Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Heart Eyes: Actors, Characters, And TV Personalities You Love


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

Bumping this up after quite a while-- here's another one of my favorites now (insofar as I am about to clear the third season's worth of the show he's on, and go to the fourth one): Robert Stack as Eliot Ness on The Untouchables (1959-63 ABC period detective series set during the Depression in Chicago; based on the book by Eliot Ness).

  • Love 4
Link to comment

I’ve watched Middleditch and Schwartz on Netflix at least three times, and laughed until I cried. I now have a crush on Ben Schwartz. If anyone needs a laugh while quarantined, please do watch, it is hilarious.

  • Useful 3
  • Love 2
Link to comment

Bob's Burgers entire cast is great but Kristen Schaal's Louise is routinely my favorite.  And her talent/range was really on display when Bob's Burger and The Last Man on Earth were on the same night.  

As far as Bob's Burgers characters other than Louise, I would like to nominate myself as an officer in the Regular Sized Rudy fan club.  That (fictional animated) kid just makes me so happy.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Another great thread I just found!

I grew up watching Rawhide and still think the young Clint Eastwood was one of the hottest TV actors ever.

More currently I will watch anything JK Simmons is in and also Timothy Olyphant. I also adore Martin Freeman.

Francesca Annis is my choice for most beautiful and talented TV actress ever (certainly Helen Mirren is every bit as talented but not quite as physically exquisite).

 

  • Love 4
Link to comment
13 hours ago, isalicat said:

(certainly Helen Mirren is every bit as talented but not quite as physically exquisite).

Them's fighin' words! 

Physical beauty is obviously subjective as I just looked up Ms. Annis and she's very pretty but wouldn't crack my top ten most physically exquisite women past or present.

I adore your taste in men though. lol

  • Love 6
Link to comment

This takes me back a couple of decades, but I've had a thing for the actor who played Hades, God of the Underworld on Hercules & Xena ever since I saw my first Xena episode.  Unfortunately Erik Thomson has worked pretty much exclusively in Australia and New Zealand, so I've seen him in very little outside of those shows.  Between Amazon and the internet, however, that has changed somewhat recently.

Yet another reason to move to the Continent of Death.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)

Alan and Amy Matthews (played by William Russ and Betsy Randle) of Boy Meets World: They could be goofy, silly and often comic foils of their offspring (and their progeny's besties and flames) BUT when they needed to be firm and call these sometimes wayward younger folks on their stuff, they did not hesitate to do this.  Not to mention, they showed no hesitation on being de facto parents to their offsprings' besties and flames whose own parents had failed them for various reasons (and even would support said besties and flames over their offspring when they believed their offspring had been less than fair to these individuals).  The Matthewses also recognized how valuable a teacher Mr. Feeny was( even at those times when they disagreed with his calls) and not only insisted on their offspring and besties to show respect to him but they became sincere friends to him and his flame/wife Lila despite  Alan especially having come from   very different backgrounds from these educators. Also, even though they weren't always in synch re how to react,etc., they DID respect each other's calls and backed each other up even at times when they had individually disagreed with their spouse's POVs.  Not to mention, they had rather intense chemistry to the point that even by the subpar GMW, they STILL had an infinitely healthier, mutually respectful and affectionate bond than Cory and Topanga wound up having- to say nothing of being FAR more likable folks than the younger generations. 

Edited by Blergh
  • Love 7
Link to comment
On 6/14/2020 at 3:58 PM, proserpina65 said:

This takes me back a couple of decades, but I've had a thing for the actor who played Hades, God of the Underworld on Hercules & Xena ever since I saw my first Xena episode.  Unfortunately Erik Thomson has worked pretty much exclusively in Australia and New Zealand, so I've seen him in very little outside of those shows.  Between Amazon and the internet, however, that has changed somewhat recently.

Yet another reason to move to the Continent of Death.

Jada Rowland as Carolee on The Doctors is quite cute too. Yet another reason to sit with a woman like her at night.

