Acting range

[KJIM]

No. Nic Cage, "Con Air," Tom Hanks, "Volunteers."

 

[JRoyal]

I don't "get" Natalie Portman. She was awesome in Black Swan and The Professional, but I think she's sucked in pretty much everything else.

Her "performance" as Padme in the Star Wars prequels was high on the list for worst of all time.

The only other actor I can think of who's that wildly hot and cold is Nicolas Cage.

She was horrible in Star Wars. I may be giving her too much credit because I loved Garden State, too.

 

[JRoyal]

nice list. can't argue too much with any of them. Though I never found Freeman particularly capable of comedy or menace.

I almost left him off because I haven't found him great with comedy, either, but some old people have loved him in things like "The Bucket List."

And speaking of "The Bucket List," I can't believe I left Jack Nicholson off my list. And Robin Williams.

 

[CD Boogie]

I almost left him off because I haven't found him great with comedy, either, but some old people have loved him in things like "The Bucket List."

And speaking of "The Bucket List," I can't believe I left Jack Nicholson off my list. And Robin Williams.

Jack Nicholson is great, but I don't think he can play the wimp or has-been too well. Crazy? Sure. But I couldn't quite see him playing Willy Loman.

 

[MTM]

There's a whole bunch of character actors who may never be/were stars but can do anything. Guys like Brian Dennehy, William H. Macy, Paul Giamatti, James Whitmore and George Kennedy

The 30 Greatest Character Actors in Hollywood History

 

[albert777]

Can't believe Gene Hackman's name hasn't come up yet.

 

[Buck]

The best bad accent ever may have been Al Pacino's terrible Spanish accent in Scarface.

Should be a thread about worst movie/tv accents.

I'll also throw in Angelina Jolie's accent in 'Alexander.' She was doing Natasha to Malkovich's Boris.

 

[CD Boogie]

Can't believe Gene Hackman's name hasn't come up yet.

He's like Nicholson to me. Same type of range. Could play the fatherly bit better than Nicholson (and mostly bc of Jack's off-screen persona), but I can't remember a role where hackman was particularly funny or ever the beaten-down guy. Might have forgotten some roles, obviously, but none jump immediately to mind.

 

[CD Boogie]

BTW, I'd also add Jamie Foxx. Django, Ray, Horrible Bosses, Any Given Sunday, Miami Vice, In Living Colour

 

[MisterCreosote]

In the worst accents category, Stallone's "Philly accent" in Rocky was actually New York Lite.

 

[justgladtobehere]

He's like Nicholson to me. Same type of range. Could play the fatherly bit better than Nicholson (and mostly bc of Jack's off-screen persona), but I can't remember a role where hackman was particularly funny or ever the beaten-down guy. Might have forgotten some roles, obviously, but none jump immediately to mind.

Hackman was funny in Get Shorty. He wasn't jokey, but he played a beaten down dweeb well.

 

[CD Boogie]

Hackman was funny in Get Shorty. He wasn't jokey, but he played a beaten down dweeb well.

yup, you're right

 

[Batman]

No Val Kilmer yet?
Or has he devolved into a one-note art house brooder these days? From about 1984-95 (Top Secret, Top Gun, Real Genius, Willow, The Doors, Heat, Batman Forever, Tombstone) he had a wide range of iconic roles across a bunch of genres.

 

[Starman]

I love 'Rounders' but Malkovich is out of control with the hammy, bad accent.
He sounds like Boris Badenov.

Malkovich was also a disaster as Lucien Laurin in "Secretariat," which was pretty much a disaster down the line (Diane Lane's descent into dull frumpy middle aged woman roles, plus the horse racing was dull and inaccurate).

But he's been awesome in a lot of other stuff. Everybody gets to pick up a few easy checks at some point.

 

[Flip Wilson]

I'm a big fan of Stephen Root. He was Mr. James on NewsRadio, but has played a bunch of other stuff, too. He was in Get Out, Selma, O Brother Where Art Thou, Office Space, Lone Ranger and had a recurring role in the series Justified. I think he's really good.

 

[User 149557]

I denounce any criticism of Malkovich in Rounders.