Actors you can't stand (mannerisms, voice, looks, roles chosen, etc.)

[samhexum]

Raul Esparza

 

As actors/characters I liked left SVU, I had less & less reason to keep watching. I disliked him from the start, and when it became apparent he was going to stick around as the DA, I stopped watching.

[samhexum]

John Travolta Gilbert Gottfried Jerry Seinfeld (I'm probably the only person in the world who has never seen a single episode of Seinfeld.) Mel Gibson Fran Drescher

 

I don't like Travolta, but I don't dislike him. How can ANYONE stand Gottfried? (though I must admit when I had 2 mini strokes in May & missed a lot of work, I wished I had AFLAC). I liked the show SEINFELD, but didn't love/revere it like many do. Each of the 4 characters annoyed me at different times. Jerry was never as over-the-top annoying as the other 3; he was just steadily annoyingish. I was never a fan of (or turned on by) Gibson before all the crap; now fuggetaboutit. I can't help it... I found THE NANNY entertaining (mostly for Niles/CC).

[topinla]

Jennifer Anniston - could not stand her on Friends

Kristen Stewart - dull on and off the camera

Kellan Lutz

Chris Pine

Ray Romano

Tom Cruise

[samhexum]

Jennifer Anniston

 

I always laugh when I see her Aveeno commercials. The tag line is always "Naturally beautiful...", spoken by a woman with bleached blonde hair, who had a nose job before her career took off.

[actor61]

As actors/characters I liked left SVU, I had less & less reason to keep watching. I disliked him from the start, and when it became apparent he was going to stick around as the DA, I stopped watching.

Me too. The 2 most annoying characters ever on SVU were Judith Light as DA, then judge, and now Esparza as DA. Maybe it was ordered by the producers but both of them were/are always so angry, annoyed, pissed off, irritated, judgmental, sardonic and dictatorial. Especially Light. Her character was in a foul mood all the damn time. I stopped watching while she was on the show. I watch it pretty regularly now because I like Kelly Giddish and Peter Scanavino a lot (the newish detectives on the team), and Hargitay can always be relied on to be good but I tend to read the paper during any of Esparza's scenes. He really takes himself seriously. I've seen him in 3 Broadway shows and even in comedies, he's arrogant and angry appearing.

[bostonman]

I've seen [Esparza] in 3 Broadway shows and even in comedies, he's arrogant and angry appearing.

 

I hated him in the John Doyle Company that was televised (and released on DVD) - but then again, I hated everything about that amateurish deconstructionist mockery of the great Sondheim/Furth musical.

[actor61]

I hated him in the John Doyle Company that was televised (and released on DVD) - but then again, I hated everything about that amateurish deconstructionist mockery of the great Sondheim/Furth musical.

How right you are. Lord, was that ever awful! I don't know why I watched the whole thing, but I did. I actually groaned out loud when Esparza sat down at the piano to plunk out "Being Alive". Ludicrous and terrible. I saw him as the MC in "Cabaret" and he just wore me out. Then I saw him in the pre Broadway production of "Leap of Faith" with Brooke Shields, and he wore me out again. (She was pretty awful too.)

[JayCeeKy]

Bob Hope, back in the day. I agreed with Johnny Carson who stated that every joke that Hope ever delivered was written for him and that Hope "couldn't ad-lib a fart after a baked bean dinner."

More recently, trying to watch Stranger Things, Winona Ryder's over-acting is so distracting that it's hard to watch the show. It's one constant hysterical screech. She's probably a dear person in real life, but, for God's sake, get some acting lessons!

[bostonman]

Bob Hope, back in the day. I agreed with Johnny Carson who stated that every joke that Hope ever delivered was written for him and that Hope "couldn't ad-lib a fart after a baked bean dinner."

 

Perhaps - but many comedians have writers, and that's certainly no secret. There are those who are skilled at improv, and those who are simply skilled in telling a joke whatever the source. And of course some who can do both. Carson didn't write all his own material either, as far as I know, but he did also have the ability to improv.

[bostonman]

How right you are. Lord, was that ever awful! I don't know why I watched the whole thing, but I did. I actually groaned out loud when Esparza sat down at the piano to plunk out "Being Alive". Ludicrous and terrible. I saw him as the MC in "Cabaret" and he just wore me out. Then I saw him in the pre Broadway production of "Leap of Faith" with Brooke Shields, and he wore me out again. (She was pretty awful too.)

