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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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 🤷♂️
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).
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.”