MV5BZDVlNjllZDItOTc1NC00ODA5LTgzYTAtZGQ5OWJiZDFmMzM0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzMyNTQxNDA@._V1_.jpg

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I've been rewatching the first four seasons of SNL, and John Belushi was so great. Even when he wasn't playing the wild guys, he just had that cute funny face that could crack you up just by raising an eyebrow. 

And this is going to make me sound nuts but after I'm done laughing I just get so sad afterward because he could have been anything, done anything at all. Anyone that knew him will tell you he had so much more potential than being just Bluto or Jake Blues. And it makes me mad when I come across some some smartass cocaine comment on YouTube.

We sure could have used of his Weekend Update "But noooooo!" spiels right now, that's for sure.

  • Love 10
Link to comment
6 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I've been rewatching the first four seasons of SNL, and John Belushi was so great. Even when he wasn't playing the wild guys, he just had that cute funny face that could crack you up just by raising an eyebrow. 

And this is going to make me sound nuts but after I'm done laughing I just get so sad afterward because he could have been anything, done anything at all. Anyone that knew him will tell you he had so much more potential than being just Bluto or Jake Blues. And it makes me mad when I come across some some smartass cocaine comment on YouTube.

We sure could have used of his Weekend Update "But noooooo!" spiels right now, that's for sure.

Last year, I did a bit of a reading binge about John Belushi and Chris Farley both, and I had to stop. I read a lot of morbid stuff, but it was just too depressing. 😞 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, Zella said:

Last year, I did a bit of a reading binge about John Belushi and Chris Farley both, and I had to stop. I read a lot of morbid stuff, but it was just too depressing. 😞 

Unless you have already, I recommend the oral biographies Belushi and The Chris Farley Show. Both of them focus on who they were as people, and they have plenty of warm funny stories about them, so even though it's still sad, it's worth reading.

I won't lie though, I was sobbing by the end of Belushi, mainly because he came so alive for me at the end and it made the loss even more tragic.  I was bitterly wishing that he was still alive and happy. I can't listen to "Lonesome Road" and "For A Dancer" without thinking of his funeral.

Link to comment
32 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Unless you have already, I recommend the oral biographies Belushi and The Chris Farley Show. Both of them focus on who they were as people, and they have plenty of warm funny stories about them, so even though it's still sad, it's worth reading.

I won't lie though, I was sobbing by the end of Belushi, mainly because he came so alive for me at the end and it made the loss even more tragic.  I was bitterly wishing that he was still alive and happy. I can't listen to "Lonesome Road" and "For A Dancer" without thinking of his funeral.

Yeah those were both part of the binge. I also read some SNL oral history, and it was just so unbelievably sad to hear from people who were on the show when both Belushi and Farley were there--about how watching farley spiral out of control was just a repeat of what they saw with Belushi so many years earlier and them feeling powerless to stop it .

Link to comment

Jamie Bamber.

First, he's UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous.

Second, he's incredibly talented.

Third, every interview that I've read or watched indicates that he's just as beautiful on the inside.

I've enjoyed his work in everything he's starred in. 

If only his characters didn't always get killed off! 

  • Love 6
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Zella said:

Yeah those were both part of the binge. I also read some SNL oral history, and it was just so unbelievably sad to hear from people who were on the show when both Belushi and Farley were there--about how watching farley spiral out of control was just a repeat of what they saw with Belushi so many years earlier and them feeling powerless to stop it .

Oh God, yeah. Only back then fewer people took drug addiction that seriously.

May I also recommend Samurai Widow by Judy Belushi Pisano? It's old and out of print, but I'm pretty sure you can find it at a library or on Amazon. It's his widow's account of how she coped after his death, and while it's heartbreaking it's really good. I was blown away by how much more depth and sweetness John had than his onscreen personas let on. But it also made me furious reading about how Woodward duped her and their friends and wrote that godawful Wired and the movie it spawned.

It's one of the many reasons why I really hope they finally make a decent biopic about him.

  • Useful 4
Link to comment
23 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Oh God, yeah. Only back then fewer people took drug addiction that seriously.

