I Hate Big-Name Actors! Am I Alone On This?

[Rat-Bat-Spider]

All right, so the title says everything. I feel like big box-office actors (your Will Smiths, your Angelina Jolies) do almost nothing but add to marquis value to a film and often hurt the artistic vision of the motion picture. Besides adding a larger budget to it, could we perhaps have had a more frightening I Am Legend or a Changeling that didn't have its scenery chewed up by Jolie's gargantuan maw? Does anyone else feel that massive stars can hinder a film from being fully artistically realized?

[Jack]

Absolutely.  One of the (many) reasons I don't like Hollywood films is that the story is secondary, the STAR is what it's all about.  Well, the star can't act, and I'm immediately taken out of the story and left wondering what the hell a character from some other movie I saw is doing in this thing. 

[The Burgomaster]

This may be mostly true today, but it wasn't always true.  I do NOT hate big name actors like:

* Paul Newman
* Humphrey Bogart
* James Stewart
* Lauren Bacall
* John Wayne
* Spencer Tracy
* James Cagney
* Kim Novak
* Cary Grant
* The Marx Brothers
* Sidney Poitier
* Dustin Hoffman
* Grace Kelly
* Al Pacino (at least for the early part of his career)
* Robert DeNiro (at least for the early part of his career)
* Claude Rains


. . . and the list goes on and on . . .

[Psycho Circus]

No, you are most certainly not alone.

I also feel that alot of the big name actors get hyped up so much it detracts from the actual film. Plus tons of them feature in so many bland "blockbusters" that I lose track of who I hate and the films I hate......oooh sooo many 

At the moment I can't stand;

Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, Kirsten Dunst, Jude Law, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy, Megan Fox, Shia Lebouf, Halle Berry and Tom Cruise...again!

[Dennis]

I think it's more a case of the film companies thought process, big budget blockbuster movies are done by committees who think more of profit and less of quality. Their thinking is if we can get him/her for this film we're guaranteed $250 - $300 million at the box office, doesn't matter if they're right for the part or even if they're any good, the important thing is to get the film out as quick as possible so we can make as much money as we can. The studio then throws money at the person they want until he or she gives in. The "actors" can't be blamed, unless they're the ones who make the movie. 

[Mr. DS]

For me it really depends on the movie/genre and not to mention the actor.

Theres some "big names" I've always enjoyed films from in the past.  Don't forget, Ah-nold was arguably a big name in Hollywood and put out some great films.  Granted he more or less played the same guy in every film but it worked. Same thing went for Eastwood during his peak. If this isn't the kind of "big name" you're referring to then correct me.

Then theres the actors that I see on a DVD case and run away from like the wind...well...lets see...
Sean Penn (haven't seen a film yet that inspires me)
Morgan Freeman (same old sh*t constantly)
Tom Cruise (over dramatic)
Jennifer Aniston (she plays the role she had on friends in every movie)
Owen Wilson (awful comedic acting)
Sandra Bullock (she killed the Speed movies and I can't figure out why people find her hot)
Adam Sandler (I don't think I've ever laughed at him)
Shia Lebouf (his comedic acting kills me)
Hayden Christiansen (thanks to the prequels)

Theres more but I'll probably list them later.  

[Doggett]

I can't stand :

Jude Law
Shia LaBouf
Jessica Alba
Cameron Diaz
Kevin Kline
Steve Martin (except the Man with Two Brains)
Ben -freaking!!!-Affleck
Eddie Murphy

[schmendrik]

Depends. It's about the acting and the story more than the big name though. I'd rather see the big-name disappearing into the role. So I really admire actors with a lot of range, whether they are "big" or not. Dustin Hoffman for instance. Also, when a big name does an indie film, I'll often check that out on the assumption they did it for the love of the project rather than their usual paycheck.

I can't stand Jim Carrey, and I've always been appalled that the only guy from "In Living Color" who made it big was the token white guy, the one with perhaps the least talent.

I used to resent both Paul Newman and Robert Redford because they were known first as pretty boys, but I soon came to really admire both as actors. Later I admired both even more for other reasons: Redford for Sundance and for directing, Newman for his multitude of projects. I agree with another posters list of the earlier generation of big name actors.

I really like Angelina Jolie in action roles for some reason I can't identify. I liked Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Tomb Raider a lot. Brad Pitt doesn't bother me too much either, and he's one of those guys that's done a lot of different stuff. I don't mind Leonardo DiCaprio for the same reason. And I really like Johnny Depp for perhaps the most stretchiest acting stretches (Edward Scissorhands, Chocolat, yes even Pirates of the Caribbean).

[jimmybob]

I actually like Samuel L. Jackson as an actor. The only reason he's "big-name" is because he's in every cool movie. I don't think you sell movies with his face on them, if you know what I mean.

-Jimmybob

[Sister Grace]

I can't stand:

Mel Gibson
Will Smith
Cerina Vincent (although i'm not sure you would call her a big name)
Also and i know i'll catch flack for this but i can't stand Asia Argento. Her acting is so terrible that I can't help who her father is...her acting ruins movies and makes me cringe...

[Sister Grace]

I can't stand:

Mel Gibson
Jennifer Lopez
Will Smith
Cerina Vincent (although i'm not sure you would call her a big name)
Also and i know i'll catch flack for this but i can't stand Asia Argento. Her acting is so terrible that I can't help who her father is...her acting ruins movies and makes me cringe...

I also forgot to mention George Clooney (why does everyone think he's so good-looking, i just don't see it). I think his acting skills are over-rated. He seemed to do fine on ER as a sitcom actor, but i just don't think he's cut out for more serious roles.

[peter johnson]

Some stars have power that can raise mediocre material up, and are always interesting to watch, even in bad movies like "Ishtar" --

Having said that, you know I'm talking about Dustin Hoffman, right?  Just recently, he took a very minor comedic role and infused it with some real panache in "Perfume" -- He's earned his star, as far as I'm concerned.

While Colin Farrell, John Goodman, and Daniel Day Lewis have been in a few poor films, they are always worth watching and raise the material they are in.

That said, not even Meryl Streep could save "The Devil Wears Prada!" --

peter johnson/denny crane

[HarlotBug3]

You ask this question in this forum. Stand on top of a display at a multiplex on friday evening and yell it. Let us know how that works out.

[Rev. Powell]

I think part of the issue is that, to a film fan, a star can be distracting and make suspension of disbelief more difficult. We're constantly reminded that it's an actor up on screen, someone who we know from their prior roles and about whom we may even know something of their personal lives, political beliefs, etc.  We've formed an opinion of them, and we don't like them mucking up a story we could be interested in with their personal baggage.  Tom Cruise in VALKYRIE comes to mind; people think his ego dominates the screen, or can't imagine such a wimpy guy as a potential assassin.

I've come to believe most of the moviegoing public isn't made up of film fans, it's made up of movie star fans.  Most people don't go to movies because they're intrigued by the plot description, the glowing reviews, or because they enjoyed the director's prior work.  They just want to see their favorite movie idol, be it Bruce Willis, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith or whomever up on the big screen, doing EXACTLY THE SAME THING they did in their last three or four films.

[D-Man]

I've gotten over my dislike of Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt for the moment, because they both have recently tackled roles that required some actual skill (Cruise in "Tropic Thunder" and Pitt in "Burn After Reading")

One guy I will never understand as a Big-Name is George Clooney.  He and Joel Schumacher almost killed the Batman films for god's sake.  In every single movie, he plays the same kind of guy, speaking in that same, worn out, sarcastic tone of voice.  It just drives me nuts every time he opens his mouth now.