Most unconvincing comedy performers

[Clownbaby]

Noel Fielding is the most obvious one for obvious reasons (can't say lines without smirking at own lines) I can take or leave him but I thought I'd get the big one out of the way

[thenoise]

Paul Merton is a likeable enough presenter/panel show contributor but his sketch series and, in particular, his Galton and Simpsons/Hancock series, really showed his limitations as a comic actor.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

Armando Iannucci, hence him sticking to writing and directing.

[Clownbaby]

Armando Iannucci, hence him sticking to writing and directing.

Yeah he bugged me a bit in The Armando Iannucci Shows. It was all about weird little things he thinks about, but he wasn't convincing enough as the odd guy who overthinks a lot, unlike someone like Limmy, who is totally believable as someone who gets trapped in his own head

[rectorofstiffkey]

Yeah he bugged me a bit in The Armando Iannucci Shows. It was all about weird little things he thinks about, but he wasn't convincing enough as the odd guy who overthinks a lot, unlike someone like Limmy, who is totally believable as someone who gets trapped in his own head

I did love him in the Saturday Night Armistice though.  His delivery of the line "Mr Tony Blair, you are a lusty weeble" still makes me laugh 20 years later.

[Old Nehamkin]

Armando's a fantastic comedy performer! He delivers dozens of perfectly-intoned lines in every episode of TAIS.

"Come on Bergkamp, you've got twenty-two legs, use them!"

[selectivememory]

He's also great as the gleeful hostile interviewer in Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. And pretty much everything else I've seen him in. No way does he belong in this thread.

[Deyv]

Hugh Lloyd.

Rodney Bewes wasn't a great actor, but his performance in Doctor Who when his mind was melting (or something) makes me think, "actually..."

[Suky]

Pappys.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Yes, Armando Iannucci is an absurd nomination. His delivery is impeccable.

At no point during TAIS did I think "This man seems too straight and normal to be having these thoughts." He comes across throughout as an utterly perplexed, neurotic and endearingly silly individual. That's not just on the page, his performance sells the material.

He has a very specific, pedantic, unique style of delivery, where even a stress on certain syllables or words can make you laugh.

[Brundle-Fly]

If anyone is having Hugh Lloyd, (wrong), I'm having Don Estelle.

Mind you, this broke my heart recently. Dead a few months later. Don, not me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSzS5IEHNzY

Always had a fantastic set of pipes.

[AliasTheCat]

11.04 for the Mr Tony Blair bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YAosBc_2Gk

As a young man my parents took me up to London for my birthday, we had lunch at Planet Hollywood and then went to see a recording of the Friday Night Armistice, so I have very fond memories of it.

[rectorofstiffkey]

11.04 for the Mr Tony Blair bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YAosBc_2Gk

As a young man my parents took me up to London for my birthday, we had lunch at Planet Hollywood and then went to see a recording of the Friday Night Armistice, so I have very fond memories of it.

thank you so much!  Been looking for that bit for ages....have watched lots of episodes of FNA/SNA but never found that one.  Exactly as I remembered.  really jealous of you getting to see a recording, too!

[Tony Yeboah]

- Ardal O'Hanlon on Whose Line is it Anyway?
- Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld
- Gina Yashere in everything she's ever done

[Sebastian Cobb]

Yeah he bugged me a bit in The Armando Iannucci Shows. It was all about weird little things he thinks about, but he wasn't convincing enough as the odd guy who overthinks a lot, unlike someone like Limmy, who is totally believable as someone who gets trapped in his own head

I thought that was a masterpiece. You could tell it was a labour of love though.

In my head it's exactly the sort of never-going-to-be-massively-popular stuff that the Channel 4 remit should be all about. Days are gone, etc.

[Clownbaby]

I thought that was a masterpiece.

Oh yeah don't get me wrong,  I still like it.

[up_the_hampipe]

Noel Fielding is the most obvious one for obvious reasons (can't say lines without smirking at own lines) I can take or leave him but I thought I'd get the big one out of the way

Michael Fielding was even worse. Almost like they gave him Naboo as a favour.

Simon Amstell was out of his depth on Grandma's House (he'd probably admit that, to be fair).Luckily he was drowned out by the brilliance of Rebecca Front and James Smith.

On SNL, Kenan Thompson seems almost incapable of fully immersing himself in a character. He's just Kenan shouting with a slight smirk. He's still quite funny though so it works.

[Clownbaby]

Michael Fielding was even worse. Almost like they gave him Naboo as a favour.

Simon Amstell was out of his depth on Grandma's House (he'd probably admit that, to be fair).Luckily he was drowned out by the brilliance of Rebecca Front and James Smith.

I feel like the whole Boosh is just a daft thing that was done for fun with just anybody they could grab. Mike Fielding is year 5 school play levels of bad but there's something about the shitness of everyone's acting in the Boosh that I stupidly enjoy (there I said it)

[Clownbaby]

- Ardal O'Hanlon on Whose Line is it Anyway?
- Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld
- Gina Yashere in everything she's ever done

What is even the point in Gina 'I'm Nigerian' Yashere anyway

[gmoney]

On SNL, Kenan Thompson seems almost incapable of fully immersing himself in a character. He's just Kenan shouting with a slight smirk. He's still quite funny though so it works.

Harry Enfield is a very good sketch actor, but one of the very worse actors in a series I've ever seen.

[Replies From View]

Some people (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor in particular) would nominate Clare Grogan's performance as Kochanski in the early series of Red Dwarf.  Personally I like it.

[Sebastian Cobb]

What is even the point in Gina 'I'm Nigerian' Yashere anyway

She's seemingly carved out a career in America now. I saw an article where she reckoned it was British institutional racism holding her back rather than, you know, the fact she only has about 15 minutes of material.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Some people (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor in particular) would nominate Clare Grogan's performance as Kochanski in the early series of Red Dwarf.  Personally I like it.

She was better as definitely not Sinead O'Connor in Father Ted and Charlotte in Comfort and Joy.

[Clownbaby]

She's seemingly carved out a career in America now. I saw an article where she reckoned it was British institutional racism holding her back rather than, you know, the fact she only has about 15 minutes of material.

ohhhhh miss Race Card McGee over here. The hallmark of the shite comedian

[Sebastian Cobb]

ohhhhh miss Race Card McGee over here. The hallmark of the shite comedian

I don't disagree with the notion it's probably harder for black/minority comedians, there's probably loads of much better ones struggling while she was on mock the week. It's both their and our loss.

[Clownbaby]

I just hate it when it's obvious she didn't manage to make it in any format on here because nobody really found her funny. Own up to the fact that people here didn't find you funny, Gina! Own up to it! She wasn't even doing that bad here. Live At The Apollo, some show on CBBC, Regular panel shows, a lot more than some people.

[St_Eddie]

Some people (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor in particular) would nominate Clare Grogan's performance as Kochanski in the early series of Red Dwarf.  Personally I like it.

I never understood the hate that the writers and actors heaped onto poor Clare Grogan.  During the commentary for Psirens in series VI, the cast all mercilessly rip into her brief cameo.  Pretty fucking harsh and unwarranted, in my opinion.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Plus Chloe Annet was worse.

[Artemis]

Noel Fielding is the obvious go-to here. Already so far up his own arse it's a wonder we can even hear his lines.

Then you have the people who're wonderful in the characters they were born to play but questionable in everything else (the only time I'd put Gervais and Shandling in the same category).

[Avril Lavigne]

Plus Chloe Annet was worse.

To be fair to her, the writing she had to work with generally ranged from mediocre to atrocious.