DougBetsy

no way! huh! learn sumptin new evryday

mantori.suzuki

Goodness, how could I have forgotten Tom Waits? I loved him as the mad scientist in Mystery Men especially.

You bet. Jack Nicholson is interesting, but I don't think of him as a particularly good actor. Just particularly good at being Jack Nicholson.

I also left out Harry Connick, Jr., and Cher. Excellent, likable actors both.

IloveLA

Garry Marshall is primarily a writer/producer/director, but he's very funny onscreen.

musicamusica

I will have to call you out on Sydney Pollack. Sydney Pollack was an actor BEFORE he was a producer and director.

emeraldkity4

I forgot about Mos Def, I really liked him as Ford Prefect, in Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and Something the Lord made ( with Alan Rickman)

emeraldkity4

Garry Marshall is primarily a writer/producer/director, but he's very funny onscreen.

so is Carl Reiner. ( his late wife recited the memorable line in When Harry Met Sally " I'll have what she's having")

musicamusica

Strangely enough, Carl Reiner(as well) was an actor BEFORE he was a writer/producer. (in the late '40s)
You will have to excuse me, I have more film trivia rattling around my head than I should. It's not a healthy thing.

laxmom

I like Jon Bon Jovi and Tim McGraw did a great job in Friday Night Lights (the movie).

barbara960

Dwight Yoakim- Slingblade and 3 Burials of Melquiades Estrada, among others.

frazzled1

She was terrific in another thriller, not as well known: Midnight Lace with Rex Harrison. Some very creepy scenes in that one.

She gave a great dramatic performance as 20s/30s nightclub singer Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me with James Cagney. And received an Oscar nomination for Pillow Talk. I remember seeing her costar in that film and several others, Tony Randall, on a talk show when he made an excellent case for her being one of the best screen actresses of her time.

Yes, Sydney Pollack was an actor first - probably why he was so very good in all his on-screen appearances (I love him as the agent in Tootsie). A very accomplished director, too. I was so sorry when he passed away last year.

Roman Polanski was unforgettable in a brief scene in Chinatown.

musicamusica

Good singers usually make good actors. My D is a vocalist and spends lots of time on character development for everything she sings, whether in a concert or staged setting. Lots of singers work this way.

alwaysamom

Many of those mentioned here did not suddenly become actors after finding fame in another medium.

Sam Shepard was an actor in NYC and very involved in the theatre community long before he found fame as a playwright. Many actors are also playwrights, and the reverse is also true.

Whoopi Goldberg is another one who was involved in theatre in NYC prior to moving to L.A. and getting into comedy.

Jennifer Hudson did community theatre all through high school in Chicago. She's an excellent actor, and, in my opinion, was even better in The Secret Life of Bees than she was in DreamGirls.

Mark Wahlberg is a good actor but Donnie is the real actor in that family. No comparison, in my opinion.

musicamusica

DOH! Sam Shepard was in theatre?! I knew he has a rock band way back when, but didnt realize he was acting before he was in Bob Dylans movie. One more piece to the puzzle.

toblin

Fred Thompson

U.S. Senator
Movie: Hunt For Red October
TV: Law & Order

Maybe he's an actor non-actor. (It gets confusing)

ellemenope

I also liked Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan!