Most overrated actor/actress in your opinion?

[WillParkinson]

My vote: Steve Carell. Never found him even slightly amusing.

[Denninmi]

1. Well, since I haven't gone to movies in years

Last edited Fri Jul 13, 2012, 05:24 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm not really qualified to answer the question.

But, I have to say, I think the entire cult of celebrity for the sake of celebrity is pretty sad. Your question made me immediately think of people like Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian who are famous simply for being famous, without any discernible talent except to keep their names in front of the media.

[geardaddy]

2. Totally agree.

Him and Tom Cruise.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. Keanu Reeves

Definitely.

[Punkingal]

8. I agree.

No talent at all.

[Bertha Venation]

9. Hahaha

[RZM]

13. I'm not sure he counts becuase he's not rated particulary high to begin with n/t

[Kaleva]

123. In certain roles, he's as good as anybody IMO.

I can't imagine anyone but Keanu Reeves playing the lead in the Matrix series.

[RZM]

4. Here are a bunch I don't think are very good at all

Elliot Gould
Andi McDowell
Bill Paxton
Kate Hudson
Renee Zellweger
Halle Berry
Alec Baldwin

[TuxedoKat]

45. I like Andi

I thought she was pretty good in Green Card and Ground Hog Day. Gosh, I guess I've liked her in everything! Totally agree with you about Kate Hudson though.

[a kennedy]

66. I kinda liked her in Michael.....the angel movie with John Travolta....

that was before her every other movie.....she's like Dustin Hoffman for me.....you know it's Dustin every roll he's in. Ugh....same ol', same ol'

[MiddleFingerMom]

99. I also liked Andie MacDowell in everything I remember seeing her in.

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It doesn't hurt that she's drop dead gorgeous (and that HAIR!!!)
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"Sex, Lies & Videotape", "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Groundhog Day" (I've
seen "Michael", but I don't remember her performance in it.)
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[Rambis]

5. Tom Scientology (nm)

x

[Avalux]

30. I'll second that. Horrible actor. n/t.

[HiPointDem]

59. i thought his best film was the one where he played the sleazey guy. can't remember the name.

i was very impressed.

[Wounded Bear]

64. Thinking of Rainman....maybe?

[HiPointDem]

76. no. it was a film that he wasn't the star of -- magnolia.

• "Magnolia" (1999): Pretty much universally recognized as his best work ever, it earned him the third of his three Oscar nominations, this time for supporting actor. As cocky self-help speaker Frank T. J. Mackey, Cruise electrified Paul Thomas Anderson's opus about intertwined lives - and falling frogs — over one day in Los Angeles. He was totally commanding in his arrogance on stage, yet also laid himself bare watching the death of his father (Jason Robards) and struggling with the conflicting emotions it stirred.

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/06/top_5_tom_cruise_performances.html

he gave off a very creepy vibe in that film.

[Initech]

97. He's hit or miss.

He made some really great films like Collateral and Top Gun, but then he goes and makes complete crap like the War Of The Worlds remake.

[MiddleFingerMom]

100. I think too many people here let an artist's personal life cloud their judgment of his/her art.

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(Your use of the last name of "Scientology" instead of "Cruise" is a dead giveaway.)
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He's done some stinking work, but he's also turned in some stellar performances. "Risky Business",
"Rain Man", "A Few Good Men" and "Interview With a Vampire" come to mind.
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[NewJeffCT]

114. I think he plays a similar character in a lot of his movies

and he does that fairly well. Of course, that's kind of limiting when he does that... though, he has gotten praise for playing different types of roles (Tropic Thunder) in recent years.

[alphafemale]

6. Charleton Heston from the of all time list.

Currently Nicholas Cage or Charlie Sheen. But not many people like them anymore.

I liked Nick in Raising Arizona and Moonstruck. Charlie Sheen has had more good roles but has been running on fumes of narcissism for years.

[fizzgig]

17. i can't stand nicolas cage

i haven't see moonstruck, but he was good in raising arizona.

[frogmarch]

7. John Wayne

Every time I've heard him speak in a movie, it's as if he was reading his lines from a prompter.

[alphafemale]

11. The recent remake of True Grit was amazing.

Loved Jeff Bridges.

And the actress that played that little girl, Hailee Steinfeld? I expect to see more of here in the future.