 

Not to veer from the thread too much, but I'm just not a fan of Doyle's style, period. Not the isolationist takes on every show, no matter what they are actually about, not the actors trying to be their own orchestra, and not the heavy-handed symbolism in his concepts (with his scenic collaborators - the oh-so-pretentious little white coffin in Sweeney, the "Laugh-In meets the Borough" wall that stood in for a set for the Met's Peter Grimes, and on and on). It's funny that when I saw his Sweeney (which I thought was a great concert but not at all theatre), I figured that his treatments would better serve Company, which is already a more abstract show. Boy, was I wrong.

 

The other problem with the Company was that, at least in Sweeney, Doyle and his orchestrator (Sarah Travis, who deserves a helluva lot of credit for her work) were indeed blessed with actors who could play musical instruments quite well - I may have hated the visual/"directorial" concepts and the musical cuts, but the music making, I have to admit, was very good. (Aside perhaps from Patti Lupone, whose tuba playing was mainly for comic effect, lol.) Not so in Company, with a cast that was not nearly as skilled, and not able to make the orchestrations (this time by the also very talented Mary Mitchell-Campbell) work well at all.

 

Ok, back to actors...

[Boink]

Doris Roberts (made Everybody Loves Raymond unwatchable for me)

Estelle Parsons (made Roseanne unwatchable for me)

[samhexum]

Doris Roberts (made Everybody Loves Raymond unwatchable for me)

Estelle Parsons (made Roseanne unwatchable for me)

 

I liked Roberts throughout her career. Marie Barrone was a strident character, & Roberts played her to the hilt. I can see how somebody might have been put off by the character, but that shouldn't reflect on the actress.

 

The same could be said for Parsons, but I think that was a misstep by whomever was (technically) running the show (though obviously Roseanne had big input). I found Bev Harris much more unlikable than Marie Barrone. The difference for me was that Bev's own kids disliked her, and her grandkids weren't too thrilled either. It always frustrates me when a show introduces a character everyone in the show hates. How are we as the viewers supposed to not dislike her? I think ROSEANNE started going downhill fast after its 6th season, and that was right around the time Bev's character became featured a lot more.

 

All that being said, there were several terrific moments for the character:

 

• When she confronted her late husband's mistress (played by Tom Arnold's aunt, BTW) at the funeral home.
  
• When Roseanne hurt her with a comment, then told Bev to do something mean to her to even things out, & Bev sold her share of the diner to Roseanne's nemesis, Leon.
  
• When she was taking care of an injured Roseanne & spoiled a couple of surprises the Conners had for their kids and then she went to see Dan at his bike shop & they had a nice talk.
  
• At the Thanksgiving episode when it was revealed that Bev's hubby was celebrating the holiday with his mistress, and Roseanne wanted to call him and confront him. Bev wanted her to stay out of it, telling her "Roseanne, this is not about YOUR father, it's about MY husband."
  
• When she was embarrassed after breaking her hip having sex with Red Buttons in the shower, & Roseanne had a talk with her about sex, finding out that Bev had never had derived ANY pleasure from it. Roseanne suggested Bev talk to him about what she'd like him to do. In the episode's epilogue, we saw Bev dressed in full leather, brandishing a whip.
  
• When Jackie became annoyed that Fred didn't find Bev unbearable, and then in THAT epilogue, Fred & Bev were on the couch, drinking beer (& I think smoking cigars), and Bev says something about how she didn't know how much longer she could keep up that annoying voice. When Fred asked her if her family knew what she was REALLY like, she said "Now what fun would THAT be?"
  

Edited February 2, 2021 by samhexum

[+ WilliamM]

After seeing Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in "Sunday in the Park with George" I played the tape of the Original Broadcast Cast over and over again. When he's performing by himself, I would rather visit South Sudan, one of the most dangerous places in the world. But, I did like him in Sunday in the Park.

 

The only stage performers I dislike are the few who "walk through" the role as if they do not care. The worst, by far, was Georgia Brown in "Oliver" in the 1960s.

 

As to Broadway shows, "The Sound of Music" had a confusing plot (fixed in the film). And Maria (Mary Martin) was a boring character on stage. Dolly Gallagher Levi was a far better fit for Martin.

[actor61]

I liked Roberts throughout her career. Marie Barrone was a strident character, & Roberts played her to the hilt. I can see how somebody might have been put off by the character, but that shouldn't reflect on the actress.

