Actors who get on your dander | Acting Pet Peeves | Overacting

[sky pies]

Here's a bit of light relief from my other current thread about poverty: Which actors really work on your nerves? Really rub you the wrong way?

This subject comes to mind as I sit here watching the opening credits to A Time To Kill, the 1996 John Grisham novel adaptation starring Matthew McNaughty (I may not have got the spelling right there) and Samuel L Jackson.

Now I won't bother talking about what the film is about too much, save that McNaughty plays a lawyer in the deep south who is a defending a man who shot the rednecks who raped his 10 year old daughter in the courthouse during their rape trial. A lot of emotions build up and let fly and McNaughty is there, shuddering, gulping, acting-trick'ing his way through his crucial role as enraged lawyer.

I hate this actor. He has been doing it for decades, and for me possibly his most infuriating performance of all was his critically acclaimed one in Interstellar when his quavering, near-braking-point emotional voice carries us through only too many emotionally charged scenes.

[small]

When he's thinking he will clean his rear molars with his tongue. He must be eating beef all day long son!

Furthermore if he is thinking, he will almost always find a way to have a bit of food nearby for him to chew on ruminatively. I can imagine between shots when he asks to director "Yeah, yeah man I think we're doing alriiight, but man, you know what could I get me some jerky? Or some, some pretzels? In here? Thanks man, thanks..."

As a third installment of this series about his mouth acting I entreat you to count for me the amount of times he either has something in his mouth or his mouth hanging open during any scene in any film. Fingers, food, pen lids~ I've already counted three scenes 12 minutes into A Time To Kill and he's only appeared four times.

When he's talking to a woman or child about something emotional he will whisper, his voice repeatedly breaking, and gulp like he has mouthfulls of saliva in his mouth.

When he's crying he will have a small seizure of his lungs, causes juttering breathing. He'll try his best to sweat and he will keep gulping like a fish out of water.[/small]

The list goes on, man, but thinking about it makes me rage too hard.

Which actors really get on your nerves? Why do they?

What acting techniques, gestures, go-to expressions, get on your nerves?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Scarlett Johansson, simply because I don't think she can act worth a damn. Seen her in plenty of movies. She has a cute face, big boobs and a nice ass and that's it.

Now to be fair she seems to know that and picks movies were that's the entirety of her character, which is smart. So good on her for that.
But that doesn't mean she's a good actress. She just knows what movie studios want.

 

[happyninja42]

Zoey Deschanel and her sister from Bones.

These two women aren't human, they are soulless automatons that somehow were presented to the human public and found to be enjoyable. They have no emotions, they simply pantomime human responses, while staring at you with wide, empty, porcelain doll eyes. Every movie/show I see them in, I can't watch it.

 

[Queen Michael]

Any actress that does the bad-Jodie-Foster-impersonation that's so popular in some dramas. You know what I mean. They whipser their lines in quick bursts. It works when Jodie Foster does it, but I've never seen it work for anybody else.

Weird thing is, they do it mostly in "realistic dramas," even though people don't talk like that for real.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Jennifer Lawrence

Now it's not so much that I mind her personally, I'm sure she's really nice, after all she striving for more equality within Hollywood which is never a bad thing. It's just that she keeps getting put in movies when she has the screen presence of an apple. And apples are great and all, but not when they're trying to emote. She also has the commanding voice of a hoarse puppy.

Whenever she's on screen I just see pretty fluff, like she's made out of cotton candy. Again, no offense to her personally, just to her talents as an actress.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

In most movie roles Johnny Depp plays the same emotionless, anemic homunculus that casually cruises through the plot. Check him in Transcendence, for example. You know the movie about the guy that "uploads" himself to the internet and then his friends wonder if he can retain his humanity when he transforms into binary? His performance changes exactly 0%. He's playing the same spiritually dead guy before and after he dies and uploads his brain into a machine. Riveting. He goes for the same MO in The Tourist.

I've only seen him even try acting in Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing, the Pirates movies and Black Mass.

 

[Evonisia]

Jennifer Lawrence has always irritated me as well. She always seems to fail to properly convey the character she is playing. Usually she's in the role of somebody who has to emote or have some kind of commanding presence[footnote]Incidentally, she'd be perfect for an audiobook of The Hunger Games. She's just a block of wood in the films[/footnote], and she just can't.

The only film I've seen her actually put some damn effort in was X-Men: First Class, and that was because Mystique is rather care free and yet insecure in that film. That's probably why in Days of Future Past we're back to regular presence lacking Lawrence acting.

 

[Muspelheim]

Daniel Radcliffe has admitted that he began to phone it in a bit towards the later Harry Potter films, but he wasn't very good from the start.

He shares the same problem Elijah Wood's got. They're only convincing when they look equal parts horrified and miserable. A broken clock is right twice a day and so are they, but there's a lot of down-time when they seem to wander about with the vacant, frightened face of someone who've just realised they've cacked their pants.

 

[Dizchu]

I absolutely detest Adam Sandler, Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Owen Wilson and all the rest of THAT crowd. You know who I'm talking about. The smug assholes that play themselves in pretty much every single film, which are apparently "comedies" but end up being 80 minutes of the American equivalent of "cheeky banter".

