Fair City - poor acting abilities of some of the cast

ongarboy

I'm not a frequent watcher of the show (perhaps once/twice a month) and find the main thing that puts me off the show is that a fair number of the actors are so awful. The storylines are not actually that bad and many of the actors are quite good in that they come across as convincing and you can believe they are the character they are portraying. (the Bishop family apart from Vivian being a good example). However, there are other actors that are so appallingly dreadful that there is almost an element of them being so bad that they are good and unintentionally funny (Leo anyone??).

I wonder how casting directors can sign off and approve some of these candidates? The most recent example was the actress who came in as the mother of the deceased Sarah. She was supposed to be a grieving mother but just came across as completely wooden, detached from her character and delivered all her dialogue in an unconvincing emotionless monotone manner. Even when she "broke down" at the eulogy, it was just cringy as all you could see was a bad actress rather than a devastated mother which takes away and distracts from the storyline at hand. Are the directors also blind to these inferior performances when the performances are being shot? You just end up laughing or cringing at what should be a serious or emotional scenes.

Ireland has tonnes of brilliant, talented and job seeking actors - why are they being overlooked?

Other appalling, wooden and talentless candidates over the years for me would be

Jimmy
Gina
Leo

pavcro10

I agree! I am a fan of the show, but some of the acting is brutal. I am aghast at how people think the Bishops are good?? Apart from maybe Decco. He is decent. But Zumo and Denzo are abominations as actors!! It compleatly baffles me. It makes me convinced then that these same must think Daniel day lewis is muck!

Leo is bad, Louie, Carol, Jo, Finn, Caoimhe, Sarahs mother, Suzanne, Deegan the ones they get in for bit parts are usually dreadful too.

In its defence. I do believe there are good actors on it too though

JP Liz V1

I agree some of the acting is awful but I must commend Pat Nolan (Barry) he has played a blinder in the latest storyline

Ash.J.Williams

the aspergers guy is brilliant...i'd listen to his lines all day!

angel01

I know I am really positive regarding the show but I love the Bishops. I think they have made a mistake regarding Vivienne, trying to portray her as a Peggy Mitchell type of character.. but overall I think they are brilliant.

I love Decco and a fine actor he is too...

I love Leo, I find him amusing...

LaffyDuck

i find leo the worst,its painfull to watch him at times.The bishops arent much better IMO.There the most harmless gangsters ive ever seen anyway:p

pavcro10

angel01 wrote: »

I know I am really positive regarding the show but I love the Bishops. I think they have made a mistake regarding Vivienne, trying to portray her as a Peggy Mitchell type of character.. but overall I think they are brilliant.

I love Decco and a fine actor he is too...

I love Leo, I find him amusing...

Decco works as Decco. I wouldnt go so far as to call him a fine actor. He looks the part. But I would have a hard time believing he is capable of playing any other character. Unlike say Niamh, Robert or Bob.

Temaz

It's sterile, wooden acting which is why people watch it! It's so bad it's good!

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I think all soaps have their weak links in the cast, but to be fair, Fair City has some top class actors in its mix and they portray their roles brilliantly.

I think Robert, Bob, Yvonne, Niamh, Orla, Wayne, Damien, Suzanne, Cass, Dolores and Pete shine in any scene they are in.

Then you've got Paul, Barry, Ray, Christy, Keith, Finn, Decco, Sash, Zumo, Dermot, Dean and Neasa, who are very comfortable in their roles and always put on a great performance. Personally, I'd also add Leo to this group because I think he's brilliant, but can see why people would question his acting ability.

I think there's quite a few others who have great potential, but haven't been given a chance to shine yet due to a lack of storylines.

Overall though, I wouldn't fault the acting in Fair City - I think there's a lot of quality actors involved.

Wouldn't mind seeing a few people return though - Doug, Mondo, Kira, Farrah and some of the Doyles spring to mind immediately and would mean potentially better storylines for Christy, Ray, Pete, Niamh, Sean, Bela, Yvonne and Suzanne if they've got family members coming back.

miju

any other boardsies win the competition to visit the set? just got a phone call from RTE there saying had won it.

First thing I've won in a loooooong time, the missus is loving it though

angel01

miju wrote: »

any other boardsies win the competition to visit the set? just got a phone call from RTE there saying had won it.

First thing I've won in a loooooong time, the missus is loving it though

Very jealous!!

I won it last year, it was brilliant, have a great time!

