Overrated Actors

[eternitygoddess]

I also don't understand Nicole Kidman's supposed acting brilliance.



I think her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, especially in this scene, is really captivating.

Also this scene in Birth, where you can see the play of emotions on her face for several minutes straight.



I find that most of Nicole Kidman's acting in her big-name films tend to disappoint. She shines through better in her small, low-budget, independent films. I don't know why she botoxed her face so much, it's really been a downer on her acting.

 

[eternitygoddess]

I think most of the HOllywood A-list are overrated. They're so focused on their images and selling themselves that a lot of them seem to have forgotten their actual purpose and that they are smaller than the film itself.

Your post reminds me of how Lainey always talks about the difference between movie stars and actors.

Dear Melissa – thank you for the lovely comments about the Oscars! Please don’t be upset with me when I disagree with you. Cate Blanchett is an actor. Meryl Streep is an actor. Had I called Julia Roberts a “real actor”, you would have every right to rip me a new *******.

But I called Julia Roberts a “real movie star”. Because she is a MOVIE STAR. Julia Roberts is Julia Roberts because of her star quality. The intangible “It”. To this day, they still can’t agree on her successor. No one has been able to capture everything she represented before she removed herself from the spotlight.

And as annoying as she may have been, with that honking goose guffaw, and her need to take over every occasion, even when presenting Denzel Washington his Best Actor Oscar, there is no denying Julia Roberts, like Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, and Johnny Depp, is a true Movie Star.

Most of the A-List are movie stars. Not actors.

I believe the true actors still belong to the world of stage instead of film. The likes of Julie Andrews, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Mckellan, etc.

 

[justlooking]

... Then you must not have seen him in Gran Torino.

Leonardo DiCaprio is someone whose overwhelming fan and critical appreciation never ceases to amaze me. Having seen quite a few of his movies by now, he has never -- not once -- struck me as particularly talented or versatile. In every one of his roles, I can't help but see Leonardo DiCaprio in costume rather than an actual character. The credit he got for The Aviator is simply baffling -- all that was memorable of his performance was that slightly high-pitched, whiney undertone that surfaces whenever he's supposedly "angry". Also, I didn't make it through the first 30 minutes of Blood Diamond.

Then there's Heath Ledger. I wouldn't call him a terrible actor, by no means, but he was far from the superior acting phenomenon he has been toted as since his untimely, tragic death. While he was certainly good in The Dark Knight, surely there were more worthy Oscar-nominated performances lined up than his? If I could, I would bet 100 bucks he would not have won that Oscar trophy had he been alive at the time. This kind of posthumous, overbearing appraisal of a mediocre actor who suffered a dramatic death is just pointless and counterproductive to film.

Gran Torino is one of the best movies I saw this year.

I think Leonardo Di Caprio is getting better (although I didn't think he was right in that movie with Kate Winslet) and better. He seems to be picking interesting roles so I get the sense he's really focused on becoming a really great actor. I thought he was great in The Departed and Blood Diamond.

But which actor of his generation is better? The talent is so few and far between. I adore Phillip Seymour Hoffman though (sp?).

Heath Ledger was a really good actor who like Di Caprio, seemed to be interested in exploring his craft. He picked some really great roles like Candy and one of his earlier Australian movies Two Hands (love this) among others. I still love him in 10 things. Trust me, it's not a bias thing. I did not find his face attractive for a very long time! I actually hated him in that cowboy movie (yawn) because I could barely hear him! I thought he was great in Dark Knight, his body language was perfect. I loved him in Lords of Dogtown. I think with time, he would have become great.

Don't even get me started on Nicole Kidman. I think she's very flat, overacts, and is lucky she married Tom Cruise. I don't think she can hold an accent. Any at all. I think her height and her face which really is a great canvas for make up, helped her. Imagine if she had Naomi Watt's talent! I would definately take an interest. Now i'm just fascinated by all her surgeries.

I can't see your clips till tomorrow eternity, as i've killed my internet downloads!

 

[aycotqone]

I think the problem with some actors is that once they have won an oscar they assume they are better than what they are. And that they confuse themselves with being an "actor" when really they are "movie stars"

I have to say Julia Roberts is way overrated to the point she is insufferable to watch.

 

[Working Girl]

Being a movie star isn't a bad thing. How would people go see your movies if the actor or actress isn't someone recognizable. I think it is going to be harder to be a movie star in the next decade. Can Julia Roberts still make a movie in the number one spot.