I'd take Nicolas Cage's insanity over their dull delivery any day.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I absolutely detest Adam Sandler, Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Owen Wilson and all the rest of THAT crowd. You know who I'm talking about. The smug assholes that play themselves in pretty much every single film, which are apparently "comedies" but end up being 80 minutes of the American equivalent of "cheeky banter".

I'd take Nicolas Cage's insanity over their dull delivery any day.

I would say the same here. I can't hate any actor for trying, it is down to the editor and director to pick what scenes go in the final cut anyhow. To hate an actor (do we not say actress anymore? I do not see it used so am assuming actor is unisex now), they would have to go above and beyond in unethical douchebag behaviour, be creatively barren or have no respect for the work they do. The above names have more than proven they are riding a wave of braindead popularity, their comedy can't even be dumb-funny. It just isn't funny. Well... unless you find a method of temporarily killing all critical thought, which you will only hate yourself later for.

I would like to add any actor that contributed to the American Pie steamimg pile of slowly dribbled out guff-turd on a conveyer belt that is slowly fed to the hormonal teens of middle class America and every other halfwit in England that wouldn't shut up about them to me. That series is a blight upon humankind, i tell you! They have stopped makimg them, haven't they??

Edit: Should add Jennifer Aniston in too, it is tricky picking a female actor (see what i did?!) as there seems to be less given roles that aren't eye candy-first/acting-second-but-whatever-not-important. Aniston is special concentration of bland that disappears into the air behind her. She was in a film with Owen Wilson as a couple with a CGI dog as the catalyst for not noticing their emptiness. It was like eating dry chicken with Jacobs Crackers for your sauce; hard to chew, painful to swallow...and you know you wouldn't have tried it if you were sober and not around silly friends.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

For some reason I've never been able to stand Emma Thompson. I don't even have a good reason. Kenneth Branagh, too. The pair of them just rub me the wrong way.

Jamie Lee Curtis always annoys me, even in the excellent A Fish Called Wanda.

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have been phoning their work in for what feels like decades now, coasting on reputations. They've become caricatures of themselves.

It's hard to blame actors for over-acting, though, when scenery chewing turns like Tom Hanks in Gump or Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs win Oscars. More understated performers (a couple of whom are even mentioned in this thread, for SHAME) tend to get overlooked in favor of "LOOK MA, I'M ACTING".

I would say the same here. I can't hate any actor for trying, it is down to the editor and director to pick what scenes go in the final cut anyhow. To hate an actor (do we not say actress anymore? I do not see it used so am assuming actor is unisex now), they would have to go above and beyond in unethical douchebag behaviour, be creatively barren or have no respect for the work they do. The above names have more than proven they are riding a wave of braindead popularity, their comedy can't even be dumb-funny. It just isn't funny.

Sandler at the very least has been extremely up front about his complete lack of care or try, and yet inexplicably studios keep paying him large sums of money because audiences keep packing theaters to see his latest apathetic turd. I don't blame Sandler. If someone kept paying me millions to show up, not care, and do nothing of any value, I'd probably take the money too. He's not the problem.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Owen Wilson. He just has the most punchable face. That and for some reason he never comes across as genuine. It always comes across as someone trying to act like they're sensitive and caring but aren't.

Zoey Deschanel and her sister from Bones.

These two women aren't human, they are soulless automatons that somehow were presented to the human public and found to be enjoyable. They have no emotions, they simply pantomime human responses, while staring at you with wide, empty, porcelain doll eyes. Every movie/show I see them in, I can't watch it.

This may be true, but they have really attractive eyes and voices, so I can let it slide.

[sub]I'm not shallow, really[/sub]

Jennifer Lawrence

Now it's not so much that I mind her personally, I'm sure she's really nice, after all she striving for more equality within Hollywood which is never a bad thing. It's just that she keeps getting put in movies when she has the screen presence of an apple. And apples are great and all, but not when they're trying to emote. She also has the commanding voice of a hoarse puppy.

Whenever she's on screen I just see pretty fluff, like she's made out of cotton candy. Again, no offense to her personally, just to her talents as an actress.

The biggest issue is the way that they try to brand her. They keep trying to put her in tough roles and put her on a pedestal as an actress who plays strong female characters when she really just can't. Her mouth is usually hanging open, she's not in great physical condition, she just doesn't fit the bill.

 

[sky pies]

In most movie roles Johnny Depp plays the same emotionless, anemic homunculus that casually cruises through the plot. Check him in Transcendence, for example. You know the movie about the guy that "uploads" himself to the internet and then his friends wonder if he can retain his humanity when he transforms into binary? His performance changes exactly 0%. He's playing the same spiritually dead guy before and after he dies and uploads his brain into a machine. Riveting. He goes for the same MO in The Tourist.

I've only seen him even try acting in Ed Wood, Fear and Loathing, the Pirates movies and Black Mass.

Yeah this is great input.

