Ugly actors/actresses: Any of them in Hollywood?

kheegster · Post by **kheegster** » 2005-10-24 12:45pm

I was talking to a Swedish actor who's in London to look for an agent. He had spent 6 months in an acting school in LA, and he commented that the reason that he's looking for a job in London because he found that Hollywood emphasises appearance too much: pretty people who can't act are far more likely to get roles than ugly people who can act.

What he said seems to make sense: in British TV, you routinely see actors and actresses who look like your average person of the street (just look at the cast of Coronation Street or Eastenders), while I don't recall seeing any ugly people in a Hollywood film.

What the ugliest Hollywood actor/actress you can think of? I honestly can't think of any whom I would classify as anything other than stunningly good-looking.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2005-10-24 12:46pm

steve buscemi is possibly the ugliest actor i can currently think of

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2005-10-24 12:57pm

John Malkovich isn't ugly as much as unsettelingly creepy.

Mobiboros · Post by **Mobiboros** » 2005-10-24 01:35pm

Matt Huang wrote:John Malkovich isn't ugly as much as unsettelingly creepy.

Same with Christopher Walken. Not ugly, just damned creepy.

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2005-10-24 01:41pm

William H. Macy is nothing if not homely...

Mrs Kendall · Post by **Mrs Kendall** » 2005-10-24 01:45pm

Wrong! I can name plenty whom I don't find attractive even if I was their age.

Let's start off with...

Bill Murray

Al Pacino

Jack Nicholson

Steve Martin

Peter Lorre

Carrie Fisher

Michael Douglas

and now I'll find pictures of people a little younger whom I find unattractive...

Billy Zane

Ok ok, I think you get the idea, I'm not gonna spend all day looking for pictures on the net... My point is IMO there are a lot of ugly actros/actresses out there, it's all in how you see them. If you let the media tell you they are hot then you'll believe it. If you think for yourself you'll be able to see that there are a lot of ugly ones out there

Tell your friend to not think so much about that and try anyway, if he wants to be in big ticket movies then he'll never get into them if he doesn't try.

*Oh yes and it turns out that the page I was going on linky doesn't name them all and I just don't have the patience to find a different website which does.

Metatwaddle · Post by **Metatwaddle** » 2005-10-24 02:05pm

How about Nicholas Cage?

I can't think of any women though. I think actresses have to rely on their looks more than actors do.

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2005-10-24 02:06pm

I'm just going to post the ages of the actors you named in the first, for perspective, because you pretty much named a bunch of people who got their start while they were still young and pretty.

Mrs Kendall wrote:Bill Murray

55 years old. Bill Murray is not ugly, the worst that can be said about him is that he is average looking. Also, he got his start in comedy, not acting, so it's hard to apply this argument to him.

Al Pacino

65 years old. Watch the Godfather or the Godfather Part II. Al Pacino was a handsome motherfucker when he got his start in acting.

Jack Nicholson

Same here, he got his start back when he was good looking. He's not too pretty now, but that might have something to do with the fact that he's 68 years old. Watch Chinatown, he's a good looking bastard.

Steve Martin

60 years old. Steve Martin is not ugly and he happens to be another man who got into acting via comedy.

Peter Lorre

Peter Lorre was a weird looking bastard, granted, but it's also important to note that he was almost totally typecast in the same role that Udo Kier fills now--"We need a creepy European guy? Call Lorre!"

Carrie Fisher

49 years old. Carrie Fisher got her start while she was still hot as Hell, and she hasn't worked much since then anyway.

Michael Douglas

61 years old. I have been told by many women that Michael Douglas is an attractive, and that he was even more attractive in years past.

I can think of a few examples of ugly actors (as people have said, Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy) but the vast majority of Hollywood actors are among the beautiful people, and some of them get extra shame-points for being shitty actors who wouldn't have made it ten feet if not for their looks (I'm looking at you, Keanu Reeves). It's definitely possible for somebody who isn't a pretty boy or girl to make it in acting, but it will definitely be a disadvantage.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2005-10-24 02:14pm

Jack Nicholson isn't even really that bad looking for his age. The guy still gets more ass than a park bench.

Jalinth · Post by **Jalinth** » 2005-10-24 02:24pm

Pablo Sanchez wrote:\
I can think of a few examples of ugly actors (as people have said, Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy) but the vast majority of Hollywood actors are among the beautiful people, and some of them get extra shame-points for being shitty actors who wouldn't have made it ten feet if not for their looks (I'm looking at you, Keanu Reeves). It's definitely possible for somebody who isn't a pretty boy or girl to make it in acting, but it will definitely be a disadvantage.

I'll echo Pablo that most of the named actors/actresses were above average looking at one time. Comedians can be goofy looking, but they are about the only exception to the "pretty boy" rule by and large. Even then, most are at least average - not many make it really big who are below average in the looks department.

