S/O: Actors you won't watch, can't stand, etc....

[DawnM]

Someone mentioned on the other thread that they hate watching Will Farrell because he get on her nerves.  

Who gets on your nerves?  maybe even one most people do like.

I am going to have to think about it, but I know Gilbert Godfey makes me want to punch someone.

[teachermom2834]

Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise used to be in the same category for me. Not that I would refuse to watch but they bugged me and I didn't get what made them heartthrobs (back when they were really popular). They always seemed kinda wimpy to me. 

But now with all the Scientology stuff I think Tom Cruise is in the category that I just can't stand to watch him. 

[DawnM]

1 minute ago, teachermom2834 said:

Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise used to be in the same category for me. Not that I would refuse to watch but they bugged me and I didn't get what made them heartthrobs (back when they were really popular). They always seemed kinda wimpy to me. 

But now with all the Scientology stuff I think Tom Cruise is in the category that I just can't stand to watch him. 

 

Do you feel the same way about John Travolta?

[teachermom2834]

6 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

Do you feel the same way about John Travolta?

Actually I do not. Which is interesting. I do like John Travolta. 
 

However I admit I have read a lot about Scientology and I actually met a woman who had been hooked in with the celebrities in Scientology and I ended up feeling sorry for John Travolta. 
 

Listen to me actually talking like I know the details of these people’s lives 😂 obviously I don’t. I surely liked Travolta and found Cruise annoying before I knew anything of Scientology so that could have something to do with my inconsistencies. Cruise, however, has been much more vocal and I would say aggressive about it.

[Scarlett]

I could never figure out what Katie Holmes saw in him.  But man I was super impressed with her escape from him for herself and her daughter.  

[Noreen Claire]

Brad Pitt. I made the mistake of watching the movie Se7en and I haven't been able to watch him in anything since. I just can't do it.

[Garga]

I used to like Laura Dern just like I liked any other actor/actress, but then I saw an interview with her and she came across as super flakey to me and now I cringe when I see her.  I was really disappointed to see she’s the mother in the upcoming movie Little Women because I don’t think the mom in Little Women is flakey, so it’ll be jarring to see her in the role.  

I have learned over the years not to watch interviews with actors because they often come across as flakey and then I don’t enjoy their work as much.  I wish I hadn’t watched that one.

[Arctic Bunny]

Will Ferrell, Jim Carey, Jimmy Fallon, Brie Larson. They all make me cringe, and I get that feeling of being embarrassed for them and can’t keep watching.

[catz]

Jim Carey, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lawrence, Renee Zellweger.  Ellen Pompeo is a little bit meh.  

Oh - those 2 morons that were involved in Varsity Blues scandal.  I used to actually like Felicity Huffman in Desperate Housewives.  I've always thought Lori Loughlin was a marginal actor.  

[Vanchy]

Angelina Jolie - I can't stand her. I change channel if she is on TV.

[Bluegoat]

Interestingly a lot of the ones people have already mentioned.

Tom Cruise is probably top of the list, and then Leonardo DiCaprio. Thoe are the two I really tend to avoid.  I've seen a few things I thought were ok with them but I still found them a distraction.  I think the only thing I really liked with Cruise was Born on the 4th of July, and it was because the character was supposed to be an annoying git.

But Brad Pitt is up there, Angelina Joli, and most of the silly comedy actors like Jim Carey or Will Farrell Ben Stiller. In the latter arguably I just dislike the genre, I can't deal with Chevy Chase films either.  Though, I like Bill Murray and Jim Candy so who knows.

[mom2scouts]

I can't stand Jim Carrey. I won't watch anything he's in.

[Kassia]

I don't watch tv or movies but I wouldn't watch Woody Allen or celebrities who push their political views on people.  I don't want to see Barbra Streisand either (although she is included in the political views category I guess).  

 

[wintermom]

I'm kind of sad/scared to say this here, but most American TV and movies I can not stand watching (even ones with Canadian/British/etc. actors). The dialogue is bad, no interesting plot, not-funny humour, not normal body shapes/sizes/looks, and over romanticized. There is ALWAYS a romantic thread in there somewhere. That may be the most annoying part. 😨

So even if the actors are amazing (and many are not), I'm disappointed because everything else is not enjoyable.

Fire away at me. I'm sure that there is some great stuff I could be missing because I'm beginning to avoid all US media (except your amazing comedians!) LOVE Jim Gaffigan and many others!

Edited November 27, 2019 by wintermom

[J-rap]

Speaking of scientology, I was surprised to hear that Elisabeth Moss is a member!

 

[StaceyinLA]

I typically avoid those who are outspoken/pushy with political views, but also I cannot stand Jim Carrey-type comedy, so I tend to avoid that at all costs.

[Bluegoat]

Wintermom - I tend to agree with you.  There are some exceptions, but in general I find American films and tv poor, and I mostly pin it on the dialogue. There is something oddly stereotyped about it, so even a good actor struggles to make it work.  In the past five years I'm finding I'm watching largely British stuff mixed with Canadian, Australian, and some things with subtitles from non-English markets.  

[mommyoffive]

Tom Cruise.  Hate him.  ick

Kevin Costner

Woody Allen

Hmm mostly it is guys.  I can't think of a girl I can't stand.   I mean I don't like a lot of the reality tv stars.  Every single Kardashian.

[SanDiegoMom]

Julia Roberts and Keira Knightley

 

[MysteryJen]

Mary McDonnell- she drives me crazy- like every line out of her mouth is explaining a righteous moral position to a toddler. 

I confess to fast forwarding everytime she is on the screen.

[Junie]

Sacha Baron Cohen.  I made an exception for Les Mis.

I also don't like the humor of Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, and a lot of others, but it's more the type of characters that they play rather than the actors themselves.  

[MaBelle]

54 minutes ago, SanDiegoMom in VA said:

Julia Roberts and Keira Knightley

 

I can't stand Keira Knightly.  Jolie.  And who is the shoplifting idjit on Stranger Things?  Ugh.

Edited November 27, 2019 by MaBelle

[Valley Girl]

53 minutes ago, StaceyinLA said:

I typically avoid those who are outspoken/pushy with political views, but also I cannot stand Jim Carrey-type comedy, so I tend to avoid that at all costs.

I agree with you about the ones who are politically pushy. They 100% have every right to hold and express whatever views they want. I just find that it affects my interest in watching them perform. If an actor/actress is going to lecture the public aggressively about their issue du jour or get verbally nasty about people with whom they disagree politically, it's just a turn-off.

 

 

[Quercus]

Chris Pine because if you told me he was an android I'd believe you. 

[KidsHappen]

4 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise used to be in the same category for me. Not that I would refuse to watch but they bugged me and I didn't get what made them heartthrobs (back when they were really popular). They always seemed kinda wimpy to me. 

But now with all the Scientology stuff I think Tom Cruise is in the category that I just can't stand to watch him. 

Ditto on Tom Cruise. I am usually a person who can't be bothered to dislike someone but for some reason Tom Cruise really bugs me. I thinks it is because he is bat sh*t crazy.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Noreen Claire said:

Brad Pitt. I made the mistake of watching the movie Se7en and I haven't been able to watch him in anything since. I just can't do it.

I have a story about that movie and Brad Pitt. 

At the time, many people thought my dh looked like Brad Pitt. But in that movie especially, the character played by Pitt was really just sooooooo similar to dh. Then, the plot twist part of that movie was SO FREAKING DISTURBING, I was haunted by it for months! The combination of that being a really warped psychological thriller and the character looking so much like dh just messed me up on movies like that....maybe permanently! 

*Sidebar crazy story about this resemblance: once, dh and I, plus another couple were out to dinner. Our waitress was so boggled about dh looking like Brad Pit, I kid you not, she jumped in his lap and put her arms around his neck! The other couple who was with us was like, “do you know her???” It was so unbearably weird! 

