I haven't seen his name here, so I'm adding Michael Stipe to the roll of execrable attempted actors. He has been horrid in every show and film I've seen him in--even in the voice part he did for The Simpsons.

He even sucked on Space Ghost.

Yeah, that was bad. I think a large part of it, though, was the writing.

Since there's so much about SNL, I remember Garth Brooks and Jeff Gordon hosting. I thought they were all right mostly because they were playing themselves in the sketches.

But, wait! What about-
SG: Sing "Shiny, Shiny People"!
MS: No.
That "no" was so perfectly deadpan it was freaking hilarious. I know it was just Michael Stipe being his usually bitchy self, but he must have had somewhat of a sense of humor to go on that show in the first place.

I think that whole Adam West thing on Space Ghost was how every interview should have gone. That and Hanson.

Adam West was priceless. Priceless!

I thought The Rock, Derek Jeter, & Justin Timberlake were all pretty funny on SNL. Particularly Justin Timberlake; that skit about the Bee Gees was funny as hell (even though Fallon made Timberlake break character for a moment).

Word to the atrocity that is Shaq trying to act in anything. Even the 30 second Nestle's Crunch commercials leave me cringing. And Michael Jordan is so wooden he practically splinters.

I remember seeing the wrestler Shawn Michael's on some show a while back. Lord, did he ever suck.

Well since wrestling is all staged you'd think that he'd be a good actor.

Two words: PARIS HILTON.

Her "acting" in The Simple Life is as boring as chewing on cardboard while staring at the ceiling. Her "acting" on The O.C. was dull, drab, and overall pointless. I can't think of anything else she is in right now. If anyone deserves to own this category, it's her.

The Rock and JT were funny, but I wasn't impressed by Derek Jeter. I hate it when they bring sports stars onto SNL (like Andy Roddick, who I at first thought was Seann William Scott having a bad night). Playing sports does not equal being funny!

She wasn't bad in the 2nd Veronica Mars show.

Of course, she was playing a rich skanky ho, with very few lines, so it wasn't that big of a reach for her.

I seem to recall Nomar Garciaparra playing himself on Two Guys and a Girl with marginal success. Or maybe it was just trying to work up a passion for Ashley that he was having trouble with... that, I can understand.

On the other hand, I love Ice-T on whatever cop show it is that he's on (can't tell 'em apart, way too many of 'em).

Ice-T is on one of the Law and Orders. I'm not sure if it's Original Recipe or Sports Utility Vehicle or the other one. I like him too.

I have to say my "favorite" thing is FOX trying to shove former American Idol finalists onto its shows. I swear Tamyra Gray killed Boston Public. I'm just kidding, but she was wooden. Of course they had her sing, which was the only good excuse for her storyline existing in the first place.

Is it fair to put Janet Jackson in this category? She started off acting in Good Times and had parts on her brothers' tv show before she started singing? I'm gonna say yes because she is a better dancer/singer than actress. She is teh suck as an actress and always has been. Her roles on Different Strokes and Fame should have improved her acting ability. She then goes on to ruin Poetic Justice.

[/small voice] I think that OJ Simpson made a very respectable transition from jock to actor/pitchman. Michael Jordan & Shaq take notes (but not on stabbing people)

I think Oprah is very respectable as an actress as well. See The Color Purple and The Women of Brewster Place. Beloved - I didn't personally see that movie.

What about his role as Captain Scrummy on Pete + Pete! Man, that was a classic. (Okay, maybe I'm the only person who remembers it at all. But still- that was awesome)

I can't believe no one has mentioned Wayne Gretzky, either on some soap opera (The Young & The Restless, I believe), SNL, or his commercials for JVC, Ford and Pepsi.

Peyton Manning was pretty stiff in his first few TV ads (most notably a DirecTV commercial in which he had to get "upset" at the guy who installed it), but I gotta admit, "Let's Go Insurance Adjusters!" is pretty darn funny.

Omarosa is absolutely horrible in that Burger King commercial where she has all of two lines.

That made me laugh out loud. And I totally know what you mean. He was baaaaaad (and not bad good)

I don't think Angela Bassett could've saved "Poetic Justice". Even 2Pac (who was a rather good actor for a rapper!) was oddly subdued in that film.

No, no, I was going to say that too, but I couldn't remember his name. Iggy Pop was on that show, too, as a suburban dad! There were a couple other musicians who acted on that show, Syd Straw, for one. Good show.

Aw! I loved Iggy Pop on Pete and Pete. Especially the episode where his daughter missed their old house so much she took thousands of pictures of it and glued them to their new house.

I knew the Great One had been in a couple of ads, but I didn't know he was on all of the above mentioned too. Especially am not surprised about SNL, since just about everyone has "hosted" that at one point or another.

Anyway, the ads with Gretzky I'm thinking of were for Bud Light, one being on TV and another being on the radio, taking place in "Hockey Falls". I loved those. The TV one, where Wayne was being given the community key by his largest fan, was genius.

