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So any actors strike you as reliable in terms of being in entertaining films?
Michael Douglas and Kurt Russell for me, don't think either of them have been in many turkeys (tho plenty of cheese).
Michael Sheen.
James McAvoy
Clint Eastwood
Tom Cruise
Nicholas Cage
Will Smith
Matthew McConnaghy
Matt Damon
Tom Hanks
Adam Sandler 🙂
Daniel Day-Lewis, George Clooney, and Edward Norton seem to be able to avoid turkeys.
Tom Hanks is very reliable - you know he's going to be mediocre no matter whether the movie is good or bad (The Terminal was pretty shite, for example, but Hanks was merely boring).
Nicolas Cage is utterly unpredictable - could be a world beater, could be a turkey, no way to know.
Jeremy Corbyn- he’s a great actor plays the village idiot well !
The greatest actor ever... Dustin Hoffman
and Woody Harreleson
Ed Harris
Scott Glen
Gordon Jackson
Kevin Spacey
I don't think Philip Seymour Hoffman did anything that wasn't excellent, did have the sense to die before he got unlucky though.
The greatest actor ever… Dustin Hoffman
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? was a bit of a stain on his resume.
Steven Seagal
Sly Stallone
Jean Claude Van Damme
All reliable as in you know what you're getting.
Tim Roth
Clive Owen
Denzel Washington
Kevin Spacey
Toby Jones
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
A. Few more I'll have to think about but Robert Redford has a good CV.
tom hanks
dustin hoffman
and robin williams was fantastic.
Yes, Robin Williams was as reliably lame as Tom Hanks. You see one of those names on the billboard and you know it's gonna be inoffensive dross.
Jason Statham
I believe Jason Statham is the most bankable actor in Hollywood. Apparently, whilst his films don't always make the most money, they do always make money.
And having seen a few recently Dwayne the Rock Johnson proper does what it says on the tin.
I believe Jason Statham is the most bankable actor in Hollywood.
It’s (was) Stan Lee, by an enormous margin. Living actor I think its Samuel L Jackson
You see one of those names on the billboard and you know it’s gonna be inoffensive dross.
I'm not sure if this is the thread for you...
I’m not sure if this is the thread for you…
What gave it away?
Paddy Considine.
Denzel Washington
What gave it away?
Something you said?
I think Hanks record doesn't correspond with what you imply.
Aye Denzel's good too.
Samuel L Jackson.
Anthony Hopkins.
Maggie Smith!
Jackie Chan, he sticks to a formula and I seem to becoming a bit of Jack Black fan but I'm not sure that's because of the films he's done tho
Brendan Gleeson. Guaranteed to be interesting
Gary Oldman... Provided you forget about the Robocop remake.
Ronnie Barker
Stellan Skargad.
This place is worse than the Oscars. Two women so far.
Daniel Brûhl
Cecile de France
Omar Sy
Jean du Jardin
Sophie Marceau
Isabelle Adjani
The thing about Nicholas Cage is, he is reliable 🤪
Samuel L Jackson
Reliable as in:
SLJ in a supporting role, at worst watchable film, but usually good.
SLJ in in leading role, generally awful.
Denzel Washington.
I can't think of a single bad film he's been in
Are we allowed to use the term actor and reference only persons identifying as male now?
Samuel L Jackson, Edward Norton & Daniel Day-Lewis. Denzel Washington and John Malkovich up there too.
Actually really enjoyed Kevin Spacey in pretty much everything I saw him in but after the scandal I now struggle to not see Kevin Spacey on the screen rather than the character he is playing.
Amy Adams is reliably excellent if you only consider her more recent work rather than her early career doing rom coms.
Jean Reno
Denzel Washington.
I can’t think of a single bad film he’s been in
Excellent choice, he’s brilliant.
I’d argue ‘2 Guns’ is compete toss and Pelham 123 isnt great, but otherwise you have to go a loooong way back in his history to find a stinker (that that I’ve seen or remember everything he’s been in).
Nic Cage? Seriously?
He will appear in literally any old dross. Total opposite of reliable.
James McAvoy was in one of the worst films I've ever seen. It was called Wanted and I urge you to avoid it.
Considine and Gleeson are good shouts.
To even up the gender imbalance may I suggest Sally Hawkins and Jennifer Lawrence.
Samuel L Jackson
Has been in plenty of shit movies. I don't think they guy has ever turned a script down. Watch Arena for proof.
Denzel Washington Out of Time was utter crap but generally, he's good.
Zoe Saldana been in some good films.
Alan Rickman (RIP 😔)
Agree with most of the above, Tom Cruise is rarely in a bad movie.
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.”