[hippiemamato3]

Pretty  much only Mr. Bean.

[MercyA]

I completely understand how celebrities expressing their political views can affect one's enjoyment of their performances. I used to really love Kristen Bell and now any production she's in is a bit tainted for me. But it works the other way, too--I like Jim Caviezel and Patricia Heaton more precisely because of some of their views.

I definitely don't agree with anything approaching a "shut up and perform" attitude. Thinking about a different type of entertainment, I find the NFL's treatment of Colin Kaepernick absolutely reprehensible and heartbreaking. (And that recent workout was a sham... 😠)

[Chris in VA]

I won't watch anything with Woody Allen,  or support his movies. That's a shame, because he's a talented writer and not a bad actor. I watch other actors with whom I disagree, but I just can't go there. 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Chris in VA

[Bluegoat]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Tom Cruise.  Hate him.  ick

Kevin Costner

Woody Allen

Hmm mostly it is guys.  I can't think of a girl I can't stand.   I mean I don't like a lot of the reality tv stars.  Every single Kardashian.

 

I was thinking this too.  Most of the ones I really dislike, will avoid a film for, are men. On the other hand the opposite is also true, as far as actors who will actually make me watch a film I might not have otherwise, mostly men.  Actresses I tend to have less extreme reactions to, good or bad.

Except Angelina Jolie.  

[Bluegoat]

Oh, I thought of another one - Kristen Stewart.  It's the way her mouth hangs open all the time, mostly, and I have the strong impression that she is a self-centred social climber and moron.  Which may be false, but that is what I think about when she is on the screen.

And now that I think about it, I also can't watch Emma Watson.

 

Quote

 yearns for a stupid man who owns a cool looking dog.

 

Somehow I read this as "who owns a cooking dog" and I thought, that would really be kind of helpful.

[OH_Homeschooler]

4 hours ago, Noreen Claire said:

Brad Pitt. I made the mistake of watching the movie Se7en and I haven't been able to watch him in anything since. I just can't do it.

 

I can't watch Ray Liotta for a similar reason--what his character did at the end of Hannibal. I think I was going through really bad insomnia at the time too, so that mixed with the really gross scene means I can't watch him again.

[BakersDozen]

Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Winona Ryder, Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner (just ick), Brad Pitt (he always looks like he just climbed out of a dumpster), Keira Knightly (the way she talks makes me nuts), Amy Schumer...come to think of it, I can't stand most actors, lol. I think the one that tops my list, though, is Donnie Wahlberg. I really, really like the shoe Blue Bloods but have to look away when he comes on the screen, he just gives me the creeps (and, like B Pitt, always seems to need a bath/shower).

Will Ferrell I couldn't stand until I saw him in Stranger Than Fiction. I think he did a great job and didn't have any of his usual stupid humor.

 

[Selkie]

Another vote for Tom Cruise & Jim Carrey

Ben Affleck

Robert DeNiro - every time I see him, I involuntarily say "ick"

Al Pacino - overactor

Brad Pitt - never saw the appeal

Emilia Clarke - just saw her in Last Christmas. Bad movie, bad actress. Emma Thompson was really bad in it, too.

 

[athena1277]

The only actor I cannot take is Jim Carrey.  I can’t stand the constant potty-humor.  The only movie of his I like is The Truman Show, probably because it wasn’t all about stupid potty-humor.

[Jenny in Florida]

I mean, there are lots of actors whose work I just don't appreciate. For the most part, when it comes to expressing political or social opinions, though, I tend to extend actors the same grace I would to any other human being. Personally, I have always felt it would be hypocritical for me to insist upon my own right to express my opinions and beliefs as I see fit but then get pissy when someone dares to publicly say something with which I don't happen to agree. 

Also (and, yes, I have struggled with how this applies in the era of MeToo), I have trouble with the idea that an entire creative project should be allowed to go down in flames because one person associated with it has done something heinous. What about all of the other people -- actors, crew, writers, etc. -- whose livelihoods and careers are impacted? 