[frogmarch]

19. I haven't seen it, but

I'd like to. I've heard lots of good things about Jeff Bridges' performance. I always thought he was great in every movie I saw him in.

[Trunk Monkey]

129. It's alot closer to the book NT

[El Supremo]

85. Richard Gere

Hasn't anyone listed him yet?

I've hated him since Days of Heaven.

[TreasonousBastard]

132. Oh Yeah! The original was on TV the week I saw the new one...

and Bridges just took it away. Fantastic! Made the Duke look like the wooden statue he was.

BYW, if you can ignore Wayne in the original, the rest of the cast was actually every bit as good as in the new one. They were just tinged with the Curse of the Duke.

[intaglio]

26. Think of some of his films

"The Conqueror" where he played Gengis Khan

"The Greatest Story Ever Told" where he played the Centurion

Virtually any if his war movies ...

[frogmarch]

32. OMG, why did you make me think

of those?

Edited to add video!

[Honeycombe8]

40. He's not recognized as a good actor, though. He was known for playing himself.

He was a movie star, not an actor, per se.

[Kaleva]

49. Most everyone of his characters that he played could have had the name of "John Wayne"...

and the audience would have accepted it.

He was very good in some movies but I agree that he pretty much played a mythical version of himself in about every movie he was in.

[Skittles]

53. and his voice was very irritating

[begin_within]

93. Have you watched "The Searchers?"

[frogmarch]

94. I think I may have.

I just Googled the movie, and the plot sounds familiar. The movie was released in 1956, so I would have been about 13 or 14 when I saw it.

[MiddleFingerMom]

101. You talk pretty tough for a greenhorn, wet-behind-the-ears tenderfoot... ... ... ... pilgrim.

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[frogmarch]

110. :-D

Hahahahaha! Guess I should have seen that coming.

[sharp_stick]

115. That's my pick as well

I can't stand the way he talked or the way he moved. It was like his body was always about 2 seconds behind the order to move from the brain. It looked like he had to think about the script before he did so much as lift an arm.

[alphafemale]

10. I like Steve Carell. He's not a HaHA! type of actor.

It's more of a "Man that makes me really uncomfortable" kind of thing. Then a chuckle remembering yourself experiencing something similar.

[Scuba]

12. Kevin Costner, aka White Pine

[Ineeda]

57. But I like his face...

Last edited Sat Jul 14, 2012, 08:36 AM - Edit history (1)

...and his butt. And he campaigned for Barack Obama. *He also cared about the BP spill and did something about it, AND won the law suit brought by the crazy Baldwin brother.* I know, I know. That wasn't the question.
Edited to add *--*

[KG]

14. Robert Redford - he's the same guy in every movie.

[Honeycombe8]

39. You think so? I don't think so. The Great Gatsby vs. Jeremiah Johnson vs. All President's Men.

There's a certain character trait running thru those characters that's the same, but they're very different characters, really. Elite self-made billionaire, mountain man, working stiff.

Plus, he's actually more recognized as a producer/director and founder of Sundance.

[MiddleFingerMom]

102. "Jeremiah Johnson" may be my favorite "Western" of all time -- Oscar-worthy in that, he was.

[graywarrior]

15. Stalone

Ahhhnold is on my list also. But I guess he's not really considered an actor.

[fizzgig]

18. stallone triggers the same reaction from me

i was going to post him if no one else did

[zonkers]

23. Sly is good in Copland. And at least he has a sense of humor about himself.

I think he is aging well.

[graywarrior]

35. Now I feel bad coz he son was just found dead.

[MiddleFingerMom]

104. Try "Paradise Alley" -- a film he wrote, directed and starred in just 2 years after "Rocky" (1978).

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A tough, gritty, surprisingly sensitive movie about 3 brothers struggling to make it big in
Depression-torn Hell's Kitchen.
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A great performance by Frank McRae as "Big Glory" (McRae played the gentle giant "Hazel",
who was terrified by a psychic's prediction that he would someday be POTUS in --what a
coincidence -- John Steinbeck's Depression-era "Cannery Row" with Nick Nolte & Debra Winger).
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[ohiosmith]

16. Ben Affleck, J-Lo, Meg Ryan, Billy Chrystal, Cameron Diaz, Selma Hayek, Ice Cube, and the entire

cast of Friends.

[Punkingal]

51. You are so right about Affleck!

Terrible actor, but seems like a sweet guy.