Your character actors might be lots of films, but rarely star. The fact they need to import (either from overseas or the stage world) most of their top villains and top character actors shows the dearth of acting ability in Hollywood.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2005-10-24 02:25pm

Some ugly actors I can think of: John C. Reilly, John Waters, Eli Wallach

Ugly actresses: Kathy Bates (her nude scene in About Schmidt made me scream out in agony in the theatre) and Courtney Love. Can't think of any more.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-10-24 02:30pm

Joe wrote:Some ugly actors I can think of: John C. Reilly, John Waters, Eli Wallach

Ugly actresses: Kathy Bates (her nude scene in About Schmidt made me scream out in agony in the theatre) and Courtney Love. Can't think of any more.

Does Paris Hilton count? Her face has so much makeup and silicon in it it looks all rubbery and nasty.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2005-10-24 02:32pm

I wouldn't call Paris Hilton ugly by any stretch of the imagination, but she's not really beautiful either.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-10-24 02:35pm

Joe wrote:I wouldn't call Paris Hilton ugly by any stretch of the imagination, but she's not really beautiful either.

She'd be much more attractive if her face wasn't so rubbery looking (which is the main quality I tend to use when judging how attractive someone appears. course it might be different for others.)

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2005-10-24 04:28pm

Joe wrote:I wouldn't call Paris Hilton ugly by any stretch of the imagination, but she's not really beautiful either.

She's not ugly, she's just fake has only one facial expression to her name.

Jalinth brought up an interesting point about ugly actors--character actors. It's very much possible for an actor to get consistent, good roles in the supporting cast without being pretty, but almost invariably the leading roles will go to someone photogenic.

Also, Ernest Borgine: ugly actor.

KrauserKrauser · Post by **KrauserKrauser** » 2005-10-24 04:53pm

I never found Sigourney Weaver that attractive. I mean she's a female and has boobs so that's a plus, but her being a bad ass was always more attractive than her looks.

Was Humphrey Bogart ever considered attractive, from a looks perspective at least?

John Goodman pops up as another successful supporting cast actor, as does Rosanne Barr. But those started in comedy, so I guess that answers that.

Not too many that I can think of.

THEHOOLIGANJEDI · Post by **THEHOOLIGANJEDI** » 2005-10-24 05:10pm

Danny Devito

Mrs Kendall I'm suprised by your list. Many of those actors are very attractive currently. But in their prime they were some of the more Handsome Celebs out there.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2005-10-24 08:19pm

I can imagine that being non-photogenic might actually help some comic actors. I can imagine someone like Chris Farley wouldn't have gotten nearly as far as he did if he was 150 pounds lighter.

On the topic, I can't find Sarah Jessica Parker attractive. Her body is fine, especially for someone her age, but her face is like a combination between Jennifer Aniston's and a horse's rear end.

Metatwaddle · Post by **Metatwaddle** » 2005-10-24 08:27pm

I forgot about Sarah Jessica Parker. I don't think she's at all attractive either.

I already said this, but I find Nicolas Cage very unattractive, especially for an actor.

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2005-10-24 08:41pm

The name Ron Pearlman ring any bells?

Michael Ironside?

David Spade?

Zor · Post by **Zor** » 2005-10-24 08:59pm

Danny DeVitto

Zor

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2005-10-24 09:03pm

That guy from Black Hawk Down and Saving Privet Ryan, Tom Sizemore? The tubby guy.

Also Kevin Pollack

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2005-10-24 09:37pm

Pablo Sanchez wrote:<snippage>

What you say is true enough, but the OP doesn't really state that, it simply asks if there are any ugly actors/actresses in hollywood that you can think of, and that list is pretty accurate currently, with a few notable exceptions; for instance, I do not think that steve martin is ugly at all, nor do I think Billy Zane is ugly.

Conversely, however, I think Vin Diesel is a fucking DOG. There's no denying he's cool as hell, but he's about as pretty as bjork smashed in the face with 3 week old slab of beef soaked in a solution of dogshit and Blecch, using turtle puke for eyeshadow, and tim burton's scrotum for earrings.

Honorable mentions:

Sylvester Stallone
Arnold Schwartzenegger
Kevin Smith
Ice Cube
David Letterman

Dennis Toy · Post by **Dennis Toy** » 2005-10-24 10:38pm

Michael Ironside?

Nope, Richter isnt ugly, he looks like a working class man.

Post by **Kuja** » 2005-10-24 11:43pm

Zac Naloen wrote:steve buscemi is possibly the ugliest actor i can currently think of

Yeah, though he does make up for it by being a great character actor (watch Con Air and then Armageddon, he's funny in both but in completely different ways).