul Giamatti has never disappointed me, either. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/55 "2008-09-17T15:26:32Z")
I have to second Chris Cooper, my favorite ugly actor. But my favorite is Frances McDormand, who is always wonderful in everything she’s in, from **Darkman** to **Madeline** to **Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day**. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/56 "2008-09-17T15:45:00Z")
> [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](#): > > Ha! I came in here to say that! It’s not a very outrageous nomination, he wouldn’t be making the big bucks if lots of other people didn’t agree but for a long time I thought he was cast only because he’s hot. It turns out he’s a good actor, too. I think he tends to be better at character roles than in lead roles. _12 Monkeys_, for instance A couple of lesser known roles that I think he did really well were as a creepy, redneck psycopath in _Kalifornia_, and Floyd, the stoner roommate in _True Romance_. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/57 "2008-09-18T13:22:43Z")
I’ve never seen a bad performance out of Jeff Daniels. Considering he’s the lead in my favorite modern movie and just had a big role in Iron Man, I probably should’ve thought of him sooner. Edward Norton is really good, but he completely mailed it in in the Italian Job remake. It’s completely understandable since he apparently did not want to be involved in that movie at all, and everybody else sucked too (except Seth Green), but still, Norton appeared to be making zero effort. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/58 "2008-09-18T14:15:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Edward Norton is really good, but he completely mailed it in in the Italian Job remake. It’s completely understandable since he apparently did not want to be involved in that movie at all, and everybody else sucked too (except Seth Green), but still, Norton appeared to be making zero effort. Good example of another crappy performance by Charlize Theron. That makes three so far. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/59 "2008-09-18T15:09:42Z")
I nominate Brian Cox (AKA “the better Hannibal Lector”) He is in so many things, and whether it is a small part (like “Braveheart”), or stealling the show as in “X-Men 2”, he is always good. And just when you think he only takes “serious” roles, he shows up in “Super Troopers” and “The Ringer” ! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/60 "2008-09-22T20:08:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’ve never seen a bad performance out of Jeff Daniels. Considering he’s the lead in my favorite modern movie and just had a big role in Iron Man, I probably should’ve thought of him sooner… Well, Jeff Daniels is very good (_Gettysburg, Purple Rose of Cairo, Dumb and Dumber_), but it was Jeff Bridges (_Jagged Edge, The Big Lebowski, The Contender_) who was in _Iron Man_. The best two Jeffs in Hollywood, I’d say! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840.md?page=4)