[NewJeffCT]

112. Are any of them well regarded as actors/actresses?

Affleck seems to do better when he's not on screen (directing or screenwriting)

[FloridaJudy]

20. Julia Roberts

Couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag. Why she gets those tremendous fees baffles me. Also, she's funny-looking, and not in an interesting belle laide way, as Glenda Jackson or Bette Davis are.

[Honeycombe8]

38. Ditto. Some actors I don't like, but I still recognize they can act. With Julia, I don't like her &

she can't act. But she's not terrible, I guess. If she's in the right part.

[TuxedoKat]

46. Yes, double ditto to this one (nt)

[Fridays Child]

50. I'll triple ditto Julia Roberts.

[Tabasco_Dave]

54. I agree

Her Brother Eric is a much better actor than her but he's an abusive, violent, drug user so he didn't make it and she did.

[a kennedy]

67. and I swear her mouth is getting bigger, and bigger, and not in a good way....

if there can be a good way for a mouth to be big, not lips.....just mouth. http://www.google.com/search?q=julia+roberts&hl=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=7YABUOjMPIPKqgHo0_2wDA&sqi=2&ved=0CF0QsAQ&biw=1375&bih=886

[Brewinblue]

103. I don't mind Julia''s acting

but why, oh why, is she ever considered a Hollywood beauty? She is down right unattractive!

[Still Blue in PDX]

21. Steve Carell was great as a gay suicidal Proust scholar in Little Miss Sunshine.

In other movies, maybe not so much.

He cracks me up. I love to laugh, though, so it doesn't take a lot to tickle me.

[OmahaBlueDog]

22. John Malkovich

and on the ladies side, Penelope Cruz

[kwassa]

87. I love them both. Outstanding actors.

[OmahaBlueDog]

91. Oh great, now another poster has me on ignore!

[kwassa]

92. How could I insult your taste if I had you on ignore?

That's the fun of it!

[zonkers]

24. Mira Sorvino.

[AJTheMan]

25. Christian Bale. (Currently playing Batman)

[Kaleva]

48. Christian Bale was outstanding in "The Fighter" for which he won an academy award

[Frank Cannon]

65. And he was beyond awesome in "American Psycho"

His early work was a little too New Wave for my taste, but when "American Psycho" came out, I think he really came into his own, commercially and artistically.

[OriginalGeek]

119. Equilibrium

was a fantastic movie. I loved it - i had never heard of CB and then read he would be the next Batman so I went looking for previous work to see what he was all about and found Equilibrium. Needless to say, I'm a fan.

[Frank Cannon]

120. Ah, yes. Excellent. I did the same thing.

That was, indeed, the movie that convinced me that Batman would be in good hands.

[TuxedoKat]

122. Did you see Empire of the Sun?

He was great in that and only 12! John Malkovich was great in it too!

[Kaleva]

125. Yes. A very good movie.

It's on Netflix and I plan on watching it again soon.

[Quantess]

27. Goldie Hawn's daughter

Kate...
Kate H
Kate H... what is her name?

Anyway, she is the worst case of nepotism in Hollywood I have ever seen.
Oh yeah, Kate Hudson.

[RZM]

33. LOL. She's on my list above as well

Plus she married Chris Robinson from the Black Crows, who comes off as one of the biggest douches in the music business. And that's saying something.

[Quantess]

34. I fully agree with your list except,

Renee Zellwegger is pretty good. Not always, but she has done good roles, IMO. Bridget Jones.
Andie McDowell is stunning, and that is the only reason why she got any roles.

But, Kate Hudson? She's bland, not especially attractive, not really anything interesting onscreen. She is a total wash. Not exactly boring, just, a dud. It makes me kind of irritated knowing that so many talented actors are out there are struggling so hard for their dream, and here comes Goldie Hawn's untalented daughter with all her inherited connections, pre-selected for the role in the crappy romance-comedy.

[JonLP24]

56. I thought

You, Me, & Dupree was hilarious and she held her own. She wasn't unfunny and felt she played the role as it was designed. The other I saw her in was Almost Famous and thought she was quite good.

Those were the only films I've seen of Hudson so that probably clouds my view of what I think of her. Plus I don't know the first thing about acting so my judgments are worthless and only know bad acting unless it is obvious like Josh Myers in That 70's Show.

