Best TV Actors who never really broke through to Film

Inspired by Ted Danson.

Been watching the 1st season of "Cheers" lately on Netflix, and was struck with how good this guy was, and has been for decades. Dude was mostly a struggling actor and approaching his mid-30's when he landed the role of Sam Malone, but guy was smooth as fuck in that bar setting. Like Timothy Olyphant playing a deputy.

I lost track of the number of times he was non-nonchalantly throwing dialogue between different characters, while convincingly mixing a drink, or multiple drinks. Reminded me of Tywin Lannister skinning a deer for some reason, LOL.

He was supposed to be a dopey retired ballplayer running a bar, but his character was always much smarter then it ever got credit for, and I think that had a lot to do with Danson himself.

He's obviously done tons of stuff since then, both drama and comedy, and some of it not so great, but that's typical of somebody who seemingly never stops working.


Which other actors/actresses fit this category? Obviously those who started in TV and then graduated to bigger things like Clooney, Willis and Denzel, do not qualify for this topic.

 

Bryan Cranston. You can close this fucking thread now.

 

What about Aaron Paul?

 

He's been in some movies but ya him too

 

Everybody's been in some movies.

 

Patrick Dempsey comes to mind. Wasnt that talentless hack suppose to become a movie star because women loved him as a doctor the same way they loved George Clooney?

Nowadays, Patrick Dempsey probably couldn't land a movie role on the Hallmark Channel.

 

All of Friends cast bar Aniston arguably, although they only really tried to push Perry and to a lesser extent LeBlanc the big screen, neither would take

 

They all sucked though. Except Aniston.

 

Fair point, I skipped through the original post, scrap my earlier point.

Gandolfini never replicated his TV form in big screen but his physique and looks limited him to character roles anyhow

 

The title says "Best". If Dempsey was trash, don't include him.


Besides, wasn't Dempsey kind of a movie star already, when he was still a kid in the 80's or so. Then he faded into obscurity, got big on TV again, but was never really expected to be much more then that.

Clooney, whether you like him or not, was always a much better actor on a much better show then Dempsey. Don't recall anybody comparing the two, other then being a good looking doctor type on a medical show.

 

Good call

 

There's a reason Cranston and the weird-looking prick Aaron Paul never made it in movies: they're both dogshit.

 

You're soooooo controversial

 

Nothing controversial about it: I just know what Im talking about and Im always right.

 

How about Jimmy Smits?

I liked Danson a lot in Bored to Death.

 

Ed O’Neill was the reason Married With Children rose above merely being crass (see the ripoff series Unhappily Ever After for an idea of what that show would’ve been like without him) and became almost a satire of itself. He was fantastic in that role.

He’s had a long and successful TV career but outside of being in a few films, never really did much on the big screen.

Tom Selleck never really broke through in the movie business

 

Three Men and a Baby was a Box Office success, no?

He was also in the EPIC MASTERPIECE that was An Innocent Man:

 

Steve McFadden.

 

Ted Danson was in that, too (see noble’s post)


FUCKING ENGLISH CUNTS

 

Aaron Paul is dogshit.

Bryan Cranston is a very good actor.

 

Aaron Paul was great on that show, come on

 

That guy from House of Cards, the perv, what's his name... Kevin Lacey? Gracey?

Never seen that fella in many movies. It's like he had a successful series run,

and like that.... he's gone.

 

This freak?



Tiny, facial-features all bunched-up together within a massive, odd-shaped head.

The only thing ´greeat´, that this mutant would be good at is taking heavy shots for 15 rounds.

 

Would you say he's hotter, or not as hot as Shakira?

 

Hummmmm...that is a good question!

 

Hugh Laurie

 

He's on some new HBO series which looks stupid.

But yeah, he'll never break away from being known as Dr. House.

 

He's much more well known in the UK.

There was mini-series called the Night Manager a few years after House wrapped up that was pretty entertaining.

 

He was also great on "Veep". Good example.

 

He was in the Godzilla remake.