 

The same could be said for Parsons, but I think that was a misstep by whomever was (technically) running the show (though obviously Roseanne had big input). I found Bev Harris much more unlikable than Marie Barrone. The difference for me was that Bev's own kids disliked her, and her grandkids weren't too thrilled either. It always frustrates me when a show introduces a character everyone in the show hates. How are we as the viewers supposed to not dislike her? I think ROSEANNE started going downhill fast after its 6th season, and that was right around the time Bev's character became featured a lot more.

 

All that being said, there were several terrific moments for the character:

 

• When she confronted her late husband's mistress (played by Tom Arnold's aunt, BTW) at the funeral home.
  
• When Roseanne hurt her with a comment, then told Bev to do something mean to her to even things out, & Bev sold her share of the diner to Roseanne's nemesis, Leon.
  
• When she was taking care of an injured Roseanne & spoiled a couple of surprises the Conners had for their kids and then she went to see Dan at his bike shop & they had a nice talk.
  
• At the Thanksgiving episode when it was revealed that Bev's hubby was clebrating the holiday with his mistress, and Roseanne wanted to call him and confront him. Bev wanted her to stay out of it, telling her "Roseanne, this is not about your father, it's about MY husband."
  
• When she was embarrassed after breaking her hip having sex with Red Buttons in the shower, & Roseanne had a talk with her about sex, finding out that Bev had never had derived ANY pleasure from it. Roseanne suggested Bev talk to him about what she'd like him to do. In the episode's epilogue, we saw Bev dressed in full leather, brandishing a whip.
  
• When Jackie became annoyed that Fred didn't find Bev unbearable, and then in THAT epilogue, Fred & Bev were on the couch, drinking beer (& I think smoking cigars), and Bev says something about how she didn't know how much longer she could keep up that annoying voice. When Fred asked her if her family knew what she was REALLY like, she said "Now what fun would THAT be?"
  

But even more annoying than Parson as Bev was Shelly Winters as Bev's mother. She was obviously having so much trouble with her lines that I stopped watching the character and just watched Winters try to read the cue cards.

 

Mary Louise Parker.

Liev Schrieber

[samhexum]

Stephen Tobolowsky

 

I was watching an SVU marathon this morning, and they showed one of the most enjoyable episodes in the series' history. Tobolowsky played a registered sex offender who was framed for new charges. When his wife (who hadn't known about his past) found out, he drove his car under a truck and it exploded. I know they used a stuntman, but imagining Tobolowsky in that burning car is SO satisfying, no matter how many times I've seen that episode.

 

This followed the saddest episode the show ever had... Peter Strauss & Joan Cusack played the parents of a girl who'd gone missing years earlier, at the age of 10. Cusack was suspected of killing her; allowing her to trot out all of her most annoying mannerisms in portraying the woman's frustrations.

 

It turned out the girl had been abducted by a man who'd made her be his wife. It was heart-breaking when Elliot & Olivia found her and returned her to a weeping (what else?) Cusack. After what she'd been through, to have to go back and live with HER... how much is any little girl supposed to endure & survive? SO sad...

[+ Avalon]

Jim Carrey-I just don't find him and funny and it almost seems like a made up persona.

 

I'm not a fan of Carrey either but I did like him in the dramatic role he played in this gay themed movie

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doing_Time_on_Maple_Drive

[+ Awwshuck]

I think he's primarily a director, and I like several of his films. But as an actor Quentin Tarantino annoys the hell out of me.

[samhexum]

I think he's primarily a director, and I like several of his films. But as an actor Quentin Tarantino annoys the hell out of me.

 

Even in his Emmy-award winning appearance on GOLDEN GIRLS?

[+ Awwshuck]

Even in his Emmy-award winning appearance on GOLDEN GIRLS?

 

Didn't see it. I'm thinking of his characters in a couple of 90s movies (e.g. Sleep with Me). They were mainly cameos, but he always came across as super smarmy.

[samhexum]

I think he's primarily a director, and I like several of his films. But as an actor Quentin Tarantino annoys the hell out of me.

 

Even in his Emmy-award winning appearance on GOLDEN GIRLS?

 

Didn't see it.

 

Prepare to be impressed:

Edited January 8, 2018 by samhexum

[samhexum]

Raul Esparza

 

I hated him in the John Doyle Company that was televised (and released on DVD) - but then again, I hated everything about that amateurish deconstructionist mockery of the great Sondheim/Furth musical.