And, in general, I understand that people are complex and that getting too fastidious about whose work I will and will not support based on the way a given person has lived his or her life would mean I might never again be able to enjoy any piece of art.

Don't pile on, please. I know there are lines to be drawn here. I'm just still working out where they are, for me, personally.

So, while I am not a big fan of Scientology based on what I have read, I don't usually cross films or TV shows off my watch list because one actor belongs to the group.

And I will admit to being very pleasantly surprised by seeing some wonderful acting from actors I have previously thought of as "goofy" or "dumb" or "gross" comedians. Will Ferrell, for example: I have had no interest in most of his films, but Stranger Than Fiction is one of my very favorite movies ever. And it makes me sad to think I might have missed having that movie come into my life at a time when it was especially meaningful to me because I "couldn't stand" that actor. 

Edited to add: Oh my goodness, I can't believe that, while typing about Will Ferrell, I forgot about Elf. Now, I'm not suggesting it's a "great film" or anything, but it's a family favorite, one we look forward to watching every year. And, again, it makes me sad to think of the family cuddling and the shared jokes we might have missed if we hadn't discovered that one.

That said, there are a few -- a very few -- people whose work I find I can no longer enjoy once I know something about them. The only one I can think of at the moment is Mel Gibson. And, for me, it's not like I go around making a point of boycotting Mel Gibson movies, because I don't see a lot of first-run films these days, anyway. But, if pressed, he's the only one whose personal issues still provoke enough lingering icky feelings for me that his name sprang to mind while I was reading this thread. 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Jenny in Florida

[alisoncooks]

I was all set to say I couldn't think of anyone, when I saw the mention of Kiera Knightly. My word, yes. I can't stand her talking -- and she *so* was not the right actress for Elizabeth Bennet.

2 hours ago, hippiemamato3 said:

Pretty  much only Mr. Bean.

Aw, lol. Mr.Bean is classic. I keep trying to make my kids like him. 

[Catwoman]

5 hours ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

I think every single actor on the Hallmark movie channel sucks. Every darn movie seems geared to a lonely woman who reads on a sixth grade level and yearns for a stupid man who owns a cool looking dog. 

 

Yes! And let’s not forget that all of those dimwitted lonely Hallmark women also just happen to be glamorous, hugely successful executives who live in beautiful 10 million dollar Manhattan apartments and have handsome, well-dressed, wealthy-but-shallow fiancés, but they end up chucking it all after they go to a tiny rural town to help their aging Grandpa, and find lifelong bliss after falling in love with the down-to-earth, jeans and plaid shirt type of guy-with-a-heart-of-gold who owns the local hardware store. 

Totally realistic. 

[Momto6inIN]

As a teen girl I puffy heart loved Tom Cruise and had posters of him on my bedrom walls. I could totally relate to how Katie Holmes was starstruck when they got together because I read somewhere that she had posters of him on her bedroom walls growing up too.

But when he jumped up and down on the couch like an idiotic teenager on Oprah when he talked about her, he lost all his appeal for me.

[theelfqueen]

Christian Bale sets my teeth on edge. 

[Sneezyone]

Keanu Reeves.

[Bluegoat]

I don't generally find the political or even personal foibles of actors are a turn off for me in terms of their acting, and I don't avoid anyone in films for reasons like that really.  I was thinking in this thread more in terms of a gut feeling.  About the only person that I avoid because he disgusts me in that way is Roman Polanski and I can't bear to give him money.  If he dies though, I am happy to fund his estate and I will be rewatching Chinatown.

But reading these responses, it kind of seems like Tom Cruise is not a guy to hire to make a film popular.

 

[Shoeless]

Burt Reynolds. He's not in very much these days, but I cannot stand him.  I have no idea why anyone thought he was so hot back in the day. 

