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Movies => Good Movies => Topic started by: Mr. DS on April 25, 2007, 09:16:58 PM



Title: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Mr. DS on April 25, 2007, 09:16:58 PM
There are several actors/actresses out there that seem to revive the same role in films over and over again.  Sometimes it works and a lot of time it doesn't.  My opinions;

My Favorites
Rodney Dangerfield - The guy pretty much played the same wise cracking lovable guy in every film...it never seem to get old either.
Ben Stiller - He generally seems to take on the loser type roles which he seems to flourish in. 

My Least Favorites
Jennifer Anniston - I swear she revives her role from Friends in every film I've seen her in...its less entertaining as time moves on.
Hillary Duff - Up until recently she always took on the ditzy "like oh my god" roles.

I have several more but I figured I'd open this up to everyone else's favorites/least favorites.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: ulthar on April 26, 2007, 07:03:32 AM
Well, we could mention the obvious:  Ahhhnoooold.

From the B-Movie (and some not-so-B) world:  Buck Flower.  He always played a drunk, sometimes for comic relief but sometimes integral to the plot.  I for one liked his portrayal of "The Janitor" in SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA."  If you are not familiar with him, check out his filmography - you'll be surprised the number of films he appears in as mostly bums, drunks and throw-away characters.

Ben Stein, a favorite, generally plays something of a smart-guy, or at least someone with less fully refined social skills like a stereotypical nerd.

Steven Segal
Chris Rock (though didn't he sorta break his mold a little bit in NEW JACK CITY?)




Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Menard on April 26, 2007, 09:37:50 AM
Let's start with a big name, just to see how many I can p**s off. :teddyr:

Roger Moore - Though I have seen him in like 2 or 3 movies outside of The Saint/007 franchises, well he doesn't change much in what I have seen. The basic difference between Simon Templar and James Bond, as portrayed by Roger Moore, is the name; otherwise, they are the same character.

And let's move on to others.

Norm MacDonald - He's wise cracking Norm with the same delayed reaction from movie to TV. His missing his cues can be humorous, but we don't have to be subjected to it that much.


That's it for now


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Jim H on April 26, 2007, 12:03:14 PM
Let's get to a harsher one..

Denzel Washington.  He plays a character named Denzel Washington in practically all of his films.  Not to say he does a bad job of it, but his shtick is almost always the same.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Him on April 26, 2007, 03:41:13 PM
Robin Williams
Jim Carrey


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: ghouck on April 27, 2007, 01:52:17 AM
Vin Diesel. . . Same boring, predictable, unbelieveable, wanna be tough guy moron in everything of his I've seen. .


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Yaddo 42 on April 27, 2007, 06:35:41 AM
Vin Diesel stretches as an actor a bit in Find Me Guilty. Convinced me he can do more if he wants to.

I wish Denzel would tap into what he did in Training Day a bit more. But he's more of a star than an actor these days. Getting into Harrison Ford mode and just going through the motions for a paycheck.

Even Roger Moore tells people he's not much of an actor, like when he demonstrates the "range" of his emotions by arching one eyebrow and then the other. He was good in a little thriller called The Naked Face from the 80s that I'd like to see again. And he knew when to play up his screen image in stuff like fFolkes.

Norm has always annoyed me, he's probably a fun guy to party and drink with but he's a lousy and lazy performer. His Burt Reynolds is okay and they put it to good use on My Name is Earl last week. His Bob Dole had it's moments on SNL, like in the Paula Jones ploitician line up sketch. "I'll give you a dye job, you dirty whore!"

My nominees:
Tom Cruise
Harrison Ford (since the late 80s)
Martin Lawrence
Julia Roberts (when she's play outside her big star image she sucks)
Chuck Norris

Edited because "apostrophe s" is my mortal enemy.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Jack on April 27, 2007, 08:35:56 AM
Can I just vote for pretty much everybody who's popular these days?  One of the big reasons I don't like "good" movies is because it's just the same celebrities playing the same characters no matter what they're in.  Give me a low budget movie with no-name actors who I can actually believe are the characters they're playing.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: fortunato on April 27, 2007, 10:43:12 AM
A classic one-trick actor would be Tony Danza.

Anyone ever watch something of his where he doesn't play a guy named Tony?

Thought so.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: rebel_1812 on April 27, 2007, 04:54:33 PM
will smith- always playing the role from fresh prince of bel-air.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: KYGOTC on May 11, 2007, 04:49:31 PM
will smith- always playing the role from fresh prince of bel-air.

Exept for I, ROBOT. And for the record, Frsh prince is pretty bleepin sweet.