May I also recommend Samurai Widow by Judy Belushi Pisano? It's old and out of print, but I'm pretty sure you can find it at a library or on Amazon. It's his widow's account of how she coped after his death, and while it's heartbreaking it's really good. I was blown away by how much more depth and sweetness John had than his onscreen personas let on. But it also made me furious reading about how Woodward duped her and their friends and wrote that godawful Wired and the movie it spawned.

It's one of the many reasons why I really hope they finally make a decent biopic about him.

Thanks for that recommendation! I saw that mentioned but by that point was sort of too demoralized to continue. I do remember reading how angry his family and friends were about Wired

  • Love 2
Link to comment
36 minutes ago, Zella said:

Thanks for that recommendation! I saw that mentioned but by that point was sort of too demoralized to continue. I do remember reading how angry his family and friends were about Wired

Trust me, it's worth the read. I actually finally caved and ordered my own copy from Amazon rather than try to hunt it down at the library again.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

This is a long video chat but I enjoyed it . A couple of my favorite actors: Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney Silver from Reno 911!  ( and from the comedy group The State) talk about being friends for 33 years, still talking to each other every day. ( Hope the link works, it's from Vulture.com) 

Two Friends chat

 

  • Love 2
Link to comment
On 6/13/2020 at 10:38 PM, isalicat said:

Francesca Annis is my choice for most beautiful and talented TV actress ever

I only saw her in the miniseries Reckless over 20 years ago, but I remember how completely plausible it was that a man 15 years her junior (20 in real life) could be completely enamored with her. How refreshing that for once, it's the woman who's the older one and that the age difference is irrelevant.

  • Love 5
Link to comment

I've recently gotten into "This Is Us" and yeah, it's a manipulative mess often, but I like that it focuses on all kinds of relationships and how important and difficult they are.

I also think Jack Pearson is perfectly written and acted, in the clever way you get his family's distorted "Saint Jack" narrative after his death and the real, flawed, but loving and kind man behind it. And I like that he's both a man of his time with all the issues and inability to express himself that brings and how he's constantly shown to engage in the emotional work needed for his marriage and as a father to the best of his abilities anyway. He's such a warm and encouraging presence for all of them, despite his more obnoxious sides, it's no wonder their whole world collapses with his death. But his love for them is also something they all use to built themselves up again afterwards.

Edited by katha
  • Love 8
Link to comment

I'm mad late to this party.  All it took was multiple, multiple recommendations, 7 years, and a global pandemic but Tatiana Maslany on Orphan Black is crazy good.  I never doubted it, but watching for myself I'm like, "Holy hell, the hype is real."  Orphan Black seems like a dream job for any actress and she just keeps knocking it out of the park.   

  • Love 10
Link to comment
17 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I'm mad late to this party.  All it took was multiple, multiple recommendations, 7 years, and a global pandemic but Tatiana Maslany on Orphan Black is crazy good.  I never doubted it, but watching for myself I'm like, "Holy hell, the hype is real."  Orphan Black seems like a dream job for any actress and she just keeps knocking it out of the park.   

She was phenomenal.  Once playing Sarah pretending to be Allison you knew she wasn't Allison because the mannerisms and speech pattern were a bit off.  She deserved her Emmy.

  • Love 6
Link to comment
33 minutes ago, Haleth said:

She was phenomenal.  Once playing Sarah pretending to be Allison you knew she wasn't Allison because the mannerisms and speech pattern were a bit off.  She deserved her Emmy.

That's what's so mind blowing.  One thing to play multiple characters, which is impressive enough, and then to add layers on top of that is next level.

Edited by kiddo82
  • Love 2
Link to comment
9 hours ago, kiddo82 said:
9 hours ago, Haleth said:

She was phenomenal.  Once playing Sarah pretending to be Allison you knew she wasn't Allison because the mannerisms and speech pattern were a bit off.  She deserved her Emmy.

That's what's so mind blowing.  One thing to play multiple characters, which is impressive enough, and then to add layers on top of that is next level.