Deise 2012

The acting in Fair City since the Damien and Suzanne storyline finished up is beyond belief. The writing is even worse.

For a country like Ireland and the amount or writers and actors we have produced in the last number of years, what we get from Fair City is a disgrace right now. Hopefully it wont be long till RTE get their act together and do something about it. Apart from the Likes of Cass, Bob, Robert, Carol, Niamh, Paul and Sash the acting is like something you see in a primary school christmas play. For great great actors like Bryan Murray and Eamon Morrissey to have to put up with this sort of thing must be hard on them.

Temaz

I had to laugh when I heard the show was changing name to 'Flab City'!!! But ya, awful acting. Part of the shows charm really!

pavcro10

Deise 2012 wrote: »

The acting in Fair City since the Damien and Suzanne storyline finished up is beyond belief. The writing is even worse.

For a country like Ireland and the amount or writers and actors we have produced in the last number of years, what we get from Fair City is a disgrace right now. Hopefully it wont be long till RTE get their act together and do something about it. Apart from the Likes of Cass, Bob, Robert, Carol, Niamh, Paul and Sash the acting is like something you see in a primary school christmas play. For great great actors like Bryan Murray and Eamon Morrissey to have to put up with this sort of thing must be hard on them.

Carol, Sash and Cass are so OTT and sh1te. Panto acting!! EXACTLY the type of what you would see in a primary school play!

Also Starring LeVar Burton

miju wrote: »

any other boardsies win the competition to visit the set? just got a phone call from RTE there saying had won it.

First thing I've won in a loooooong time, the missus is loving it though

Was lucky enough to go last year - was deadly craic, got to meet half the cast and still talk to 1 or 2 of them on a regular basis, which is cool. I'd actually love to be going again.

Smcgie

It's absolute utter ****e and none of them can act. It has to be thee laughing stock of this country with it's dodgy script and acting!'


HORRIBLE!

themandan6611

Smcgie wrote: »

It's absolute utter ****e and none of them can act. It has to be thee laughing stock of this country with it's dodgy script and acting!'


HORRIBLE!

you don't like it so ?

Fittle

pavcro10 wrote: »

Decco works as Decco. I wouldnt go so far as to call him a fine actor. He looks the part. But I would have a hard time believing he is capable of playing any other character. Unlike say Niamh, Robert or Bob.

That's it in a nutshell for me. I love the bishops because I find them so believable - I often wonder if they are just playing themselves though. You are so right that none of them could play any other character than the 'dublin criminal' (although they aren't that tough!) - but I do like them!

I am a fan but I have to agree with the OP - the acting can be appalling sometimes - Leo - seriously, how on gods earth did a casting director EVER say "Oh yeah, he's a good actor, lets give him the part"????

Some of the storylines are quite good but this whole thing with the 2month old baby (the one who's supposed to be 2 months premature) 'hidden' is just ridiculous....- in other soaps, they tend to use dolls, covered well in blankets as I get that they can't use 'real newborns' - but why chose an obviously older baby for Carols newborn??? sometimes I wonder how the scriptwriters are in jobs as some of the stories don't make any sense (Charlotte STILL in her wig how long now??? And the fact that Niamh and Paul have only started to talk about their 'baby' because Carol was pregnant - despite the fact that the baby must be a year old by now!)

Folie a deux

Sarah's mother is terrible....It's like she is just reading the lines straight from the script, no emotion at all

iceblue

im part of the its so 'awful' its funny camp, and i love it.... the fake dublin accents drive me mad i wish some of them would just talk in their normal accents its so exaggerated its funny.... the new foster girl is awful for a start, and dermotts little boy is too billy barry ish.... but the girl who wears her pj's out in public makes me laugh the most she is brilliant, and the pj's was a nice realistic touch i was wondering what was going on the first time i saw someone in a shopping centre with there pjs on it was the middle of winter?....insane, carols accent is dreadful and i never heard her talk in real life, but i assume this is fake....some of the older establilshed cast are grand, except charlie he sounds like someone common trying to do posh sometimes and its very irritating. the bishops are the only ones who can do dublin 'underclass'/ corpo housing estate, on the button. i love them....but overall its all harmless and i enjoy it, but a few need to be culled.....