For the question on hand. I think anyone is overrated when they don't convince they are the character and continue to get more roles still not convincing they are the character. If that makes sense.

 

[aycotqone]

I agree a movie star isn't a bad thing but I think there will always be a market for them. People will go and see their movies because they know what they are getting from them.

 

[FrecklesCaramel]

Emma W(f)atson: Harry Potterhype, Kristen Stew(f)art Twilighthype, Drew Barry(less)more E.T.hype, As(hole)hton Kutcher That 70showHype the thing he said about Hilary Duff is just gross and a little pedophile-scary! This is what I think right now, might change in the future..?..

 

[Spiral1532]

TOM HANKS!!!!
I mean really, Forrest Gump wasn't that big a deal. A lot of different actors could have played a "simple" character like Forrest. And Philadelphia was just overrated nonsense. All he did in the movie was die of AIDS. In all his other movies, he just seems to be playing himself.

Matt Damon
George Clooney

And for the people who said that Meryl Streep is overrated, I disagree. She's just overhyped -- she comes out with a new movie, and people are already talking about "award nominations". But damn, the woman can act! And it's admirable that she's done so many different accents in her movies. Polish, Danish, Australian, Irish...
That's not an easy feat by any means.

 

[Working Girl]

When people say overrated.What do they mean? Over exposed in the media. Or one note acting, limited range Or both.

I think the problem with some actors is that once they have won an oscar they assume they are better than what they are. And that they confuse themselves with being an "actor" when really they are "movie stars"

I have to say Julia Roberts is way overrated to the point she is insufferable to watch.

scout01, I think when you win an Oscar there is a movie star quality to you. Everybody knows you, are on covers and everyone wants you to be in their films. And don't forget the heavy campaigning.

I think every actor now is a movie star. And maybe considered overrated. The problem sometimes people have is that they know so much about an actors personal life and don't see the character they are playing. The line is sometimes blurred. Like Julia Roberts. Or Reese Witherspoon.

 

[aycotqone]

I think sometimes actors believe their own hype and because of this they think they are better actors than what they really are.

I class Tom Cruise as a movie star but I would never class Daniel Day Lewis the same, to me he is an actor. But it all comes down to personal opinion and how we perceive them.

 

[Lamia]

Gwyneth Paltrow....so overrated to me.

 

[Leeroi]

I find that most of Nicole Kidman's acting in her big-name films tend to disappoint. She shines through better in her small, low-budget, independent films. I don't know why she botoxed her face so much, it's really been a downer on her acting.

Agreed. Nicole Kidman is great when she picks quality movies. She did really great in The Hours and her Oscar win was well deserved.

 

[tullepen]

I saw A Good Year (DON'T!) and must say that Abbie Cornish and Russell Crowe are just BAD.Abbie just mutters,which isn't acting.And Russell alternating between rakish and perplexed isn't acting either.You can literally put anything in a movie these days.and 98% of them don't deliver!!!!!!

 

[tullepen]

and may I add Renee Zellwegger? how did that guinea pig faced woman win an Academy Award acting all monkeyish,dismayed,enraged and other overacted emotions?!?!?!?

 

[chicandcool]

Morgan Freeman?

Does he play any other character besides the "trustworthy, wise old man"?

 

[Jenna-maria]

^yeah morgan freeman. totally overrated, i just dislike him more and more.

 

[olga.]

Drew Barrymore is indeed terrible

 

[justlooking]

I love Morgan Freeman's voice.

As for his acting... he always plays the same role as chicaandcool said. My memory must be playing tricks on me but I swear he's played 'God' twice now...

 

[TheCheekyCritic]

and may I add Renee Zellwegger? how did that guinea pig faced woman win an Academy Award acting all monkeyish,dismayed,enraged and other overacted emotions?!?!?!?

I actually thought she was really great in that one role, and by far outdid everyone else, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman included, in Cold Mountain. Other than her performance, the movie is as boring, overextended and overrated as it is depressing.

Other than that, though, Renee is hardly worth a second mention anywhere. All she does is look sleepy, on- and offscreen.

 

[Erin]

TOM HANKS!!!!
I mean really, Forrest Gump wasn't that big a deal. A lot of different actors could have played a "simple" character like Forrest.

No!! I thought he was terrific as Forrest Gump. I think actors are doing a good job when they make it look simple/effortless on film.. I don't think anything is ever as easy as it looks.

And what about Hanks in Saving Private Ryan? Great film.