[JoePhilly]

28. Ronald Reagan, playing President of the United States.

[benld74]

84. I always wondered if Ronny KNEW what and where the h*ll he was most times

[JoePhilly]

86. SNL nailed it many years ago.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/4174/

[7wo7rees]

98. C-SPAN showed he said "I Don't Recall" 75 times. Later, we knew he had Alzheimer's. No Lo Contendere

[NewJeffCT]

113. Didn't they release his memoirs several years back

that indicated he was more involved than many thought? Maybe not quite like the SNL skit, but more than his image.

[pipi_k]

29. Here's a huge

thank you!!! for that.

Not only is Steve Carell not amusing, but he's also rather creepy, IMO.

[pipi_k]

31. Oh, so just wanted to add...

I don't know how highly rated he is, but Richard Dreyfus always makes me want to kick him around with studded boots.

I can't stand him.

Couldn't stand him in "Jaws". Can't stand him now, all these years later, either.

[MiddleFingerMom]

105. Simply and overwhelmingly A-FUCKING-NNOYING!!!

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His first role? An ANNOYING college student who, when Mrs Robinson's daughter screamed bloody murder
at Dustin Hoffman and the landlord ("Three's Company"'s Norman Fell) went to check, brown-nosed from
the crowd of looky-loo college students on the landing by asking if he wanted him to call the cops.
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A one-line, almost unseen role in "The Graduate".
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[speedoo]

36. Ashton Kutcsher

Can't believe I'm the first to mention this dope.

[JI7]

37. but he isn't really rated high as an actor, he is seen more as an entertainer

but i don't think people consider him some great actor. same goes for keanu reeves and some other names mentioned.

[Honeycombe8]

41. Harrison Ford. He uses the same expressions in all his movies, and often ONE for several emotions...

in all his films.

He's okay, esp in humorous roles. But he's overrated.

[OriginalGeek]

42. I LOVE Steve Carrell

I don't feel strongly one way or another about most of the others mentioned in the thread. Almost all of them have been in movies I liked or loved and they didn't ruin it for me so I figure they got something going on.

Steve makes me laugh like a loon though. And when he was a guest on The Daily Show a couple weeks ago he had on a pair of kick-ass glasses. I wish I knew what they were so I could get those frames too.

I'd say the fact that J-Lo is rated at all is enough to make her the most over-rated performer I can think of right now.

[mykpart]

43. John Travolta

Plus, he's creepy.

[Chan790]

44. I'm going to catch hell for this...

but Johnny Depp and Sean Penn. Don't get me wrong, I like both Penn and Depp...but nobody is as good as the hype and accolade around either of them. Good actors, yes. Great actors, ...sure. Transcendentally-talented actors on the level of their reputations? No.

[RZM]

47. Agree

Johnny Depp is ok. But certainly not amazing. He's in the middle of the pack, Hollywood-wise.

Penn takes himself way too seriously. He pretty much overdoes it in most of his roles. He tries way too hard.

[undeterred]

63. Sean Penn is an amazing actor.

Have you seen any of his work after Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

And Johnny Depp is quite worthy of his reputation.

[Kaleva]

73. He won an Academy Award for his performance in "Milk".

[undeterred]

74. And he was Oscar nominated for his performance in "Dead Man Walking"

which was exceptional.

[Chan790]

80. I didn't say he wasn't amazing...

I said Penn's not as good as the hype. He's not. Nobody is as good at Sean Penn's hype.

[Tom Ripley]

82. Depp is like a Lon Chaney who doesn't have to endure physical pain to play grotesques

[Skittles]

52. Halle Berry

even in her Oscar winning role she was dreadful

[JonLP24]

58. I thought

she was great in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. By far her best film. If I could switch her Oscar it would be for that role. I couldn't sit through all of Monster's Ball, it wasn't Berry's fault. Just wasn't an interesting film.

Not disputing she is overrated. I have no idea how highly she is rated and only remember her from 90's films.

[kwassa]

89. Halle is never dreadful. That is an impossibility.

She is too beautiful. I think she has improved as an actress over the years, too. I liked her in Monster's Ball.

[raccoon]

55. Gwyneth Paltrow. I can't stand her. And she's an idiot in RL. nt

[MiddleFingerMom]

107. She was GREAT in "Shakespeare in Love" and pretty good in "Iron Man", but...

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... she hasn't impressed me elsewhere.
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[Shrek]

60. Meryl Streep

[font size="Large"]SUCKS.[/font]

[HopeHoops]

61. George Clooney

[undeterred]

62. Tom Cruise

[riverwalker]

68. Jennifer Aniston

always plays the same role (badly), in every movie. Has the acting range of a turnip.

