Top 10 Favorite Actors/Actress’s with Expressive Eyes

Being an actor is not an easy job, they need to make us believe they are feeling what they are feeling. Most do this by being able to say dialogue in a way that sounds real and sincere. But there are some talented enough to go beyond that, and can do this same thing with no words at all. They have the ability to make their eyes do the acting, whether it’s to convey an emotion or just get us to laugh.



Here are my ten favorite examples of actors that let their eyes do the talking…


#10.Bob Hope

While I’ll be fair and say that Bob Hope was never big on conveying drama, his eyes do manage to say a lot. Sometimes that he knew he was being a wiseass, sometimes it was to indicate and attraction to some girl, and when another comedian got the better of him with a joke Hope’s reactions always seemed natural..and annoyed!



#9,Gilda Radner

I feel sad that she died before I could really appreciate how awesome she was. But of course she will always live on in clips from classic SNL. She was another one who made you believe what she was doing because her eyes believed everything she said. Yes of course she was a fantastic physical comedienne too but love those eyes, they way they looked so big when she said “Never Mind” as Emily Litella was a guaranteed laugh.




#8.Rowan Atkinson

Not going to lie, not much of a fan of is. Nothing personal I just don’t find him funny. Despite that, I have to admire the way his expressions do all his talking. I watched his performance in the Olympics a couple years back and it was good.




#7,Brad Garrett

Brad Garrett is pretty funny as the mopey Robert, but the best part is how much he lets his eyes convey what he is feeling. Whether it be terror in response to the possibility of his mother getting upset, feeling joy when Raymond is in trouble, or just sadness in reaction to another snub in favor of Raymond, Garrett has gotten lost of laughs without saying a word.




#6.John Lithgow

I haven’t seen to many of Lithgow’s other work, but going but 3rd Rock he has a great expressive face. Which is ironic considering how serious he can be in other roles. Dick never hides a feeling whether he was feeling joy or terror, and half the fun o watching him is seeing him react. My favorite was always the look on his face when someone came close to figuring out his secret, it was hysterical.





#5.Leonard Nimoy

Ok one could argue that this doesn’t count. But Leonard Nimoy had a way of turning the simple of act of raising your eyebrow into a funny moment. And even in other times, we knew what was going on in Spock’s head without a word, from amusement to irritation. In Star Trek III the very last scene has Spock do the eyebrow raise to Kirk, and that one second almost acted a reassurance that yeah, our old friend is back.




#4.Bill Cosby

Yeah Yeah make all the jokes you want. No one can argue that Cosby has an expressive face, the way his eyes would dance when he was happy. But it worked the other way too, when he was pissed off you knew it!





#3.Bea Arthur

Talk about getting a laugh without saying a word. The best of Rose’s endless stories on The Golden Girls or Sophia’s for that matter was seeing how Dorothy would react. She just had a way of staring at someone that made it clear she was trying her hardest to figure out what the heck they were talking about.





#2.Bob Newhart

Much like Arthur, on his shows Newhart was the king of reactions. He just kind of reacted to all the insanity around him. And just watching those reactions were always funny. In fact he’s still got it, a few years ago he did an episode of The Big Bang Theory and when Sheldon commented that the character he was playing was happy to see Sheldon again, the reaction on Newhart’s face conveyed that he was anything but. It was classic Newhart.




#1.Carol Burnett

I’ve got more to say about Burnett down the road, but for now it’s her face that deserves mention here. She has a very expressive face whether it be full crazy eyes when playing Nora Desmond or the psychotic glares she gives when playing Eunice Higgins. When a lot of people try to act crazy it comes off forced, but she has a way of doing it that makes it not only funny but sometimes makes the characters feel more real.




Have I left any off? Ah yeah, about a ton?That’s what happens when you limit it to ten. In fact I had to leave some off because I came up with to many. almost had Jim Carrey on here but when you think about he pretty much makes the same face every time. Same for Jack Nicholson. And I saw Helena Bonham Carter on other lists but I have seen little to none of her work.


So comment and tell me who may have overlooked.