Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

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Buscemi
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Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by Buscemi »

I'd been thinking about this lately, as Hollywood seems to be only interested in casting the same few actors in every movie and trying to sell Channing Tatum as the greatest actor ever. So, I decided to list five actors who get no credit at all in the industry.

1. Colin Farrell

When people think of Colin Farrell, he's only seen as "that Irish guy who can't open a movie to save his life and blew his chance at stardom by having a big ego". But when you look at Farrell, he's probably one of the few actors who will challenge himself at every role he does and does a diverse amount of projects rather than sticking to the same kind of project again and again. Where else will you see a filmography that features projects such as Minority Report, In Bruges, Crazy Heart, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Seven Psychopaths, Dead Man Down and Saving Mr. Banks?

2. Keanu Reeves

I understand the complaints of him being wooden but unlike other wooden actors (**cough** Tatum), he's at least entertaining. He's no slouch at comedic roles (see Bill and Ted), did well in Speed and The Matrix, showed he can do dramatic fare with My Own Private Idaho and can play some enjoyable villains. Also, he's a likeable screen presence. Sure, he's not a great actor but he's enjoyable.

3. Kristen Stewart

I feel that Stewart's acting skills have been unfairly judged because she played Bella Swan (and Stewart even admitted she only did that role because it paid well). In truthfulness, Stewart has been relatively good at picking projects (going mostly for indie cred, in projects such as Speak, Into the Wild, Adventureland, On the Road and a number of forthcoming projects such as Camp X-Ray and American Ultra) and I believe that she challenges herself. Unlike her overpraised counterpart Jennifer Lawrence, Stewart isn't afraid of going outside the box. Her films might not be the best but it's rarely her fault.

4. Nicolas Cage

Yes, Cage has done a lot of "in it for the money" roles in the past several years and can be flat at times. But other times, he can be very enjoyable and even really good. For every Wicker Man, Season of the Witch and Ghost Rider 2, there's also Leaving Las Vegas, Raising Arizona and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. He's worked with some of the greatest living filmmakers (such as Scorsese, the mentioned above Coen Brothers and Herzog and even his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola). And his new one with David Gordon Green could be really good. I think Cage has a few more good performances in him.

5. Ray Liotta

Much like Cage, Liotta has been in a number of "in it for the money" roles. But when he gets a project he can sink his teeth into, he's really good. When I watch a film like Something Wild or Narc, I wonder, "How has he not been nominated for an Oscar yet?" Like Cage, I understand his reasoning for taking lesser projects for the paycheck but it's somewhat disappointing to see him working with filmmakers like Uwe Boll when he's done much better (luckily, he's got projects from Joe Carnahan and Robert Rodriguez coming up).

Does anyone have others to add?
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Ron Burgundy
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Re: Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by Ron Burgundy »

I like this, and i totally agree with you for all but Kristen Stewert, though Keanu Reeves needs to do a comedy again, and/or something like Speed or Much Ado about nothing, get in touch with a talented director and play a small part or something. Nic Cage is simply awesome

From the top of my head:

Tom Sizemore
Wish he got more roles like Devil in a Blue Dress or Black Hawk Down, because lately he's been slumming it.

Jon Lovitz
Funny guy who i hope can get back into the groove.

Michael Madsen
If only he did the Vega brothers movie with John Travolta and Quentin Tarantino

David Field
Relatively unknown (outside of Australia) Aussie actor who has gusto, cant wait to see him in The Rover

Gabriel Byrne
Not sure if this counts, but he should be in more these days. Millers Crossing and The Usual Suspects are terrific movies and performances. What should i check out with him from the last 10 years?
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W
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Re: Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by W »

My brother is in (or more likely cut from) a film with Tom Sizemore in it. A couple of rich kids got their dads to finance a project (I assume. Their dad's are both rich lawyers in the same firm) and they got him and Jesse Ventura to play in it. I'm assuming it'll be awful, but who knows.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2008655/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

It's really sad Sizemore has went from Saving Private Ryan to this...
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numbersix
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Re: Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by numbersix »

Have to disagree with every one of your choices, Boosch. In each case they may have been in some interesting films ( in many cases you identify bit roles and early parts which were more than likely not about the actor picking the role but their agent begging for some exposure). Stewart, for example, has delivered nothing but awful roles. How can you justify Farrell's role in Crazy Heart when he's in it for a few minutes and his accent is awful? Keanu Reeves is one of the worst actors of our generation. Liotta can only do one thing, which worked for Goodfellas but has never been able to do much else.

I think what you seem to mean is actors who aren't very good but who have turned up in decent movies.

If you want actors who are better than their reputation then look to the ones that have never quite broken out despite demonstrating good performances. Like Abbie Cornish, Olivia Wilde, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Thewlis, Lesley Manville, etc.

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Re: Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by Buscemi »

I never got the appeal for Mary Elizabeth Winstead. From the two girls in Sky High, I found Danielle Panabaker the far more interesting actor but she seems to have gotten stuck in B-movies (when's the last time one of her roles wasn't in a horror film?) while Winstead only got by for the fact that she was in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I'm fully aware of her role in Smashed but I wasn't impressed (but I blame that more in the decision to make it a comedy when it should have been a Lost Weekend/Flight-type drama).

Farrell isn't in Crazy Heart for long but he does well (even doing his own singing). But I still admire him for his versatility and refusal to conform to a type. Same with Stewart (Frendo and I were talking about the film choices on Stewart and Lawrence and agreed Stewart was better for picking challenging material and staying out of the limelight instead of playing to the America's Sweetheart type).

As for the worst actor of our generation, Channing Tatum has that award locked up. He lacks charisma, only plays one type and is simply there to look good for the audience.
Everything on this post is strictly the opinion and only the opinion of Buscemi.

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Re: Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by transformers2 »

Kristen Stewart is one of the worst working actors in Hollywood imo. She always looks stoned and/or asleep in every movie she's in. The rest of the list is fine although I don't really think Colin Farrell has a really bad reputation, he just hasn't really starred in any thing successful in quite some time. As for actors I feel are underrated I have to go with Ben Foster, Cillian Murphy, James McAvoy, Sharlto Copley, Anthony Mackie, Melanie Laurent, Jena Malone, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler and Zachary Quinto.
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numbersix
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Re: Actors Who Are Better Than Their Reputation

Post by numbersix »

Buscemi wrote:I I'm fully aware of her role in Smashed but I wasn't impressed (but I blame that more in the decision to make it a comedy when it should have been a Lost Weekend/Flight-type drama).
You obviously haven't seen Smashed. It is without doubt not a comedy.

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