I loathe Quentin Tarantino. He comes across as feeling very impressed with himself.  Bleh. 

Lena Dunham is another one I won't watch. Bleh. 

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, kdsuomi said:

A lot get the jobs because they're considered good looking. I don't know anyone who has ever thought that Ben Affleck was a good actor, but they watched his movies because he was cute. 

I watched him on voyage of the mimi back in the day.  he did fine.  then he grew up and turned into an idiot.

[Bluegoat]

Quote

Burt Reynolds. He's not in very much these days,

Probably on account of him being dead.

[Lady Florida.]

Oooh, I don't think I ever inspired a spinoff thread in all my years here until now!  Thank you @DawnM 😄

I'm the one who said I can't stand to watch Will Ferrell. I also agree about Gilbert Godfrey. Annoying and not funny imo

Used to like but can no longer watch - Tom Cruise. Yes, I do like John Travolta even though my reasons for not being able to watch Cruise are related to his Scientology. While Travolta got his start playing a conceited character he seems like a genuinely nice person. Cruise just seems weird and narcissistic. Like @Plum said it's the combination of enthusiastic and creepy.

Also - used to like Mel Gibson but his drunken rant against Jews changed that. I haven't watched (or rewatched) him in anything since then. I just can't separate the actor from the character anymore.

Jim Carey - Never liked his sophomoric humor but then when he went all anti-science during his time with Jenny McCarthy that did it. 

Speaking of anti-science I can't stand Bill Maher either. Being very much a lefty, liberal, progressive, that makes me a bit of an outcast among my peers. Apparently we're supposed to like anyone who agrees with us politically. Nope. I won't abide anti-science crap.

11 hours ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

I’ve always hated John Wayne movies. The man couldn’t act his way out of a feedbag of oats. The exact same character over and over, with a few cutesie ones tossed in.

I've always hated them too. He was also a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, bigot. I don't really care for any cowboy/western movies as a rule anyway. They romanticize an era that never really existed the way they're depicted in the movies, but John Wayne is the worst.

Speaking of people who play the same character over and over - Jack Nicholson is another one who does that imo.

11 hours ago, Junie said:

Sacha Baron Cohen.  I made an exception for Les Mis.

I don't like his humor but have you seen The Spy on Netfilx? It changed my mind (a little) about him and is well worth watching.

11 hours ago, Junie said:

't like the humor of Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, and a lot of others, but it's more the type of characters that they play rather than the actors themselves.  

I don't have anything against Will Ferrell but as noted above, in addition to not liking Jim Carrey's humor/acting, it's his personality that also turns me off.

As I read this over before submitting I realized there aren't any women on the list. I have no idea why. If I had to name one it would probably be Kristin Stewart. 

[littlebug42]

I don't really care for Will Ferrell or any actor that relies on that sort of humor.  Its just not my thing.  However, I can't stand to watch johnny Depp in anything.  I think he always just looks like he needs a bath and he just creeps me out.  

[Emba]

8 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

Will Ferrell I couldn't stand until I saw him in Stranger Than Fiction. I think he did a great job and didn't have any of his usual stupid humor.

 

Yes, I big puffy heart love Stranger Tha Fiction, but until that movie I hated him. I also like Elf. Otherwise, not s Ferrell fan.

I can’t watch Owen Wilson. It may just be the first movie I saw him in, but he just seems dumb as a rock. 

ETA: I think it was Zoolander that has permanently made me think Owen Wilson is unintelligent. I generally avoid celebrity news and interviews, so I really don’t know what he’s like.

Edited November 28, 2019 by emba56

[Shoeless]

1 hour ago, Bluegoat said:

Probably on account of him being dead.

Seriously, he's dead?! Wow, I had no idea! Lol!!! Oh, now I feel bad! 🤣

Edited November 28, 2019 by MissLemon

[aaplank]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jack Nicholson. He creeps me out!  He seems to be revoltingly lecherous and full of himself. He also plays the same type of character in every movie I've seen him in. I just don't get it.