Whos the guy who played Napolion Dynomite? Hes always in a dorky guy role.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Torgo on May 11, 2007, 07:38:36 PM
Even though I'm a big fan, Jose Pesci has just one thing that he does over and over in almost every single movie that he's ever been in.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: RCMerchant on May 11, 2007, 07:42:14 PM
  My favorite actor of ALL time is,sadly,a one trick pony...more or less. Bela Lugosi. BUT...it's a dam good trick,IMHO!!! :thumbup:


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Torgo on May 11, 2007, 08:42:57 PM
  My favorite actor of ALL time is,sadly,a one trick pony...more or less. Bela Lugosi. BUT...it's a dam good trick,IMHO!!! :thumbup:

Yeah, he made an entire career out of it sadly.   :teddyr:


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Zapranoth on May 13, 2007, 11:37:32 AM
Al Leong!
Al Leong!
Al Leong!


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: akiratubo on May 13, 2007, 09:33:11 PM
It took this long for someone to mention Keanu Reeves?


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: raj on May 15, 2007, 02:50:27 PM
I'll echo Tom  Cruise.  Except for Risky Business, he's basically been playing Tom Cruise.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Yaddo 42 on May 15, 2007, 07:39:07 PM
I've never understood the appeal of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Goofy stupid sitcom, plenty of people like them, just never could see why people liked that one. Hell, I have a soft spot for Charles In Charge for some stupid reason. Will Smith has more range than he usually shows, remember Six Degrees of Separation? But I couldn't stand him in Ali, the real man was such a presence and personality in his prime that any attempt to portray him was doomed IMO.

Wasn't Bela considered a rather versatile and talented actor in Europe? Working in a language alien to him must have hampered him. Look at Penelope Cruz, apparently a great actress in Spanish or even Italian, but awful in English. But no one was watching Bandidas for the brilliant acting, I now I wasn't.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: zombie no.one on May 15, 2007, 10:16:17 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/G.W._Bailey.jpg/250px-G.W._Bailey.jpg)


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Neville on May 16, 2007, 05:49:43 PM
Look at Penelope Cruz, apparently a great actress in Spanish or even Italian, but awful in English. But no one was watching Bandidas for the brilliant acting, I now I wasn't.

I'm an Spaniard, and I wouldn't say she's much good, but now and then she gets juicier roles than usual and really gives her best shot, such as in "To return" or "Don't move". I'd say she is tolerable in Spanish movies, but by no means a great actress.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Snivelly on May 16, 2007, 07:46:35 PM
Look at Penelope Cruz, apparently a great actress in Spanish or even Italian, but awful in English. But no one was watching Bandidas for the brilliant acting, I now I wasn't.

I'm an Spaniard, and I wouldn't say she's much good, but now and then she gets juicier roles than usual and really gives her best shot, such as in "To return" or "Don't move". I'd say she is tolerable in Spanish movies, but by no means a great actress.

Someone on a celebrity gossip site I frequent once said that her voice makes them want to burn down villages.  I don't think she's all that bad, there are much worse accents, and she probably sounds much better in Spanish.



Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Neville on May 17, 2007, 03:32:34 AM
She does sound better in Spanish. As I said, not Meryl Streep nor Glen Close, but she is far more natural than in her acting in English.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Mr. DS on May 20, 2007, 05:00:06 PM
Heres one that I think was extremely successful, Clint Eastwood.  Squint and talk in a low voice about everything.   

One that doesn't work for me is David Caruso.  Talk in a low voice and slant your head alot. 


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Neville on May 20, 2007, 05:11:00 PM
In my "Dirty Harry" DVD there's a short documentary on the entire series, and at one point one of the writers appears and says that Eastwood told him he was bad with dialogue and good with stares, and he urged him to act accordingly. As they say, "a man's gotta know his limitations."

As for Caruso, I used to like him, but since "CSI: Miami" I'm developing some Caruso hatred. It may be the character's fault, you know. He's so cold and distant with his peers that it manages to suggest some kind of reptilian quality, and the way he confronts criminals and witnesses has made me label him Grand Inquisitor Kane. Not to mention his tendency to mix public and personal business or to use his gun more often than Dirty Harry.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Yaddo 42 on May 21, 2007, 06:15:18 PM
I'll defer to you, Neville, as to Cruz's acting in Spanish. I know she was getting good notices for Volver, and her performance was being hailed as a return (no pun intended) to doing good work in Spanish language cinema. Then again maybe the reviewers here were just lusting after her cleavage and the padded backside she wore in the film.

Also on other sites I've been to when people rip into her acting in English, people would leap to her defense citing her much better acting chops in her native language.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: ghouck on May 25, 2007, 02:48:11 PM
Quote
A classic one-trick actor would be Tony Danza.

Anyone ever watch something of his where he doesn't play a guy named Tony?

Thought so.

In Hollywood Knights he plays Duke. It's a good movie, one of my favorites (at least one of my favorite comedies).
When I was a kid, me and some of my friends argued about how realistic it was for Duke's 57 Chevy to lose to the AC Cobra. As much as I love 57 Chevys, it didn't stand a chance. . .


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Alex on August 22, 2022, 12:37:55 PM
Surprised to see Robin Williams mentioned on this list. Always felt he had a pretty broad range myself. I'd have loved to see him do some more horror (beyond One Hour Photo).


