Most under rated actor/actress in Trek

[alicelouise]

There was a thread for the most over rated actor/actress in Trek. I am starting a thread for the most under rated actor/actress.

The candidate for most under rated actor is William Shatner. If anyone has seen his appearances in The Twilight Zone and other series besides Trek, you notice he has the "watchability" factor. Whatever scene that type of actor is playing, you watch. It helps audiences follow the plot. If it's a live theater or movie setting it puts butts in the seats. For TV shows it can make a long lasting franchise. That Shatner has done this through his long career is a positive testament.

Many have downgraded Shatner because they are rating his personality and not the work he has done.

 

[chairface1]

I think that one of the most underappreciated actors in Trek is Colm Meaney of DS9 and TNG. As Chief O'Brien, some of the meatiest storylines in DS9 went to him and he never disappointed. The episode "Hard Time" where he spent 20 years in a virtual prison, was probably his best. I've seen him in other films he's done (Layer Cake & The Englishman Who Went up a Hill...) and he is one of the best actors overall in all of Trek.

 

[JNG]

It's true about Shatner...his acting involves deliberate, stylized choices and it is certainly not for everyone, but people who just point at it and say "bad" are missing more than they are noticing.

Colm Meaney is excellent, but I always thought he was very well-regarded and wouldn't have considered him unappreciated at all.

Jonathan Frakes--now he's underrated. Riker was the only character whose actor didn't seem to me, in that first season, like he was about to die on stage. I think they should have used Frakes more, and I also respect his direction of actors and of action sequences in "First Contact."

 

[Loupjo]

I am not sure appreciated by whom. But I always thought that the producers of TNG should have made more use of Gates Mcfadden who is a very good actress but the producers didn't really use her enough.
The producers of DS9 could have done more with Cirroc Lofton as he showed he was a good actor in episodes like The Visitor although I do appreciate the difficulty of incorperating an non-starfleet character who is also a child in a starfleet centred show.

William Shatner has perhaps not always been granted the credit he deserved by the trek audience but generally he has had a more sucessful career then many of the actors of Star Trek so perhaps the main audience has always appreciated him?

 

[Meredith]

I liked Kenneth Marshall aka. Mr. Eddington. He portrayed him so passionately and calculating.

Andrew Robinson was good too and Paul Dooley.

 

[Nedersong]

jolene Blalock, because most people hated how she portrayed her character, but when you think of it, to elicit such strong responses means she is a good actress.

 

[SFRabid]

jolene Blalock, because most people hated how she portrayed her character, but when you think of it, to elicit such strong responses means she is a good actress.

And because people think the better someone looks the less likely they got the part on acting skills.

 

[SFRabid]

I'll pick Dwight Schultz who played Reginald Barkley.

 

[Shieldsdown]

The Horta in "Thedevil in the dark" was excellent! (They did use a real Horta..........................didn't they?)

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Vaughn Armstrong.

The man's done so much Trek work, played over a dozen different roles (comprising 8 different races), and yet who actually knows who he is? I realize he's mainly a character actor - not a lead - but still, it'd be nice for him to finally get the recognition he deserves.

I definitely wish he'd gotten a part in ST XI; TOS is the only form of Trek he has never done.

 

[Rhaenys]

And because people think the better someone looks the less likely they got the part on acting skills.

Yeah, they do sometimes. But I don't think that is the case with Jolene... Jeri Ryan is hot, but she can act. Jolene Blalock can't.

 

[Lynx]

Jennifer Lien.

She did a wonderful job in portraying the character Kes. She really gave life to the character.

She should have more credit for her excellent acting than she has got so far.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

In the spirit of not nominating anyone who is ordinarily lauded for their acting prowess, I'll also second the nomination for Jolene Blalock. Just because B&B pretty obviously chose her for her bazooms doesn't mean she was devoid of acting talent.

to elicit such strong responses means she is a good actress.

Well, no, but in her case, she was pretty decent anyway.

 

[Hermiod]

Can't really disagree with anyone suggested here, but a definite second nomination for Colm Meaney. He started off as an anonymous bridge officer and went on to become a real asset to the series.

Jolene gets a bad rap because of some of the dumb stuff she was handed over the years. She did the best she could with it. She stands up for Star Trek and she's clearly a fan which makes her okay in my book.

 

[UnknownSample]

Actors often get blamed when actually, the writing might be so bad or dull that no actor could succeed with it. I thought almost the entire Next Gen cast were bad actors, until the writing improved in season two. Frakes in particular... the second season is the one where he just isn't "wooden" as he's often accused of being. The character was smart and full of life. Then he went back to wooden-ness again, but only because they didn't write well for his character. There was good writing for the other characters, but not his.

Jolene Blalock, I have a feeling I'd like her if I met her. She cared a lot more than the producers did, and actually criticized the show publicly, because of it I think. I don't know if she can act. I've never seen her in anything well-written enough for me to be able to tell.

Diana Muldaur as Pulaski, under-rated. Shatner, talented actor with a bad attitude I guess, who is capable of good acting choices, yet sometimes makes such poor choices that I have to think he needs a director willing to hit him on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper, to get him to do good work. I just saw Omega Glory again. When telling Tracey there's no cure to be found on the planet, he does such awful acting that he must just have felt like doing bad work that day. That kind of thing causes a lot of people to overlook the very good acting he does at other times, I think.

 

[SFRabid]

And because people think the better someone looks the less likely they got the part on acting skills.

Yeah, they do sometimes. But I don't think that is the case with Jolene... Jeri Ryan is hot, but she can act. Jolene Blalock can't.

Which shows how subjective acting is. I think Blalock does a better job than Ryan. She is given a much harder part because everyone is going to compare her to Spock.

 

[bluedana]

Diana Muldaur as Pulaski, under-rated.

Yes, I agree with this. Muldaur was obstinate, tart, and very, very funny in a snippy kind of way. I know many (most?) people preferred Crusher to Pulaski, but I found Muldaur to be a refreshing change of pace. I think Muldaur actually did succeed in keeping the character on the right side of bitchy.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

Can't really disagree with anyone suggested here, but a definite second nomination for Colm Meaney. He started off as an anonymous bridge officer and went on to become a real asset to the series.

Make that a third. I totally concur, he makes me smile. His love for his wife and child and devotion to duty, which sometimes collide, make him a great character

 

[cbp44189]

The kid who played Lt Kevin Thomas Riley in a couple TOS episodes.

 

[Flibble]

Robert Picardo in Voyager
Rene Auberjonois in DS9
Connor Trinneer in Enterprise