[SfromCanada]

69. Jack Nicholson

Always plays Jack Nicholson.

[Tom Ripley]

79. Always

[Generic Brad]

70. Nicolas Cage

He won an Oscar? Really??

[bigwillq]

71. Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford

Gwen Paltrow

[Wounded Bear]

77. Disagree about Hanks....

IMHO he was jobbed on Saving Private Ryan. Philadelphia was a tour de force playing opposite Denzel. Not many actors could pull that off.

He's had some stinkers, but that only shows he's willing to take some risks. Overall, I like him.

[mnhtnbb]

72. Nicole Kidman.

[MiddleFingerMom]

106. She was AMAZING in "American Beauty"!!!

[mnhtnbb]

111. LOL. Good one. That was Annette Benning!

[MiddleFingerMom]

127. Oops.

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[progressivebydesign]

75. Jennifer Anniston and Ben Affleck.

I have to ff through their scenes in He's Just Not that Into You. Both of them are so overrated.

[Kaleva]

124. Check out "The Town".

[HiPointDem]

78. heresy, but: meryl streep. always found her approach technical & bloodless.

[kwassa]

88. Good critique.

[mnhtnbb]

128. I am a Meryl Streep fan...but I did not agree with the Oscar for playing Margaret Thatcher.

To me, being a great mimic is not the same as being a great actor.

Hands down, I thought the Oscar should have gone to Viola Davis this year.
She created a character...and did an incredible job.

Meryl, OTOH, simply watched a lot of video of Margaret Thatcher
and assumed her persona.

[HiPointDem]

131. you pegged it for me. esp. in the roles where she does accents, i feel she's mimicking rather than

acting. i absolutely hated her as a pole in sophie's choice. the accent may have been right, but i just didn't believe in her 'sophie'.

whereas the british guy that played the lead in 'the wire' -- he *was* a working class baltimore detective -- not only the accent, but the heart.

with streep, so often i am conscious that she is 'acting!'

[Tom Ripley]

81. Leonardo DiCaprio ( from chicken to chicken shit)

[MiddleFingerMom]

108. I think he's unbelievably over-rated in EVERYTHING, except he WAS fantastic...

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... (as was Daniel Day Lewis) in "Gangs of New York".
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[JonLP24]

118. I have to say something here

When I read Bob Delaney's book about his experience going undercover in the NJ mob the one thing that I felt from those pages was the fear and the general emotions that comes with avoiding letting others in on who you really are, close calls, etc.

Someone mentioned Johnny Depp above, while I think Depp is one of the best at playing characters that make you forget Depp is playing them, he was incredibly lame in Donnie Brasco. He didn't capture that fear.

DiCaprio did an excellent job in The Departed portraying someone undercover in an incredibly dangerous situation based on reading first hand accounts of someone who was.

[Myrina]

83. Angelina, Clooney, heck - most of them

The best film I've seen so far this year is "Best exotic marigold hotel" -- ensemble cast of who's who in "mature" British cinema ... The best actors make you forget they're acting.

[RiffRandell]

90. Scarjo.

Beautiful, but can't act.

[HiPointDem]

95. who i think are *underrated* actors = the two brits in "the wire". those guys pinned their chara-

ters so realistically it floored me when i found out they weren't even american.




british empire, but irish:

[cemaphonic]

96. Idris Elba is a Brit too

Surprised me - I never heard a trace of a British accent from him.

[HiPointDem]

116. another one!

[steve2470]

109. Shia LaBeouf

He's so um, not great that I can barely watch him.

[FloridaJudy]

117. Matthew McConaughey

He was good in "Dazed and Confused", but it's been all downhill since then. He's supposed to be some amazing sex symbol, but he gives me the creeps. I want to tell him to wash his damned hair.

[Frank Cannon]

121. Check him out in "The Lincoln Lawyer".

A surprisingly good movie that I think is still streaming on Netflix. McConaughey restored my faith in him.

Actually, the dude can act. He just usually picks horrible projects and phones it in most of the time.

[Trunk Monkey]

130. Hands down Alec Baldwin

I won't even watch a Capitol One commercial if he's in it (unless they do one where the Vikings kick his ass)