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Movie Stars That Are Not Good Actors


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  • 1 month later...
On 4/22/2021 at 3:59 PM, UncleSonny said:

Think of your top 3 or 5 favorite Denzel performances. No matter what you choose I bet you can describe the character he plays using adjectives like "intense, confidant, charming, determined, hypercompetent...". He kind of does what he does and he's literally the best at it.

Bumping this thread because I just saw this Patton tweet and it reminded me of my post and what I was trying to get at: 

 

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Having range and different accents is all well and good for actors but has little to do with being a movie star. Being a star requires presence and fewer people have that. John Wayne was not a particularly good actor and he was basically some version of John Wayne in everything but he dominated every scene he was ever in. Gregory Peck was a fine actor but he was always Gregory Peck and that's who you came to see. Henry Fonda was America's moral compass until being famously cast against type. Richard Burton would have been the heir to Olivier but he relied entirely on his mellifluous baritone voice to carry every part instead of working. Sean Connery never met a role he couldn't do with a Scottish accent. There's a skill in being able to carry a movie simply by being Harrison Ford vs hamming it up like Gary Oldman

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  • 2 years later...
On 6/6/2021 at 12:00 AM, Michael Knight said:

Having range and different accents is all well and good for actors but has little to do with being a movie star. Being a star requires presence and fewer people have that. John Wayne was not a particularly good actor and he was basically some version of John Wayne in everything but he dominated every scene he was ever in. Gregory Peck was a fine actor but he was always Gregory Peck and that's who you came to see. Henry Fonda was America's moral compass until being famously cast against type. Richard Burton would have been the heir to Olivier but he relied entirely on his mellifluous baritone voice to carry every part instead of working. Sean Connery never met a role he couldn't do with a Scottish accent. There's a skill in being able to carry a movie simply by being Harrison Ford vs hamming it up like Gary Oldman

You are spot on. Duval ain’t Anthony Hopkins, but he is a star. 

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On 4/24/2021 at 9:02 PM, mr. sunshine said:

I probably haven’t seen Over the Edge in 40 years but I’m about to dig around in my VHS bin 

 

On 4/25/2021 at 1:19 PM, South Austin said:

Wow. I haven’t even thought of that movie in years. I remember watching it on HBO.

Used to be an Austin gutter punk band called the Ritchie Whites back in the early aughts. I always wondered how many folks knew the name wasn't referencing spoiled anglos.

Fun fact: The Van Halen song Light Up the Sky was originally intended to be the theme song for the movie. Band saw a screening and decided to keep it for VH II cuz, to quote Eddie, "it ain't gonna win no Academy Award or nothing."

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9 hours ago, DixonHur said:

Not sure if either qualify, but they are leading men, so I'll add them...John Cena and Jason Momoa.

I did not like Jason Momoa’s character in the last F&F movie and I walked out of the last Aquaman after 30 minutes. 
 

Cena is whatever to me. Do the family movies and make some money. Seems to be his speed. 

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59 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:


giphy.gif

1. This. She’s so stupid hot I don’t care.

2. Theron is excellent in Fury Road. 
 

I’ll throw a controversial take out there, at least on this page

Jennifer Connelly.  I’ve heard her described as Gen X Megan Fox and I can’t entirely disagree. She obviously has better taste in men and isn’t self destructive, but she’s such a dead eyed wooden actress, despite her obvious beauty. 

Edited by Bateshorn
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55 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

Tarantino explains in his book that some actors are better movie stars than actors. He thought Steve McQueen was a great movie star due to his presence and awareness of his star quality. He’d strip the script of dialogue so he could smolder.

That's such a great book. No surprise -- he's an artist through and through. Really hope The Movie Critic doesn't actually turn out to be his last.

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1 hour ago, Carl Spackler said:

Your mind might have been clouded by the typically wooden Tobey Maguire performance in that one.  It permeated the entire film.

It permeates all of his films.  

I thought his best work was Spiderman: No Way Home.  Maybe it's because he seemed to not take himself too seriously.  Overall, though, an awfully mediocre actor.

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44 minutes ago, South Austin said:

It permeates all of his films.  

I thought his best work was Spiderman: No Way Home.  Maybe it's because he seemed to not take himself too seriously.  Overall, though, an awfully mediocre actor.

Yeah, his acting has never resonated with me.  Thought he was okay in Ride with the Devil, but that was mainly because his youthful look, mannered acting, and naivete seemed to fit in with both the plot and 19th century frontier mores.    

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30 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

Yeah, his acting has never resonated with me.  Thought he was okay in Ride with the Devil, but that was mainly because his youthful look, mannered acting, and naivete seemed to fit in with both the plot and 19th century frontier mores.    

If I was Tobey McGuire, Ida been in Ang Lee’s trailer everyday arguing that the movie needed more love scenes with Jewel.

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16 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

i’ve only read a few pages, but i somehow have yet to see charlize theron’s name mentioned. her best role may have been as MRF on arrested development. that role was pretty much the extent of her range.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences disagrees with you.  She's been nominated for 3 Best Actress Awards, winning 1.

Of course, one of crowning achievements was being straddled by her on a motel room bed in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, so perhaps I'm a little biased.

 

13 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

1. This. She’s so stupid hot I don’t care.

2. Theron is excellent in Fury Road. 
 

I’ll throw a controversial take out there, at least on this page

Jennifer Connelly.  I’ve heard her described as Gen X Megan Fox and I can’t entirely disagree. She obviously has better taste in men and isn’t self destructive, but she’s such a dead eyed wooden actress, despite her obvious beauty. 

giphy.gif

Speaking of wood...

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9 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

Is Heather Graham really a movie star?  Has she ever had the lead role in a film?

 

Is that the definition? She’s been in plenty of big films. Swingers, Boogie Nights, The Hangover, Austin Powers, and bunch of big tv series. She’s just short of A list IMO. 
 

Did I mention great rack?

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13 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

Is that the definition? She’s been in plenty of big films. Swingers, Boogie Nights, The Hangover, Austin Powers, and bunch of big tv series. She’s just short of A list IMO. 
 

Did I mention great rack?

She is nowhere close to "A List". A list is people like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks,  Brad Pitt, Leo D, Bradley Cooper Margot Robbie, JLaw etc....actors whose names carry the movies.

Agree....A list cans though.

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1 hour ago, Buzzrock said:

Is that the definition? She’s been in plenty of big films. Swingers, Boogie Nights, The Hangover, Austin Powers, and bunch of big tv series. She’s just short of A list IMO. 
 

Did I mention great rack?

Outside of Austin Powers none of those movies were made as big films.  They ended up being being big films due to critical acclaim and such, but they weren't made as blockbusters.  She's nowhere near A list, even at her peak.

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