I often forgot it was one person playing all those roles. I had never heard of her before but Orphan Black made me an instant fan. I am waiting for there to be a show with only Tatiana Maslany and Enver Gjokaj (he played various "characters" on Dollhouse and his impression of Topher was just so brilliant!) playing ALL the roles. No other actors needed. TM playing all the female roles and EG playing all the male roles. It would be fascinating to watch the masters at work. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment
On 10/2/2020 at 7:30 AM, kiddo82 said:

That's what's so mind blowing.  One thing to play multiple characters, which is impressive enough, and then to add layers on top of that is next level.

I used to love Orphan Black. Watching the opening credits I used to say they were not listing all the actors forgetting the Tatiana was playing all the sestras and not just Sarah.  She was amazing and I cheered when she won her Emmy.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

I didn't care for Orphan Black, but it was the whole conspiracy premise which bugged me, not Tatiana Maslany's performance.  I was impressed by her even just in the first few episodes, before she had so many distinct characters she needed to keep straight.

Link to comment
14 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Because I've been down the nostalgia road and have been rewatching Quantum Leap...I wanna add Scott Scrumptious Bakula to my list, please.

And boy has he aged like a verra fine wine.💘💗💗💘

Yes, yes he has,.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
On 6/27/2017 at 9:13 PM, Bastet said:

There are a bunch of late night guys: ...Aasif Mandvi

I liked Aasif Mandvi well enough when he appeared on The Daily Show, but I've been really impressed by him as an actor. I checked out Evil because of the involvement of the Kings, the premise, and Mike Colter, but Mandvi has become my favorite thing about the show. And he's so appealing and likable on This Way Up, a show more people should watch (it's only 6 episodes!). In fact, the other actors on that show would also go on my list for this topic: Aisling Bea, Sharon Horgan, and Tobias Menzies.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

I really enjoy the other stuff I've seen Mandvi in, too 🙂. I'd been kinda curious about "Evil" just based off the positive comments people had made about it before it premiered, but once I found out he was involved, that clinched my decision to give it a look and I'm so glad I did. Haven't seen "This Way Up", but that'll go on my "to check out" list. 

I also like how active he is with various causes and whatnot, too. He seems like a really cool person in general. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment
On 10/14/2020 at 6:57 AM, krankydoodle said:

I liked Aasif Mandvi well enough when he appeared on The Daily Show, but I've been really impressed by him as an actor. I checked out Evil because of the involvement of the Kings, the premise, and Mike Colter, but Mandvi has become my favorite thing about the show. And he's so appealing and likable on This Way Up, a show more people should watch (it's only 6 episodes!). In fact, the other actors on that show would also go on my list for this topic: Aisling Bea, Sharon Horgan, and Tobias Menzies.

If you like Aasif Mandvi, I highly recommend his memoir, No Land's Man, especially if you can listen to the audiobook (which he narrates).  The essays are smart and funny and the one in the middle, about him returning to Bradford, England--where he grew up--is simply beautiful.  I listen to a lot of the comedic celebrity memoirs, and this underrated gem is my favorite.

  • Useful 3
  • Love 1
Link to comment

We're 6 episodes into Season 2 of Hannibal and I love his character and the actor who portrays him.  Gene Siskel always said that he hated it when evil characters were made likeable, but that's not what's happening in my case.  He is evil and manipulative and not generally likeable, but watching him go from from being in control, to, after a few episodes, being slowly let into the way his mind works and now watching him deal with the small cracks developing in his carefully crafted persona has been fascinating. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment

We're watching Numb3rs, and I really like all of the characters.  None of them are perfect (although, a couple are a little too close to perfect), but none of them have ridiculous flaws.  There's no one who is always angry or rude and the geniuses aren't condescending or dismissive.  The brothers have some issues that stem from childhood, but they obviously love each other and haven't let those issues lead to a angry rivalry.  Larry, though, is by far my favorite.  He's a genius, but he's also very approachable.  He's polite and funny and can help someone understand that they may be wrong about something without being rude.  This all makes the show really pleasant to watch. 