pavcro10

Some of the actors are a disgrace. Considering its a show with high viewership. It SHOULD be a good showcase for this country's acting talent. But they continually hire actors with ZERO experience.
Take Zumo as an example. He can barely string a sentence together without "umming and ahhing" his way through it. He is as wooden as an oak cabinet. Everything is entirely one note. Look at the actors CV. He has done NOTHING bar fair city. Why does he warrant a place on, like it or not, Ireland's most popular drama.
Caoimhe is also utter crap too. So irritating.
All the bishops bar maybe Decco.
Louie is a pure plank. See infamous crying scene as proof.
Finn, is dire and completely OTT.
Jo..... Words fail me.
Mark is bad
There are many fine actors on it too, who work wonders with such clunky scripts. Unfortunately their good work is hampered by a few around them.

livinginkorea

pavcro10 wrote: »

Some of the actors are a disgrace. Considering its a show with high viewership. It SHOULD be a good showcase for this country's acting talent. But they continually hire actors with ZERO experience.
Take Zumo as an example. He can barely string a sentence together without "umming and ahhing" his way through it. He is as wooden as an oak cabinet. Everything is entirely one note. Look at the actors CV. He has done NOTHING bar fair city. Why does he warrant a place on, like it or not, Ireland's most popular drama.
Caoimhe is also utter crap too. So irritating.
All the bishops bar maybe Decco.
Louie is a pure plank. See infamous crying scene as proof.
Finn, is dire and completely OTT.
Jo..... Words fail me.
Mark is bad
There are many fine actors on it too, who work wonders with such clunky scripts. Unfortunately their good work is hampered by a few around them.

They are all actors...they are meant to be portray certain characters.
I do agree that Caoimhe is annoying but she is meant to be.

livinginkorea

In all fairness if RTE got rid of the top ten earners at the station and brought in younger blood then I recon they could spend more money on shows like FC for scripts and such.

pavcro10

livinginkorea wrote: »

pavcro10 wrote: »

Some of the actors are a disgrace. Considering its a show with high viewership. It SHOULD be a good showcase for this country's acting talent. But they continually hire actors with ZERO experience.
Take Zumo as an example. He can barely string a sentence together without "umming and ahhing" his way through it. He is as wooden as an oak cabinet. Everything is entirely one note. Look at the actors CV. He has done NOTHING bar fair city. Why does he warrant a place on, like it or not, Ireland's most popular drama.
Caoimhe is also utter crap too. So irritating.
All the bishops bar maybe Decco.
Louie is a pure plank. See infamous crying scene as proof.
Finn, is dire and completely OTT.
Jo..... Words fail me.
Mark is bad
There are many fine actors on it too, who work wonders with such clunky scripts. Unfortunately their good work is hampered by a few around them.

They are all actors...they are meant to be portray certain characters.
I do agree that Caoimhe is annoying but she is meant to be.

Thats not what I meant. I meant she irritates me because everything she says sounds forced. I can see her "acting" if you get me?
Whereas, someone like Ray, I totally buy that character. That he is real. Also, irritating characters are not supposed to really grate on an audience. You love to hate them. But they don't make you wanna switch channel.
Just my opinion

Fionne

Carol's accent is dire and she doesn't talk like that in real-life, I saw her doing that documentary on The Riordans that was on a couple of years ago and she sounded far more normal.

That new Val wan - I'm afraid she reached the pinnacle of her acting career when she was Grabbit (or was it Fetchit) in Pajo's Junkbox. Or the chocaholic nun in Father Ted. Just can't take her seriously at all.

Pat Nolan is a real loss, his acting was just superb during the Barry murdering Sarah (now there's another bad actress) storyline. I think the show has been in a slump since then. Tommy Dillon just raises his eyebrows a lot, Jo "hmmmm"s far too much and that child Ben, he's really annoying, even more so in the McDonalds ad but I guess it's hard to find good child actors in Ireland as the last great performance by an Irish child actor I can remember was Eamonn Owens in The Butcher Boy. I think we're limited here to Billy-Barry types that are sickly sweet and can't act for toffee.

Fittle

fonril wrote: »

I think we're limited here to Billy-Barry types that are sickly sweet and can't act for toffee.

I think the 'types' you refer to monopolise the likes of the Toy Show and the pantos over Xmas, mainly because of their long standing relationship with RTE and the like. My little fella (9) recently joined a stage school and is loving it ...- it's my first experience of the world of 'acting/stage/dance' at junior level...I've seen really amazing acting from some of the kids in a recent talent show and now coming up to their Xmas show...but as the school isn't as well known as the more popular stage schools, they (and other stage schools around the country I'm sure) never get a look-in when it comes to the LL Toy Show or similar.....