Johnny Depp seems to have checked out from serious acting well over a decade ago now. I think his career came to a standstill after Pirates of the Caribbean, he just got so much love and affection for his 'wacky fake-drunk' guy that he forgot how to play any character apart from that guy or his complete opposite (Transcendence, a film that was utterly undermined by the performance of it's key bigshot actor) I think his best role was probably whatsisname, Ichabod Craine in Sleepy Hollow. He's got some wacky in that, but he is also intense and passionate... I did appreciate that role. And many of the roles he played before PotC.

 

[twistedmic]

Jerry Seinfeld. I loathe that man to no end. The very sound of his voice, mention of his name or glimpse of his face makes me want to hit him. He strikes me as a smug, overrated hack who thinks he is God's gift to the world of comedy/acting and is far too in love with is own voice and material.
There is no other actor or comedian (of either gender) that I hate more. I would rather deal with Paulie Shore, Adam Sandler, Carrot Top and Dana Carvey staring in remakes of all of my favorite movies than watch a single thirty minute episode of the show 'Seinfeld'.

 

[sky pies]

Daniel Radcliffe has admitted that he began to phone it in a bit towards the later Harry Potter films, but he wasn't very good from the start.

He shares the same problem Elijah Wood's got. They're only convincing when they look equal parts horrified and miserable. A broken clock is right twice a day and so are they, but there's a lot of down-time when they seem to wander about with the vacant, frightened face of someone who've just realised they've cacked their pants.

What I really hate about the guy is how his idea of communicating serious dramatic stress is to enunciate his 'c's and 't's with greater specificity. Little titmouse...

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I get that this is a vent/flame type thread, and I don't love any of the actors/actresses listed...

but man, I'd be very interested if someone made a thread that was opposite of this (a love/squee thread) and see what everyone's responses were.

OT: kate hudson, David Schwimmer, Leslie Nielsen, Steve Martin, Tori Spelling (idk what it is, she is just a ponce to look at and I've never liked her acting) and most especially...steven seagal

I'm very low maintenance when it comes to enjoying a movie, but sweet fucking jesus this man bugs me to my core when he's on screen, I CAN'T STAND IT.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Zoey Deschanel and her sister from Bones.

These two women aren't human, they are soulless automatons that somehow were presented to the human public and found to be enjoyable. They have no emotions, they simply pantomime human responses, while staring at you with wide, empty, porcelain doll eyes.

Taken out of context, that sorta sounds cool.

I absolutely detest Adam Sandler, Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Owen Wilson and all the rest of THAT crowd. You know who I'm talking about. The smug assholes that play themselves in pretty much every single film, which are apparently "comedies" but end up being 80 minutes of the American equivalent of "cheeky banter".

Very much yes, though I didn't think Wilson was on the same level as Sandler. I've not seen him in much, though.

 

[RedRockRun]

I can't stand Matt Damon. I used to like him until I saw "Goodwill Hunting". What a self-serving POS movie.

-Wise-cracking down-on-himself super-genius goes to a few therapy sessions to realize his potential.

Seriously, the only thing holding him back was physical abuse, and all it took to shake him loose was Robin Williams telling him it wasn't his fault a few times. Then he's cured. Wonderful. Now he's a wise-cracking super-genius with the world as his oyster.

It actually wasn't until I saw him on some talk shows and him being interviewed a few times that I realized Will Hunting was just what Matt Damon must see himself as: a misunderstood genius. And the more movies with him I saw, the more it became so obvious. He's always playing some kind of genius. He didn't even need to be in "Interstellar", and the way Anne Hathaway described his character made me cringe.

"Led by the remarkable Dr. Mann."

"Dr. Mann, well, he's remarkable. He's the best of us."

"You once said that Dr. Mann, was the best of us.
He is remarkable."

Seriously, did Damon write that himself, or did he just request to play another genius role? Talk about deja vu with "The Martian".

"You listen here! I wanna play a real smart guy again! Make me a genius! Just like I am in real life! Yeah, I'm a astronaut! A super smart genius astronaut!"

Why not cast him in a biopic about Galileo next? Give him a good two and half hours where he gets to be a misunderstood trailblazing astronomer, woe-stricken by the unwashed, anti-intellectual masses.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

-Vincent D'Nofrio (SP?). Oddly, I used to hate him and had no idea why, but I thought he was superb as Kingpin in the new "Daredevil" show. So I guess he's my 'redeemed' actor.

-Sean Penn. Even when he's actually doing decent acting he still reeks of smugness and self-importance.

-Tim Robbins. See Sean Penn.

-Steven Seagal. Hopefully I don't need to go into detail here.

-Gerard Butler. Ok I loved 300, but it seems like every movie I've seen him in since then is some God-awful romantic comedy where he talks out of the side of his mouth like he's just had a stroke.

-Rob Cordry. He literally has one character that he can play: that annoying douchebag friend who never shuts up and everyone hates but for some reason you keep him around. Admittedly he does play it pretty well.

-Also agree with some earlier posts, I think Scarlett Johansson gets away with a lot of sub-par acting because she's been in so many hit movies and because she's ridiculously hot.