Edited by Shannon L.
  • Love 6
Link to comment
3 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

We're watching Numb3rs, and I really like all of the characters.  None of them are perfect (although, a couple are a little too close to perfect), but none of them have ridiculous flaws. 

That's one of the reasons Major Crimes was an exception to my dislike of cop shows - they were all grown-ass people behaving accordingly.  Of course they had flaws, but they weren't hot messes at work or at home (and where there was a serious temperament problem that affected the job, like Julio's inappropriate manifestations of anger, it was acknowledged honestly, he suffered real consequences, and the only reason he was allowed back [after a 5-month unpaid suspension, which of course happened during a hiatus, but a substantial punishment did happen, which is more than I can say for most] and retained is he actually did the work and knocked that shit off).

They were people in their 30s through 60s (with 30s and even 40s being the minority) who had believably earned their positions in the elite squad (I grew so tired of workplace shows about people who are the best of the best in their field, and they were all 28), led by a cop who made them do it the right way and accept that sometimes meant they couldn't make a case, which was a more just result than breaking the law to avenge a breaking of the law; the end didn't justify the means.  (So don't get me started on the finale.)

They were neither superheroes nor anti-heroes, they were just typical people.  And I can appreciate some really broad characters; I'm not into superheroes, but I can watch an anti-hero if they're written so their problems aren't waved off as just the price to be paid for their genius.  But I prefer regular folks, and tip my hat to writers and actors who don't resort to extremes to keep them interesting.

  • Love 9
Link to comment
49 minutes ago, Bastet said:

led by a cop who made them do it the right way and accept that sometimes meant they couldn't make a case, which was a more just result than breaking the law to avenge a breaking of the law; the end didn't justify the means. 

This was what really set Major Crimes apart from the rest. It was run by a former Internal Affairs person. They are always the enemy in cop shows. Hell, she was the enemy in The Closer. lol I loved Sharon Raydor. She was by the book and still managed to get the job done most of the time. She didn't have to break the law to see justice served. She trusted her team to get things done and they did. 

Like you said, it was an older squad because they were the best of the best and you don't get to be the best without experience. The team were experienced. While there were some missteps *cough*Rusty*cough* Major Crimes was hands down my favorite cop drama possibly of all time. It was just so well acted and realistic without being boring. I loved the whole cast, but Sharon Raydor was just awesome. 

  • Love 5
Link to comment
On 4/11/2021 at 12:32 PM, Mabinogia said:

This was what really set Major Crimes apart from the rest. It was run by a former Internal Affairs person. They are always the enemy in cop shows. Hell, she was the enemy in The Closer. lol I loved Sharon Raydor.

Sharon Raydor is one of my favorite TV characters of all time, and even though played by Mary McDonnell (whom I frakkin' adore) if you'd just describe her to me I never would have thought I'd love her that much.

While I'm thrilled The Closer universe continued on, so we could continue to see Sharon Raydor - whom I liked back in her first episode as an antagonist on The Closer and loved by the end of her third (she was originally brought in for a three-episode arc, but then everyone realized Dude, we have Mary McDonnell on board; can we continue this? and it snowballed from there) and not just continue to see the MC squad but actually get to see what they can each do if delegated more responsibility, I'd have just as much loved a show about the Force Investigation Division Sharon led back then.

With the plethora of cop shows over the years, it really boggles my mind no one has created one about an Internal Affairs division.  They're "the rat squad" on cop shows, but a show about their investigations would open up a bunch of new storylines instead of just rehashing the same crimes over and over - not to mention be incredibly relevant in an age when mainstream media is finally starting to maybe, just a little, peel back the veil and talk about rampant police misconduct and its horrible repercussions.

It was damn near revolutionary on The Closer when the show's main character spouted the usual bullshit - even though the FID investigation exonerated their shootings as clean in less than 72 hours - that cops knowing they'll be investigated if they use force will cause them to hesitate to use force, thus getting officers killed, and it wasn't embraced as truth; the FID captain got the final word:

Brenda: I have to ask, have you ever considered what your principles cost?
Sharon: Seventy million dollars.  That was the settlement in the Rampart case.  One hundred.  That's how many convictions were overturned due to renegade policing and lack of oversight in one division alone.  Not to mention the loss of trust the LAPD needs to remain effective.
Brenda: There has to be a better way.
Sharon: Well, until then, you've got me.