"Dude, he's freaking out the Great One."

The radio one, where the Hockey Falls guys were talking to Gretzky about being on the Los Angeles Kings and being near Hollywood was funny too.

Wayne: "When are we going to actually talk about hockey?!"

HF Guy: "Oooooh...you're acting like a movie star!"

The most recent ad I've seen Wayne do with another non-actor, Phil Mickelson, was for Ford. That was pretty good, being about how after Phil had just won his first golf major, what he was going to do next, which was be a hockey goalie. Though, my favorite of those was actually with, *gasp*, Toby Keith. I hate the guy with the passion of a million suns, but loved Phil Mickelson's attempt at being a country singer.

"Who's your caddy?"

Ok, yes, I'm very much easily amused...

Glad to see I'm not the only one who remembered Michael Stipe being on The Adventures of Pete and Pete...god, I miss that show, one of Nick's most brilliant evah.

I actually have seen that episode, but it's been so long that I don't remember his performance in it.

He was good, you say?

But none of these people were actually the Prime Minister of a country during the toe-dipping into the world of acting were they?

Two words: Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher did a piss poor turn as herself in a special charity sketch of the frankly wonderful political sitcom in 'Yes, Minister' and totally destroyed it in-front of two comic acting geniuses, Paul Ecclestone and Nigel Hawthorne as Jim Hacker the Minister for Administration and the Chief civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby. Truly tragic.

Who should win the gold medal for Olympic athletes who became actors: Bob Seagren (gold medal, pole vault, 1968) or Bruce Jenner (gold medal, decathalon, 1976)? Did I miss any other olympians who tried to become full time actors (as opposed to doing one or two awkward guest spots a la Flo Jo, Kerri Strug or dozens and dozens of others)? It's a bad, bad choice but who was the best?

Could also add Iggy Pop from Pete and Pete....

While we're on the subject of athlete SNL hosts and the crappy episodes they make, three words: Nancy. Freaking. Kerrigan. Termites were feasting on her appendages, she was so wooden. The best sketch of that episode was the one where she's skating with Chris Farley, not coincidently because she doesn't speak in it.

Don't know about Seagren, but Jenner was no worse than the, um, professional actors in Can't Stop the Music. Had he chosen a less horrible film in which to make his debut, he might have made it. As for the Village People, their performaces ranged from almost competent to truly wretched. Lord, that was a bad movie.

Which is why I loved it.

*ducking* I agree. I thought he was funny in the Naked Gun movies. He was so natural, compared to other atheletes I've seen. Were it not for his tendencies toward domestic violence and murder, he'd probably have been able to live comfortably as an actor.

It's hard to look back and watch those movies now and laugh at him, though.

Speaking of non-actors.

Colby Donaldson, who does the Schick Quattro Pro, is cute, but since he is NOT an actor, he is a little wooden. My choice to be the Quattro man would be (drumroll, please)RICARDO ANTONIO CHAVIRA! Yes, he has a beard, but he'd look just as adorable clean-shaven. As cute as colby Donaldson is, Ricardo Antonio is gorgeous AND HE CAN ACT!!!!!

I don't know. Him getting run down by a bus Non Stop to Detroit from L.A. was pretty damn funny.

I think it's been mentioned before, but Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini are the two of the worst actors ever in a feature film. Justin was just well... creepy, I don't know if that was what he was going for, but he was. Kelly was definitely studying at the Kathy Ireland School of Acting.

Maria Menounos on "One Tree Hill" also belongs in this category, she's a VJ, or at least she was, on ET on MTV. "One Tree Hill" has always been painful to watch, but she just brings it to a whole new level of suckage. I'm not even sure she can blink convincingly on screen.

I'll add another bad one to the mix--Mary Lou Retton. Right after winning the gold in 1984, she did some McDonald's commercials, driving her red corvette and shilling their double cheeseburger. Managing to show all of her teeth at once, she chirped into the camera, "double-double cheese-cheese burger-burger, please!" I was 13 when she became a star and thought she was wonderful, then she started appearing in these commercials and I cringed every time I saw her. Unfortunately, my Mom, trying to be supportive of my interests would say, "ooooo, look, it's Mary Lou!" bleh. The she had a tiny role as Tiny Tim in Bill Murray's "Scrooged," which was horrible and yet funny, too. Thank goodness when she did some Olympic commericals last summer all she said was, "yeah!" That's enough lines for her.



Oh my, someone else besides me remembers that wretched movie!

Rapper MC Lyte has a recurring role in UPN's Half and Half. She plays a record company executive. She's not wooden, she is really good.

Iggy Pop also played a Vorta on DS9--I thought he did a pretty good job.

Don't forget Kurt Thomas - Gymkata !

I wish I could forget the movie.

