# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/61 "2008-10-11T23:11:37Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > 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. Actually, I _did_ see Charlize Theron in The Astronaut’s Wife, so pffft! She’s my favorite African American actress. 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 11, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/62 "2008-10-11T23:33:16Z")
Harry Dean Stanton has never failed to make anything he was in better. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/63 "2008-10-12T01:57:25Z")
Beth Grant. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/64 "2008-10-12T03:20:06Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Beth Grant. Who’s she? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/65 "2008-10-12T03:43:42Z")
Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges. Michelle Pfeiffer while we are on the cast of The Fabulous Baker Boys. She did her own damn good singing. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/66 "2008-10-12T05:33:22Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Who’s she? A dark-haired woman with a twang in her accent who usually plays small but interesting roles. Examples: the pageant organizer in **Little Miss Sunshine** , the dance team coach in **Donnie Darko** , the mother of Moss’s wife in **No Country for Old Men** , etc. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/67 "2008-10-12T05:43:00Z")
I would have to add Bill Murry. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/68 "2008-10-12T12:16:59Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > A dark-haired woman with a twang in her accent who usually plays small but interesting roles. Examples: the pageant organizer in **Little Miss Sunshine** , the dance team coach in **Donnie Darko** , the mother of Moss’s wife in **No Country for Old Men** , etc. What’s funny is that I saw her in this week’s _Entertainment Weekly_ an hour after I turned off the computer – they have a piece on “really good actors who always work but aren’t household names,” and she’s one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/69 "2008-10-12T22:36:33Z")
Brian Blessed. I put it that size because that’s how he would say it. Ian McKellan I second Parker Posey. Hell, she made Blade: Trinity watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/70 "2008-10-12T23:25:10Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Toni Collette. She’s always good, and like Gary Oldman, she’s nearly unrecognizable from one role to the next: the mother in _The Sixth Sense_; Harriet Smith in _Emma_; Muriel in _Muriel’s Wedding_; the depressed mother in _About a Boy_. That’s who I came in here to mention. I referred to her in real life as one of my favorite actresses, and people usually say “Who?” My response is “I can practically guarantee you’ve seen at least one of her movies, and probably more than one, but didn’t even realize it was the same person. She’s that good.” I’ve sometimes felt sorry for Ms. Collette because she’s apparently not Hollywood beautiful enough to get leading lady roles, but she’s getting plenty of roles and is able to play a broader range of characters than just romantic leads. Even when her characters may be superficially similar, like in _Sixth Sense_ and _About a Boy_ (worried single mother of a troubled, oddball son) she makes them totally different people. I think that Christopher Guest may get more credit as a writer/director than as an actor, but compare just his two most famous roles (Nigel in _This Is Spinal Tap_ and Count Rugen in _The Princess Bride_) and it should be clear that he’s a very talented performer. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/71 "2008-10-13T03:21:44Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > That’s who I came in here to mention. I referred to her in real life as one of my favorite actresses, and people usually say “Who?” My response is “I can practically guarantee you’ve seen at least one of her movies, and probably more than one, but didn’t even realize it was the same person. She’s that good.” > > I’ve sometimes felt sorry for Ms. Collette because she’s apparently not Hollywood beautiful enough to get leading lady roles, but she’s getting plenty of roles and is able to play a broader range of characters than just romantic leads. Even when her characters may be superficially similar, like in _Sixth Sense_ and _About a Boy_ (worried single mother of a troubled, oddball son) she makes them totally different people. > > I think that Christopher Guest may get more credit as a writer/director than as an actor, but compare just his two most famous roles (Nigel in _This Is Spinal Tap_ and Count Rugen in _The Princess Bride_) and it should be clear that he’s a very talented performer. Toni Collette is also excellent as Greg Kinnear’s wife in **Little Miss Sunshine**. She completely nails the American accent, too. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/72 "2008-10-13T18:32:52Z")
After watching some of the suggestions in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=486732), I can confidently add **William Fichtner** to this list. Also, **Jason Isaacs**. He’s played at least three cartoonish, mustache-twirling villians, and he gave each of them distinct, nuanced personalities. In my eyes he can do no wrong. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/73 "2008-11-23T22:51:10Z")
**bump** to say You know who else is always good? Kevin Kline. (I’ve got _DeLovely_ on in the background as I do some work.) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/74 "2008-11-23T22:58:21Z")
> [@Euthanasiast](#): > > Another vote for Gary Oldman. Here’s another. Best actor in the world. Best actress? Kate Winslet. When has she ever put in a bad performance? Even in shitty movies, like “The Life of David Gale,” she’s first rate. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/75 "2008-11-23T23:34:56Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **bump** to say You know who else is always good? > > Kevin Kline. > > (I’ve got _DeLovely_ on in the background as I do some work.) I saw Kevin Kline playing Falstaff in a production of _Henry IV Part 2_. He was brilliant. That was probably the most enjoyable evening I’ve ever spent in the theater. The end of the play, in which Henry rejects Falstaff, was quite powerful. After yukking it up for a couple of hours, Kline really pulled off the emotional transition well, leaving me just sort of dumbstruck (to my shame, I had not read the play and didn’t know the plot beforehand, but it meant I got to be surprised). ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/76 "2008-11-23T23:48:31Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’ve sometimes felt sorry for Ms. Collette because she’s apparently not Hollywood beautiful enough to get leading lady roles, but she’s getting plenty of roles and is able to play a broader range of characters than just romantic leads. Good news for Toni Collette fans: she’s the lead in the new Showtime series [The United States of Tara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_United_States_of_Tara), where she plays a woman with multiple personalities. The show was developed by Diablo Cody, who won an Oscar last year for writing Juno. According to the wikipedia page, it premieres on January 18, 2009. It looks interesting and I’ll definitely give it a look. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/77 "2008-11-23T23:56:47Z")
Helen Mirren. Even in painfully creaky made-for-tv crap like the Ayn Rand bio-pic, she is regal. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840/78 "2008-11-24T15:46:50Z")
IS always good: M. Emmet Walsh Philip Baker Hall WAS always good: Warren Oates [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-whos-always-good/463840.md?page=3)