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Gene Hackman.
Hmmmm - Far and Away, Cocktail, Elizabethtown, Days of Thunder; need I go on?
Agree with the view that Jason Statham is reliable, due to him playing exactly the same role in every film. Hugh Grant is another good example of consistency, even if Paddington 2 is his acting high point.
Fred McMurray
Fred Astaire
James Cagney
Humphrey Bogart
Ginger Rogers
Jack Lemon
Katherine Hepburn
Simon Pegg
Klaus Kinski
Frances McDormand. Rarely puts a foot wrong.
A couple of her recent co-stars, Rockwell and Harrelson have a pretty good strike rate as well.
If you include TV as well as film, Neil Maskell always seems to be in interesting things.
Christian Bale generally avoids phoning it in for the money on straight to DVD stuff.
I think Nice Cage is a great actor, but I'm afraid I'd dodge anything I see his name next to these days! Slightly tempted to break my rule by the good reviews of "Mandy". Anyone seen it?
I think Hanks record doesn’t correspond with what you imply.
I'm not implying anything, I'm saying straight out that his films are dross and he's a mediocre actor.
Morgan Freeman, can't think of a bad one.
The Rock. Because you always know 100% what you're going to get with the Rock and he will always deliver. That's reliability. And I've honestly never unenjoyed one of his films, even the terrible ones are funny. He can't act but that's OK because all he has to do is walk around being enormous and either charismatic or intense.
Chiwetel Ejiofor? Except for 2012.
@kcr - Mandy is a very weird film - cage goes totally bonkers. Worth watching for it's weirdness.
Morgan Freeman, can’t think of a bad one.
Million Dollar Baby was predictable and forgettable. Driving Miss Daisy was awful. Wanted was ridiculous bilge.
Can't really blame him though, just like De Niro and Cage, if someone turns up with a big bag of cash to appear in a shitty movie, you might as well take it to pay off the mortgage, won't stop you doing something good as well.
Can’t really blame him though, just like De Niro and Cage, if someone turns up with a big bag of cash to appear in a shitty movie, you might as well take it to pay off the mortgage, won’t stop you doing something good as well.
Yes, he's 81, and cash aside, turning up on set to be Morgan Freeman a few times a year probably beats a cup of tea down the community centre or rambling with the local U3A group.
Marlon Brando although maybe not so reliable these days.
I don’t think Philip Seymour Hoffman did anything that wasn’t excellent, did have the sense to die before he got unlucky though.
I’m not implying anything, I’m saying straight out that his (Hanks') films are dross and he’s a mediocre actor.
<cough> Charlie Wilson's War </cough>
I tend to agree with you on PSH. He even turned Mission Impossible III into my favourite of the series. But Philadelphia, Catch Me if You Can, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, Bridge of Spies...dross?
Excellent thread. A list of actors who have been in films. Enjoyed it.
I'll add Brad Dourif, James Ganldofini, Jake Gyllanhaal, Chloe Grace Moretz.
Loving the hate for Mr Cage 🤣🤷♂️
His National Treasue movies are pretty robust, little adventure and predictable plots.
But they’re some of the most played films on Sky movies, and when they’re on I watch them over anything else.
I don’t think he’s a brilliant actor by any stretch, but he is reliable... and that was the OP’s intention wasn’t it?
🤠
I’m also going to nominate this bloke.
Obviously I didn’t know what other movies he’d appeared in until he stepped on the set of Grand Budapest Hotel .. 🤦♂️
But he is pretty damn reliable 😜
We seem to be missing out on a number of other actors, I don’t know why they’ve been missed off.. perhaps it was a weekend thread and everyone was outside being lashed by the weather 🤷♂️
Harrison Ford
Mel Gibson
Bruce Willis
I’m saying straight out that his films are dross and he’s a mediocre actor.
You obviously missed the classic Splash. Brilliant.
I wouldn't say I'm a Nic Cage hater, but he is massively unfussy about film roles. Probably due to his well-documented issues with money (some jaw-dropping examples).
Adam Sandler
The Rock
by Ruaridh age 8
We seem to be missing out on a number of other actors, I don’t know why they’ve been missed off.. perhaps it was a weekend thread and everyone was outside being lashed by the weather 🤷♂️
Harrison Ford
Mel Gibson
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis sucks. Mel Gibson isn't a very good actor. Harrison Ford is pretty good at what he does though.
In fact, Bruce Willis actually managed to make Tom Hanks look relatively good in Bonfire of the Vanities, which sucked.
Tommy Lee Jones.
He’s turned in a flawless performance of Tommy Lee Jones in every film he’s ever been in.
Olivia Colman
Joaquin Pheonix
Beat Takeshi
Jack Nicholson (Yeah he's been in few dodgy ones (Witches of Eastwick), but he's probably the most reliable actor of all time ever.)
not just films, but Paddy Considine & Mark Heap are consistently good IMO
Donald Sutherland - he's so good that even if you drop him into an otherwise bad film, it automatically becomes good by virtue of his appearance in it. E.g. JFK
Similarly, Dennis Hopper, although he's been a bit quiet of late.
Jack Nicholson used to be my touchstone for this. Then I paid good money to see Wolf at the cinema, and revised the theory.
Judi Dench
Helen Mirren
Oh and Tom Hardy hasn't been mentioned yet?
Arnie
The most unreliable actor is Michael Caine, not necessarily in terms of his performances, but the fact he picks some terrible movies.
Robert De Niro is the most reliable both in acting ability and picking good films.
Patrick Stewart
Victoria Wood
Robert De Niro is the most reliable both in acting ability and picking good films.
No, De Niro has done a lot of rubbish films for the paycheck. Dirty Grandpa and all the Fockers films come to mind. Easy to forgive though, given the truly great stuff he's done as well.
Michael Caine, not necessarily in terms of his performances, but the fact he picks some terrible movies.
..and is wonderfully shameless about it. One of my favourite quotes (dunno if reliable, maybe apocryphal, but is credible) was what he (allegedly) said about Jaws 4:
"I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”
+1 for Frances McDormand.
Can't think of a single bad performance from William H Macy.
Mark Ruffalo's also pretty reliable.
Has Michael Sheen ever appeared in a dud?
Twilight: Breaking Dawn.
Also I vaguely recall some Underworld follow up which was awful, and does Tron: Legacy count?
Sheen was also in Apostle. He did his best, but I thought the film was a mess.