A few days ago, my buddy Bill and I were talking about how in the 1970s, you could find plenty of examples of ugly actors. But now, in the early 21st century, all actors seem like they must be handsome to have any kind of career.
So, in this post, I’m going to list the top ten ugliest actors in Hollywood, but I’m doing so with the caveat that these actors aren’t really ugly at all. Most of them are just average-looking people, which, in contrast to most of their co-stars, make them “ugly.”
Also, I’m not that interested in what an actor looks like. I’m more interested in their level of talent and the quality of their performances. I also care about what they’re like as people.
In fact, I’m a little embarrassed at having written such a post in the first place. Please forgive me.
1- Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite actors, and he’s also one of the best people around. He’s probably best known as Donny from The Big Lebowski, but he’s also well-known for starring in Boardwalk Empire. He’s not really ugly, but he has crooked teeth, which is a thing in the United States.
He was a firefighter in the early 1980s, and he worked 12 hours a day as a volunteer after 9/11.
2- Paul Giamatti
I just watched American Splendor again last night, in which Paul Giamatti plays underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar. Great movie. See it if you haven’t.
Giamatti is a well-known character actor, but he’s getting more leading roles than ever. My favorite leading role of his is from a movie called Win Win, which I also highly recommend. He stars on Billions.
3- Ron Perlman
I don’t think you need a handsome actor to play Hellboy. Just the opposite, in fact, and Ron Perlman was great in that role. I also liked him in Drive.. He’s a favorite of director Guillermo del Toro, and he’s also in demand as a voice actor. I get it. I have a face made for radio, myself.
4- John Travolta
I don’t know that I would ever have described John Travolta as handsome, but he hasn’t aged well. Maybe some of my prejudice has to do with the lousy movies he’s agreed to start in during the twilight of his career.
Of course, he got his start on Welcome Back, Kotter, but he’s best known for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. Maybe Tarantino can cast him in his next project and save his career again.
He is a talented dancer, though.
5- Luis Guzman
I first saw Luis Guzman in Boogie Nights, which is a great movie. I also really enjoyed his cameos on Community. I guess he’s playing Gomez Addams in some new project related to The Addams Family. A few people are upset that he’s not the handsome devil that Raul Julia was in the earlier movies, but if you compare him with the source material (the original comic strips), he’s a great casting choice.
6- Danny Trejo
He’s a great character, and he’s also been clean and sober for over 50 years. He’s one of the better actors on this list, too, although he tends to get typecast. I’d love to see him as a lead in a romantic comedy.
The first thing I remember seeing Danny Trejo in was From Dusk Til Dawn, and he was great in that. He usually plays villains and badasses.
7- Forest Whitaker
I remember Forest Whitaker’s small role in The Color of Money with a lot of fondness. He’s since been more movies than I can count. I especially liked him in Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai.
8- Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby used to be best-known as America’s dad for his creation The Cosby Show. Of course, now he’s known best as a sexual predator. In fairness, mores were different when he committed most of these acts, but they weren’t THAT different.
His appearance has nothing to do with him not getting any new roles. It’s all about his age and retirement status. Well, that and the sexual predator stuff.
9- Clint Howard
One of my favorite songs is Antsy McClain’s novelty song “Ron Howard’s Brother.” He never mentions Clint Howard by name, but that’s obviously who he’s talking about.
He’s had more character roles than I can think of. He’s been on all kinds of iterations of Star Trek in character roles. I guess he looks like an alien.
10- Randy Quaid
If you’ve read Randy Quaid’s Twitter account, it’s clear that he’s not such a great person. A few years ago he was all over the news for his antic with his wife. He’s nuts, and that’s why he doesn’t get many roles anymore.
He’s probably most famous for portraying Cousin Eddy in various Vacation films.
Conclusion
You’ll notice that a lot of these actors don’t get much work anymore. In some cases, this is directly related to their physical appearance. I think that’s a shame.
Don’t judge actors by physical standards of beauty. Try to see what they bring to their performances. With few exceptions, the actors on this list are talented and intelligent people, and that counts for more than any arbitrary standards of good looks.
And, depending on how ageist you are, today’s best-looking actors might be tomorrow’s ugliest. Look at the change in Robert Redford over the years, and he’s one of the best actors of all time.