Best ACTING in Ds9? -- Who wins?

[Kalandrian]

This was very hard because DS9 had a lot of exceptional, and I mean very VERY great actors who deserved Emmy awards.
But I voted for Garak. Even though I wished there was a:
Garak/Odo/Dukat/Worf/Quark option!

Don't get me wrong the female cast were good. But to be honest, I think some of the guest stars on the series were better actresses =(

Bashir would have to be my pick for the worse actor on the series.

 

[Kalandrian]

Avery Brooks acting =
(omitted the pic to alleviate long page loadings)
People who like his acting don't know what good acting is.

I too must also agree with Jaespol, but I wished he/she would explain as to why Avery was a bad actor. I didn't really like Avery Brooks' portrayal of Sisko. Don't get me wrong, he did an excellent job on American History X! His acting at times seems to lack substance. As if he was trying too hard which made it difficult to understand his character. I just think the chemistry of actor and character didn't deliver right if that makes sense.

Live long and prosper!

 

[Gil T.Azell]

For me its a tie between Sisko & Garak

What no Other for guest stars??
then I nominate
Actor Harris Yulin , for Aamin Marritza in the episode "Duet".
a brilliant performance

 

[Nightdiamond]

For me, the most memorable acting comes with a character getting a point across, along with delivering some clever lines.

In that case, Quark and Garak come out ahead, I've seen Quark make some good points, especially about humans, and Garak always got the opportunity to deliver great lines right at the right moment.

Plus, Garak did an excellent job of just coming off... suspicious.... for almost 7 seasons... you just didn't trust him, nobody trusted him, you always wondered when and if he was telling the truth....

But Sisko's (Bennie's) breakdown was one of the most memorable acting scenes I've seen on the show too..

 

[Tobri]

no ezri, so i picked quark - who is in a triple tie with dukat and O'Brien

 

[Tobri]

Avery Brooks acting =
(omitted the pic to alleviate long page loadings)
People who like his acting don't know what good acting is.

I too must also agree with Jaespol, but I wished he/she would explain as to why Avery was a bad actor. I didn't really like Avery Brooks' portrayal of Sisko. Don't get me wrong, he did an excellent job on American History X! His acting at times seems to lack substance. As if he was trying too hard which made it difficult to understand his character. I just think the chemistry of actor and character didn't deliver right if that makes sense.

Live long and prosper!

Have to agree I think he was trying too hard with Sisko, but that could have been writers too - I recently rewatched the entire series, first time ever chronologically and saw majority of ds9 episodes for the first time, and even to the last show I really couldn't figure out the Sisko character -

Jadzia on the other hand was paired with a horrible actress - very dry, only times you could tell she wasn't acting was when dax was pissed - probably because it was real and she was venting her anger with the character

 

[new_mercury]

Mr Alaimo. Magic. Manic. and Menacing!

 

[tomalak301]

I picked Robinson, but this was an outstanding cast. Rene was awesome too and the both played off each other quite well.

 

[arasam22]

andrew robinson JUST beats rene w/e his name is.. (auberjonois?) for me. odo is beast, but garak is just... amazing.

but i like all the acting in DS9, really...

 

[nx1701g]

Andrew Robinson.

 

[CaptainStoner]

Avery Brooks acting =
(omitted the pic to alleviate long page loadings)
People who like his acting don't know what good acting is.

I too must also agree with Jaespol, but I wished he/she would explain as to why Avery was a bad actor. I didn't really like Avery Brooks' portrayal of Sisko. Don't get me wrong, he did an excellent job on American History X! His acting at times seems to lack substance. As if he was trying too hard which made it difficult to understand his character. I just think the chemistry of actor and character didn't deliver right if that makes sense.

Live long and prosper!

It's SUBJECTIVE.

 

[Kirby]

Plus, Garak did an excellent job of just coming off... suspicious.... for almost 7 seasons... you just didn't trust him, nobody trusted him, you always wondered when and if he was telling the truth....

I couldn't have put it better myself. I loved Andrew Robinson's performance from the very beginning. He was just suspicious enough but could also come through as the good guy when he needed to, but always drifted back to that grey area. I enjoyed Eddington for the same reasons. You never got a bead on that guy until he fully turned on them.

There were so many great performances in this show, so much more than any other Trek series, IMO.

 

[robtclements]

I'll go with Nana Visitor, largely because she was given the most different things to do (in cf, Andy Robinson gave a more charismatic reading of a simpler role). But if Jeffrey Combs had been included in this survey, i might & gone with the man of four faces....

 

[Jaespol]

I didn't really like Avery Brooks' portrayal of Sisko. Don't get me wrong, he did an excellent job on American History X!

Funny how actors who weren't so great in Star Trek managed to do well in "American History X", hehe.

Jadzia on the other hand was paired with a horrible actress - very dry, only times you could tell she wasn't acting was when dax was pissed - probably because it was real and she was venting her anger with the character

I enjoyed Farrell and Jadzia once they got a handle on what the character should be.