That one scene was fall-out-of-my-chair fantastic to see (as a civil rights lawyer, I cannot for the sake of my blood pressure even watch most cop shows).  If someone ever built a show around that reality and an honest presentation of what IA divisions do, I'd be thrilled.  And, as I said, I really can't believe it hasn't been done.  It's a new twist on a stale formula, plus there is built-in drama given the pressure they're under to, like any internal investigation, find a way to absolve the company of liability rather than to find the truth, and how some members of the team will be more drawn to one goal than the other.

Edited by Bastet
  • Love 13
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Bastet said:

 

With the plethora of cop shows over the years, it really boggles my mind no one has created one about an Internal Affairs division.  They're "the rat squad" on cop shows, but a show about their investigations would open up a bunch of new storylines instead of just rehashing the same crimes over and over - not to mention be incredibly relevant in an age when mainstream media is finally starting to maybe, just a little, peel back the veil and talk about rampant police misconduct and its horrible repercussions.

 

 

That's the basic premise of Line of Duty (a UK show).  It's centred around AC-12 (Anti Corruption unit 12) and is all about investigating bent coppers.  It's rather good, IMO.

  • Useful 7
  • Love 2
Link to comment
2 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

 

That's the basic premise of Line of Duty (a UK show).  It's centred around AC-12 (Anti Corruption unit 12) and is all about investigating bent coppers.  It's rather good, IMO.

Thank you, it is available on Amazon Prime and I added it to my watch list.

Link to comment
3 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

That's the basic premise of Line of Duty (a UK show).  It's centred around AC-12 (Anti Corruption unit 12) and is all about investigating bent coppers.  It's rather good, IMO.

I'd been on the fence about watching it but you just pushed me over the edge. I assumed it was just another standard issue cop drama, though really well done, as I've heard only good things about it, but I didn't realize it was more about investigating bent coppers. That has peaked my interest. 

Link to comment
6 hours ago, Bastet said:

With the plethora of cop shows over the years, it really boggles my mind no one has created one about an Internal Affairs division.  They're "the rat squad" on cop shows, but a show about their investigations would open up a bunch of new storylines instead of just rehashing the same crimes over and over - not to mention be incredibly relevant in an age when mainstream media is finally starting to maybe, just a little, peel back the veil and talk about rampant police misconduct and its horrible repercussions.

I just said something similar in the L&O: Organized Crime forum.  Organized crime feels kind of old school whereas internal affairs would a new angle of looking at cop shows.

And Line of Duty is wildly popular in the UK.  Its only downfall is that it has a "big bad" which was exciting at first but I feel they're spinning their heels as of the last season. 

  • Love 3
Link to comment
On 4/11/2021 at 4:05 PM, Bastet said:

With the plethora of cop shows over the years, it really boggles my mind no one has created one about an Internal Affairs division. 

Aside from the very good Line of Duty, recommended above, the only other one I can think of is the Lifetime series Against the Wall, about a woman from an Irish  family in which everybody is a cop (as in Blue Bloods) who joins Internal Affairs, to the dismay of the family.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1836237/

Only lasted one season, and got way too soapy, but like you I felt a focus on IA was a solid idea for a series.  I don't know why it failed - it probably would have been handled better on TNT, which did so well with female-centered procedurals back then.

  • Useful 5
Link to comment

Not sure if he counted as a TV personality, but since in his later years he did mostly TV appearances, but Christopher Reeve. I watched his episode of The Muppet Show on Disney+ and you could tell he was just having a ball the whole time. Same with this appearance on Sesame Street:

 Even after he had his accident he never lost that warmth. Look at this PSA he and Tom Welling did after his Smallville cameo (best moment in that whole series, hands down):

I still miss him so damn much.

  • Love 11
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...