 

HOORAY! He left SVU. (And the ex-Mrs. Bobby Flay's returning for one episode)

 

Esparza got excellent reviews in Kennedy Center's production of CHESS (which I saw in its original incarnation in London & loved).

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts launched the inaugural season of Broadway Center Stage with CHESS, the epic rock opera about love and political intrigue set against the backdrop of the Cold War as two superpowers attempt to manipulate an international chess championship for political ends.

 

Written in 1984 by songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (Mamma Mia!) and lyricist Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King, Evita), CHESS has been seen in numerous productions around the world. The original concept album spawned two international hit singles, "I Know Him So Well" and "One Night in Bangkok."

 

Presented as a part of Broadway Center Stage, a Kennedy Center-produced series of musicals in semi-staged concerts, CHESS ran February 14-18, 2018 in the Eisenhower Theater.

 

CHESS, which enjoyed a three-year run in London's West End in 1986 and played Broadway in 1988, has been revised with a new book by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning writer Danny Strong (Empire, The Butler, Game Change).

 

"I have always been enormously proud of CHESS," said Tim Rice. "Revisiting this show with a new book by Danny Strong is an exciting opportunity. I am delighted that CHESS will have a new world premiere at the Kennedy Center."

Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Spring Awakening), CHESS stars Raúl Esparza (Company, the Kennedy Center's Sunday in the Park with George and Merrily We Roll Along) as American chess champion Freddie Trumper; Ramin Karimloo(Anastasia) as rival Russian chess star Anatoly Sergievsky; Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles WHO WAS JUST INVOLVED IN A TRAGIC ACCIDENT (see below)(The King and I, Here Lies Love) as Anatoly's wife, Svetlana Sergievsky; and Tony Award winner Karen Olivo (West Side Story, In the Heights) as Florence Vassy, a remarkable Hungarian refugee who becomes the center of the emotional triangle. Joining them are Bradley Dean (Dear Evan Hansen) as Ivan Molokov, Sean Allan Krill (Honeymoon in Vegas) as Walter Anderson, and Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder) as the Arbiter.

A seizure-prone woman was “foaming at the mouth” after she fatally mowed down two kids crossing a Brooklyn street with their moms, law enforcement sources and an NYPD official said Wednesday.

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio also lashed out at driver Dorothy Bruns, citing eight camera-based tickets for speeding in school zones and running red lights that she racked up between July 2016 and April 2017.

 

“She should never have been allowed to be driving a car after what we know of these other violations,” de Blasio said during a news conference at NYPD headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

 

“I share the frustration of many in my community — I wish she were under arrest right now and I certainly believe that measures need to be taken to make sure she will not drive a car anymore.”

 

NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan said cops interviewed witnesses who saw Bruns, 44, of Staten Island, immediately following the collision in Park Slope.

 

“The investigator indicated that the person might have been foaming at the mouth,” Chan said.

 

Law enforcement sources also said Bruns was foaming at the mouth, which is among the symptoms of a seizure.

 

Bruns — who is hospitalized at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn — told cops that she suffers frommultiple sclerosis and heart problems, and had a seizure in January, sources have said.

Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Miles, 4, were killed whenthey were struck by Bruns‘ white 2016 Volvo at the intersection of Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue around 12:40 p.m. Monday.

Their moms, Lauren Lew and Tony award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles, who is pregnant, were both injured and are hospitalized at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

Miles is being treated in the intensive care unit, a hospital source said Wednesday.

Edited March 8, 2018 by samhexum

[+ Avalon]

She's on "Chicago PD".

 

I can not stand her!

 

https://www.instagram.com/marinasqu/?hl=en

[samhexum]

She's on "Chicago PD". I can not stand her!

 

And she says the nicest things about you!

[+ Avalon]

And she says the nicest things about you!

 

lol

 

I like this actor

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Flueger

 

On the show "Judging Amy" there was a gay teen Eric Black. He played his boyfriend in an episode.

[JBrian72]

I cannot watch Neil Patrick Harris at all. I don't get why/how he has become the Number One Gay In The World. I don't like his looks or his swagger and his singing voice is nails on a chalkboard. A few years ago there was a filmed performance of Sondheim's Company, one of my favorites. NPH was Bobby. I thought "I can put up with him." Nope. I couldn't. I know that many of you will disagree with me, but I will never understand the appeal of this guy.