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The Better Actor? #02

The last battle had Nimoy vs Spiner. It was an epic battle, but it looks like Nimoy pulled it out at the end. Two great actors, to be sure..

THE BETTER ACTOR? BATTLE #2

René Auberjonois as ODO vs Robert Picardo as The Doctor

This is an interesting battle, as you can see. Both characters are played by two, really good, character actors. Odo, as much as Nimoy's Spock, opened our eyes to a whole new race in the Founders. Over the seven years of Ds9 we got to see Odo evolve from this grumpy "sherrif" into a very interesting, and romantic, being. My favorite ODO moment is when he just grabs Kira and kisses her for all to see. Loved it!!! Odo became, as much as Spock was, a great viewer of humanity from and outsider's view. When he finds out that it was the Feds who infected him and thus he infected his own people? This really hurts Odo because he thought the Feds were above that kind of act. Sure, Section-31 is not humanity at it's best. But it is still a operation ran by, even if covertly, Starfleet. A real eye opener for Odo. Odo's seven year cat/mouse game with Quark was very fun, even to the very end!

Robert Picardo puts his stamp on Holo-characters. We had seen them before, here and there, in other Trek outings; Moriarty comes to mind. But Picardo's incredible acting ability really creates, I think, Voyager's best character in terms of depth and character evolution. He comes on grumpy at the start but wow, what a trip he goes on. Some of my favorite episodes from Voyager (which isn't my favorite Trek show I admit) are based on the Doctor. I loved the episode where he created that family in the holodeck and Paris made it more realistic. And when the aliens tapped into one of his holodeck programs and thought that he, the Doctor,was some great hero? Or when he gets transported back to Federation space on a stolen star ship? Great stuff there..great stuff indeed..

So...who was the better actor? Rene Auberjonois or Robert Picardo??

Robert Scorpio
 
Rene Auberjonois by far. I found the doctor character and his portrayal as boring and unmotivated. Odo was easier to like, and I think better acted, especially since he had to wear the make up which really did cover up his face, yet he could show emotion and make you believe it.
 
Definitely Rene Auberjonois. The EMH Doctor was fairly (if you pardon the unintentional pun) one dimensional. I found him cartoonish and generally unbelievable as a character.

Rene had far more subtlety and depth. He showed his character to be vulnerable yet intimidating, isolated yet caring, distant yet involved. That's a lot to pull off under several inches of makeup that obliterate most of your features.
 
Definitely Rene Auberjonois. The EMH Doctor was fairly (if you pardon the unintentional pun) one dimensional. I found him cartoonish and generally unbelievable as a character.

Rene had far more subtlety and depth. He showed his character to be vulnerable yet intimidating, isolated yet caring, distant yet involved. That's a lot to pull off under several inches of makeup that obliterate most of your features.

Agreed. Picardo's not a bad actor, but Voyager didn't seem to showcase his talents very well. Far too often Picardo's acting came off a bit hammy. A difficult character to bring forth, but (IMO) there was rarely any nuance to his performances.
 
Robert Picardo if you can make a hologram seem alive and grumpy that has to stand for something.

I actually find Odo quite 1-dimensional like a computer program
 
(Sorry for the double-post. :p)

I actually find Odo quite 1-dimensional like a computer program
Really? In my opinion Odo's character is quite multi-layered. His relationship to his "father" Mora Pol (is it love, is it hate?); the secret love for Kira; his "official" presence as strong-willed versus his "unofficial" shy and unsure appearance; his refusal to wear a weapon; the relationship to his people etc. You call that "one-dimensional"?

BTW, welcome to the board!
 
Auberjonois is quite good. Picardo just is better. Mind you, that includes previous work, like Inner Space and China Beach, not just EMH.
 
Rene Auberjonois, easily. It's like Ira said on the DVD extras: "He (Rene) can do more with his eyes than most actors can do with 12 pages of dialogue."

Rene Auberjonois perfectly displayed a huge spectrum of different emotions during the whole DS9 series, all while buried under a ton of latex. Not something the Doctor on VOY ever did. The Doctor was definitely one-dimensional compared to Odo. Rene took it the extra mile.

Again like Ira said of Rene, "It's better than we even imagined." :techman:
 
Picardo was one of the few bright spots in the Voyager cast; however, Rene A was just a little better. His personal moral dilemmas and unrequited love for Kira for much of the show provided some really memorable and powerfully acted scenes. Oh, and of course his scenes with Garak were brilliant. Picardo was really good, but I can't think of nearly as many signature acting moments.
 
In this case it's the role, not the actor. Both actors are theatrically trained and are terrific. Rene from musicals (City of Angels, The Little Mermaid) to sit-coms, and Bob from Gemini to TV's The Wonder Years and China Beach, both of which showed wide range.

So I choose Odo as the better ROLE because he got to play something different much more often than did the Doctor (not to mention much more green screen time), but a tie for better actor. They're both too good to differentiate.

--Ted
 
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