There must be a special place in hell for Home Improvement, for bringing us a never-ending parade of race car drivers, astronauts, etc. delivering lifeless one-liners as "Tool Time" guests. How many wooden readings of the "I don't think so, Tim" catchphrase did we really need?

I particularly hated it whenever Bob Vila showed up. He's even more annoying when he's playing himself than he is when he's just being himself.

Oh gawd, tell me about it. Home Improvement has the very honor of having the same episode be my most AND least favorite at the same time thanks to Fidel Castro, er, Bob Vila. The Lawn Mower Race is classic, but EVERY TIME I have to yell "WHY AL?!?!" when he hints at wanting Bob Vila back...

Mike Tyson on an episode of "Webster". Granted Mike was playing himself and "Webster" was on its last legs as a sitcom. Still...I shudder at the memory. On the flipside, I thought the Jets (the Tongan-American R&B/pop group, not the NFL team) did a alright job on their appearance on the show.

My fav classic "musicians-acting on a sitcom" moment was the Doobie Brothers two-part episode of "What's Happening". They were actively warning the youth of America about the dangers of bootlegging rock concerts. Nevermind the fact that a band with "Doobie" in its name was playing at a high school.

"Which Doobie you be?"
Best line of the entire series.

I don't know why, but one throw-away line in either the 6th or 7th season of Buffy bothered me. Amy Mann, I think, was the musical guest and as she's performing there is an attack in the audience. On her way off stage, she comments 'I hate playing vampire towns.' I couldn't help but think 'Isn't the whole point of the show that nobody notices the evil and violence in Sunnydale except Buffy and her friends?' and now we have this singer who is not only aware of it in Sunnydale, but has observed it in other places? I think I'm getting way too worked up over a very small scene.

He did a guest shot on the Oxygen sitcom Good Girls Don't and he wasn't bad. Of couse, he was half-naked and handcuffed to a bed, which helps.

I'm sure it'll be sitting next to Married With Children and their endless parade of football players, which is a shame since I actually quite liked that show.

TV 'actors'? David Caruso is the fave whipping boy at the moment, although Diane Neal and Elisabeth Rohm have their moments as well. Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys are all horrible 'actors' that need an Acting for Dummies book. And in the case of Caruso, a tutor to explain it to him as well, he seems kinda slow...

Testify! She's so god damned bad it's unreal. She needs to carry her wooden ass back to ET or VH1 or better yet, get the hell off my tv entirely.

Interesting. If, thereotically speaking, one wanted to, say, catch a rerun of said show, when would one tune in?

I'm asking for a friend. Honest.

Long ago and far away, when TVs were powered by coal, Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz tried his hand at "acting". He was a hot property at the time (in every way) and (probably at the urging of his agent or handler) appeared on several shows. Olympic swimmers who have spent their entire lives training and competing aren't exactly topnotch at social skills; despite looking great, Mark could barely get his lines out and seemed totally miserable. Props to Michael Phelps for not trying the same thing.

Watching Colby on Survivor, I actually thought he had potential to be an actor in the old school strong man way; low on emotion, a little self-deprecating, with lots of narrowed eyes and strong chin, like early Clint Eastwood. Shaving him, then perking and polishing him up for the Schick ads to give him that plasticized look messes up the main thing he had going for him, which to me was his low key rugged charm.

I grew up on Ringo Starr as the conductor in Shining Time Station. Don't tell me no one else watched that? Thomas the Tank Engine?

Andy Roddick's abysmal SNL episode has been mentioned, but that postively shines in comparison to his attempt to play himself on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The boy is gorgeous, but has NO acting chops whatsoever.

And how about Tara Lipinski as far as gold medalists turned actors go? I didn't catch much of her role on Seventh Heaven, but I did see her god-awful made for ABC family movie about an olympic bound female skater who is injured and goes into a coma, who's body is then posessed afterwards by an olympic bound hockey goalie who has just died. Tara is the coma skater's archrival, who feels really guilty about the injury since she wished something like that would happen. Needless to say, these emotions were not conveyed convincingly.

Then again, I'm one of those people who found Tara Lipinski unconvincing when she attempted to convey real emotions as a skater, so... I'm not surprised that she's equally wooden when doing so while attempting to portray a character.

Never mind

Someone had mentioned Fred Thompson up-thread. The problem with Fred is that it seems that he is just walking in on a set and the director says "O.k. Fred, what would you do or say in this situation?" He is just himself in every thing he is in. Wouldn't it be fun to see him in a romantic comedy?

On the other hand, I thought that Dwight Yokum was fantastic in Sling Blade. Didn't get to see him in his jeans but you can't have everything.

ETA: I don't enjoy many of the past or present Christmas specials that singers or actors are in. There was a Judy Garland Christmas special in the early 60's. So cheesy. It is even painful listening to a recording of the special. Special guest dropping by the house is Jack Jones. Liza was out ice skating or sleigh riding with her beau... yada yada yada