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Neville on August 22, 2022, 01:24:01 PM
I'll defer to you, Neville, as to Cruz's acting in Spanish. I know she was getting good notices for Volver, and her performance was being hailed as a return (no pun intended) to doing good work in Spanish language cinema.

I find her... OK in Spanish. She certainly has the looks of a movie star, but I'm not that convinced on her versatility. I can't say she's bad, even in her worst movies, but I'm not that impressed with her either. There's one thing she's great at, though, and it's at playing angry women. There are bits of "Vicky Christina Barcelona" with her telling Javier Bardem off that had me laughing out loud.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Allhallowsday on August 22, 2022, 03:35:41 PM
Surprised to see Robin Williams mentioned on this list. Always felt he had a pretty broad range myself. I'd have loved to see him do some more horror (beyond One Hour Photo).

Well the last response is 15 years ago...


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: chainsaw midget on August 22, 2022, 04:43:48 PM
Chevy Chase tends to play "loveable everyman with a  bit of an a***ole streak" in everything he does. 



Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 23, 2022, 12:17:42 AM
Joe Pesci


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: zombie no.one on August 23, 2022, 01:56:20 AM
Pesci got mentioned...

I wonder how much the corperate industry aspect of hollywood pressures actors into becoming a reliable, predictable brand... rather than simply an 'actor' in the traditional sense.

also there's the if-it-aint-broke-don't-fix-it factor...

there are comparatively few well known actors who display real versatility in their career


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Alex on August 23, 2022, 02:00:16 AM
I can't remember the name of the show, but I remember once seeing a program where the presenter talked about the difference between a movie star and an actor. He said someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or John Wayne were great stars, with a charisma that would bring people to see a movie, but he couldn't act to save themselves. I can't remember who he cited as great actors, but I am sure you get the idea.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Trevor on August 23, 2022, 05:07:32 AM
I thought this thread was about the Paul Simon film  :wink:


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Morpheus, the unwoke. on October 18, 2022, 06:38:36 PM
It took this long for someone to mention Keanu Reeves?

When hollywood decided to remake TDTESS, in order to portray an Alien incapable of experiencing human emotions they would pick an actor incapable of expressing human emotions.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Morpheus, the unwoke. on October 18, 2022, 06:40:21 PM
Clint Eastwood.

His sole talentis to recite lines without parting his teeth.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Cult_Moody_Movies on October 21, 2022, 03:10:09 PM
Leonardo DiCaprio.

With the exception of What's Eating Gilbert Grape, it always feels like he is a kid play acting with a crappy accent.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: HappyGilmore on October 26, 2022, 09:23:56 AM
I love Adam Sandler, but he kinda plays the same man-boy/oaf/angry kinda charming guy in every movie.

But he's had a sustainable career, so I guess more than just me like him.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 27, 2022, 04:04:00 PM
I love Adam Sandler, but he kinda plays the same man-boy/oaf/angry kinda charming guy in every movie.

But he's had a sustainable career, so I guess more than just me like him.

I mean, that's true of his comedies, but he's pretty versatile in his dramatic roles and he honestly should have won an Oscar for UNCUT GEMS. This, from a bona fide Sandler hater.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: ER on October 27, 2022, 06:21:54 PM
De Niro, Pacino, Nicholson, Chaplin, John Holmes.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: HappyGilmore on October 29, 2022, 10:12:30 PM
I love Adam Sandler, but he kinda plays the same man-boy/oaf/angry kinda charming guy in every movie.

But he's had a sustainable career, so I guess more than just me like him.

I mean, that's true of his comedies, but he's pretty versatile in his dramatic roles and he honestly should have won an Oscar for UNCUT GEMS. This, from a bona fide Sandler hater.
His dramatic stuff is pretty good.

I love his stuff, comedy and all, but can see how people would dislike it, etc.


Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: ralfy on October 30, 2022, 08:00:06 AM
I think the phenomenon of consistency in roles and/or mannerisms applies to most actors. There's even a reference to that in light of acting techniques, as mentioned by Bale:

https://actingmagazine.com/2020/01/dont-be-a-one-trick-pony-christian-bale/ (https://actingmagazine.com/2020/01/dont-be-a-one-trick-pony-christian-bale/)

In which case, one should probably consider actors who aren't one-trick ponies. Would the ability to impersonate count? Consider short skits from Spacey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLrtfEWJz3s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLrtfEWJz3s)

How about mannerisms plus accents, like Hoffman doing Capote in the 1:17 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvDvESEXcgE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvDvESEXcgE)

Finally, what if the consistent performance remains very good throughout, like Mifune's?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x3E5ZExV5w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x3E5ZExV5w)



Title: Re: One Trick Pony Actors
Post by: Trevor on October 30, 2022, 08:28:50 AM
Although I like him, it seems like Liam Neeson seems to play the same character over and over again 🤔🐢