To me the greatest example of this is Rufus Sewell.
I've only seen him in
Dark City, but he was perfect in that role.
Tom Cruise has a limited range, but it has been used effectively in films like
Born on the Fourth of July and
Magnolia.
My vote would go to David Caruso. God Almighty, he MUST have sold his soul to the Devil, because I can't think of one single reason he should be receiving a steady paycheck as an actor.
No kidding. How is it that his
CSI: Miami is the highest rated show of the franchise? Caruso is not a one trick pony, he's a no-trick one. Utterly talentless, and painful to watch on screen. Was he ever pretty enough to justify his appearance in anything?
Sylvester Stallone and Keanu Reeves are also up there. They are one trick ponies, especially Stallone, and really aren't that talented.
I mostly agree. Reeves has been effective in a few films, like
A Scanner Darkly, but mostly he's cast in roles that don't effectively use his spaced out acting style. Stallone is best when playing John Rambo and Rocky Balboa, especially when he treats the material half seriously (as he did in the latest sequels). But outside of those characters, which are ultimately alter egos of himself, he's been unsuited for any role I've seen him in (outside of his non-speaking and very brief role in Woody Allen's
Bananas).
And then, we have Hayden Christensen....after seeing "Jumper," I just can't grasp why he was hired in the first place. Dull, annoying, unlikable, and no depth. I thought he was so horrible in the Star Wars films because of the writing. Well, I think it was also the fact that the boy simply can't act.
I wouldn't rate the writing of
Jumper particularly higher than that of the
Star Wars prequels. Christensen is good in
Shattered Glass and
Life as a House, if you'd like to see his acting range used well in
good films. But, like most of the actors listed here, I haven't seen him express a wide range, which makes him inappropriate for most of the roles he's been cast in.
Speaking of actors who I can't believe get work, Vin Diesel comes to mind. He seems like a nice man who shares our geek passions, but he has the emotional range of a refrigerator and says his lines with aboslutely no naturalism. He's not even that good in
Saving Private Ryan, probably the best film he's made. I'd go and rent his two Riddick films in an instant if he wasn't the star.
Hes back with a vengence and yes his one trick is action films and boxing films. But so what. John Wayne did mostly westerns and war films and is welll loved by the public.