 

[DevilEyes]

Interesting old thread. I have to say that it is very hard to pick just one actor in such an incredible cast. I was mostly torn between Rene Auberjonois and Nana Visitor, with Marc Alaimo, Armin Shimerman and Colm Meaney as strong contenders as well.. In the end, I voted for Visitor, but maybe because Navaros gave me the push.

It's impossible to pick just one since all of the best actors/actresses performed the role they were given immaculately. Additionally, some choices on the Poll should not even be up there (Kira, Jadzia), as the master actors of DS9 blow them out of the water, pathetically hard.

Well, what do you know, at least 15 people disagree with you. Looks like she definitely SHOULD be there.

 

[PSGarak]

I had to pick Andrew Robinson, but for me he just barely, and I mean barely, edged out Marc Alaimo. The few times the two of them actually got to share screen time, it was as though no one else was there at all. It was the proper confluence of great writing and great acting, and it was a thing of beauty to see.

I'd give Alexander Siddig the "most improved" vote. After rewatching the first season, I realized it took him a while really to settle fully into his role and to relax, but when he did, he gave some pretty nuanced performances and held his own against Robinson, not the easiest thing to do.

I honestly don't get all the complaints I've seen about Terry Farrell's acting. I think she was subtle and humorous and did a great job of portraying a character that had a greater perspective and wisdom than her outer appearance suggested. As for the character Dax, I wish there had been more early development and a lot fewer Klingon-centric episodes for her, but that had nothing to do with Ms. Farrell and everything to do with the writers.

 

[DevilEyes]

I had to pick Andrew Robinson, but for me he just barely, and I mean barely, edged out Marc Alaimo. The few times the two of them actually got to share screen time, it was as though no one else was there at all. It was the proper confluence of great writing and great acting, and it was a thing of beauty to see.

I'd give Alexander Siddig the "most improved" vote. After rewatching the first season, I realized it took him a while really to settle fully into his role and to relax, but when he did, he gave some pretty nuanced performances and held his own against Robinson, not the easiest thing to do.

I honestly don't get all the complaints I've seen about Terry Farrell's acting. I think she was subtle and humorous and did a great job of portraying a character that had a greater perspective and wisdom than her outer appearance suggested. As for the character Dax, I wish there had been more early development and a lot fewer Klingon-centric episodes for her, but that had nothing to do with Ms. Farrell and everything to do with the writers.

Yes, I don't see what the problem with Farrell is. She was perfectly OK. I never found myself not buying the character, or thinking "dayum, why didn't they pick another actress". Siddig, OTOH, I did have a problem with in the beginning, but he got much, much better later on.

However, I thought they were both ridiculously overacting in the Mirror Universe episodes. Granted, MU episodes are often an excuse for the writers to get silly and for actors to get hammy, but some actors manage to pull it off better than others.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Poor Jake, Worf, and Jadzia - the only lonely no vote getters up there. I think they should have all been excluded from the poll. Partially to spare the humiliation, but also because of their backgrounds as actors and characters.

Dorn couldn't really impress anyone because he'd already been playing that character for seven years, and with such a huge cast, the writers couldn't come up with much for that character to do that would allow Dorn to 'flex his acting muscles' and show us more than what he'd already done on TNG.

As for Lofton and Farrell, they were the only ones without 'classical stage training', they were relatively new to acting, and both got characters who weren't given much to do to challenge their ability as actors. Neither of them are bad actors, but I think lack of experience and lack of opportunity to do much gives them an unfair advantage when comparing them to the rest of the cast.

At the same time, I don't think some of the other actors are as superior to them as this poll implies. For example, I found these guys who played Cardassians (and Odo, most of the time) pretty one-note much of the time. The Cardassians were mostly smug and Odo was mostly grumpy. They rarely got to play as many emotions as Colm Meaney or Nana Visitor, and when they did, they tended to not be nearly as subtle about it.

 

[DevilEyes]

At the same time, I don't think some of the other actors are as superior to them as this poll implies. For example, I found these guys who played Cardassians (and Odo, most of the time) pretty one-note much of the time. The Cardassians were mostly smug and Odo was mostly grumpy. They rarely got to play as many emotions as Colm Meaney or Nana Visitor, and when they did, they tended to not be nearly as subtle about it.

That is simply not true. Odo's grumpiness or Dukat's or Garak's smugness is an integral part of their characters. But they are certainly far from "one note". It seems like you are just saying that because you don't like the characters and their demenour. I was amazed by the amount of emotion one can get from Rene Auberjonois's eyes, with his face under that "blurry features" makeup - he was the emotional centre of so many episodes, maybe even more than Kira or Sisko. And I really don't think it makes sense to criticize Marc Alaimo or Andrew Robinson for not acting the same way as Colm Meaney. Colm Meaney was perfect for O'Brien, who is an ordinary, relatable, "Everyman" sort of guy. But could you imagine him, or anyone, playing a character like Dukat or Garak that same way?! Good acting consists of inhabiting the character and making the audience believe that you are that character, and that's what they all did.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Consistent? Well Meaney tends not to disappoint.