Who are the least talented actors who are successful?

[WokeKarenHereAskMeAboutStuff]

In your opinion.

I’ll start.

The Rock
Gal Gadot
Mark Whalberg
Channing Tatum

As has been said - like with the 'worst singer' thread, all this is, is a thread full of peoples opinions. Saying there is no comparison between Tom Cruise and Gary Oldman (like saying Gary is superior) is just silly. They are different actors with different skillsets. Just because Tom is conventionally good looking/more conventionally handsome than Gary. that doesn't mean he isn't as good an actor as Gary...

See also: Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Leo DiCaprio... Some people slag them off, and say (for example) Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall are better actors, because Gary, Alan, and Timothy are not conventionally good looking. Gary, Alan, and Timothy are no better actors than Brad, Johnny, and Leo. They are all different. It's ridiculous to compare them.

Seeing the same with actresses too. Many the ones who are being slagged off, and accused of being shit at acting, are the conventionally attractive ones.

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James was brilliant in Shameless!

@SabreIsMyFave agreed! Gary Oldman is a character actor, so it’s not really fair to compare him to Tom Cruise who is a movie star.

Tom is a decent and generous actor, I think. He’s arguably got the much more difficult role in Rain Man, for example. Great in Magnolia as well.

Exactly!

I live in the vain hope that whoever's cast as Hermione in the new series can act, and that she's not the pretty kid Emma Watson was. Granted finding a child actress who's plain is probably too much to hope for these days, but it would be nice if they made at least some attempt to make her resemble the character as written. Hermione had bushy hair and buck teeth. Watson lacked those as well as acting ability.

Not sure that is true. I said Olivia Coleman, and she is very average in looks imo. Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint the same.

Oh!!! I've just realised that T.U. is that character in Black Doves!

Heh. I just saw an AI drawing of Hermione and it looked far more like her than EW.

Could probably play her better, too ...

Ray winstone
Michael Caine
James cordon
How do these people keep getting work

Dakota Johnson - I've tried watching her in so many things and every time just infuriating. Even where there's a good writer and other good actors she stands out as basically terrible - more or less plays herself everything. Must just be nepotism getting her the roles.

Oh heck I love most of those mentioned!
I'm not qualified to judge!

She was also good in Groundhog Day, along with the whole cast

@StrawberryWater I agree about Hugh Grant. Early on in his career he was typecast but he is a really fine actor now.
A very good tennis player too I hear !
I completely changed my mind about Tom Cruise after seeing him in Collateral, he can act.

Her acting hermoinie being bellatrix in the last Harry Potter was very good.

Er Happy Valley!!! SL was exceptional in that

I agree. That line at the end, “is it raining? I hadn’t noticed” was probably the worst delivered line I have ever had the misfortune to hear. I agree all the other actors in that film outshone her.

edited to add I haven’t read the WFT but just to acknowledge this has been mentioned already - apologies 🥴

Hugh Grant is brilliant in Paddington and The Gentlemen. He plays baddies really well.

I understood your original point perfectly. You said he can only play one type, and over a career spanning 40+ years he's demonstrated that he hasn't.

I thought she was amazing in The Wings of a Dove and The Heart of Me. But she's been miscast and unconvincing in some recent projects - Nolly and The Crown.

Haha. I'm inclined to agree with that!!
Yep, our Jude is a consummate professional - but is always very sameish.

I think Olivia Coleman is overrated. Never quite understood her popularity and success.
Mind you, i recently watched The Lobster, and she was great in that!

Gwyneth Strong (Cassandra in Only Fools....). Say no more.

Anna Friel - like watching paint dry. No presence whatsoever. I've yet to see her in something that proves me wrong!

Agree about Anna Friel. I dislike her voice too. She was in a drama a few years ago (Marchella I think,) and she was trying to douse her accent a bit (I think she is from Lancashire,) and she was talking about going to the pub. She tried to make her accent sound a bit less 'northern,' and tried to say the word 'pub' a bit 'posher,' and it came out as pob. She sounded ridiculous.

As for Olivia Coleman. She is good, and I liked her in Broadchurch. But yeah, like many British actors and actresses, she is overrated.

She was very good in Iris.

Her best performance is in Notes on a Scandal: "Don't play the good mother with me!" was one of many lines in that film she delivered perfectly.

I love Olivia Coleman. She has a sort of 'cartoonish' quality, which I guess is a bit polarising, but works for me in most things. I loved her in Fleabag in particular.

She was woefully miscast in The Crown though. But I guess god help anyone trying to follow Claire Foy.