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* Ulquiorra Cifer from ''[[Bleach]]'' is pretty much the '''physical embodiment of this trope'''. The closest he gets to an expression besides line face is during battles where he's shocked, which is expressed by just barely widening his eyes. If it wasn't for dramatic speed lines or speech bubbles with exclamation marks you may not even catch that his expression changed at all. {{spoiler|Even when he's about to be nuked by Ichigo's hollow form after being caught off guard, all he does in response is stare blankly at him and say "do it".}}
* Winry Rockbell's Japanese voice actor in the second anime adaption of [[Fullmetal Alchemist]] has this problem. She does fine when she is in [[Genki Girl]] mode, but it's most noticeable in the "dramatic" scenes, such as when Winry {{spoiler|finds out who her parents' killer is, and that he is trying to kill her childhood friends, too}}. What should have been a [[Tear Jerker]] falls flat as the actress only gets the first emotion (shock) across, instead of also showing her hysterical when it finally sinks in and just a hint of anger in it when {{spoiler|she picks up a gun and is about to shoot Scar}}.
* Inverted in-universe with Kasuka Heiwajima of ''[[Durarara!!]]'', who is a [[Master Actor]] even in the most camp and B-movie of roles... and has the emotional range of Rei Ayanami on valium when ''not'' acting.
* The Medicine Peddler in [[Mononoke]], whose reactions to the titular demonic apparitions are usually limited to phrases such as, "Oh my." or "My word." Especially amusing when the people around him are cowering and screaming in fear.
== Comicbooks ==
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** This is best demonstrated in the sequence right before his last scene, when he trashes his apartment [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLs-PkfUS2g while wearing the same blank expression he'd been using the entire movie.]
* Selma Blair maintains this expression at all times in the film version of ''[[Hellboy (film)|Hellboy]]'', possibly justified by her staying at a mental health and very likely medicated the entire time. She gets out-acted by a fish man, a giant red demon, an insane Russian necromancer, a wind-up Nazi and a German man ''made of smoke''. The fact that {{spoiler|she's pregnant}} would explain why she's more lively in the second movie.
* The 2005 film version of ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'' had Matthew McFayden (Darcy) doing this.
** Mister Darcy has a consistent problem with this in various film versions of the book. The reason seems to be that in the book, he starts out disdainful and cold to the point of rudeness, and different actors struggle with how to play him so that he can be accepted by the audience in a romantic role despite coming off as a jerk less than an hour ago.
* Natalie Burke in the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' alumnus ''<s>Warrwilf</s> [[Werewolf (film)|Werewolf]]''. All together now: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REH5QiV0-dU Tis is ebsolutly fescinatung]".
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*** Although most people acknowledged it wasn't completely the actors' fault. Quite a few critics admitted at least part of the problem was being forced to work for most of the movie against a green screen. Having scenes and props to work with greatly helps with emoting, whereas having to act terrified of a garishly-painted wall makes things difficult. Considering they turned Oscar-winning [[Natalie Portman]] into a mannequin, putting all the blame on the actors is a little unfair.
*** There's also the perils of George Lucas dialogue--for some reason, it seems that his issues with writing realistic lines grew in the decades between the prequels and the originals.
* [[Christian Bale]] seems to have a variety of facial expressions comparable to a marble statue. This is largely due to his method of playing sociopathic and/or emotionally disaffected characters. Several of his films feature bipolar performances swinging between Vulcan-like emotional coldness and sudden, manic frenzy.
* Intentionally invoked in ''[[Napoleon Dynamite]]''.
* Dorothy Parker once said that [[Katharine Hepburn]] ran "the gamut of emotions, from A to B."
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** Matthew Goode, as Ozymandias, provides a more mild but still persistent problem. In particular, the comic's ebullient "I won!" (accompanied with raised fists and a shot of Alexander The Great in the background) is replaced with a near-whisper indistinguishable from any of his other lines.
** Dr Manhattan has this tendency in-universe.
* [[Kevin Costner]], in most of his roles. ''[[Waterworld]]'' ("My boat") perhaps has a justification, as his character shuns and is shunned by society, and he rarely interacts with people out on the open ocean.
* As an example of [[Tropes Are Not Bad]], Javier Bardem exhibits little to no emotion as the [[Complete Monster|ruthless]] Anton Chigurh in ''[[No Country for Old Men]]''. Naturally, he's a lot more intimidating, and won an Oscar for his performance.
* Gwyneth Paltrow in ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'', everyone else in the movie [[Ham and Cheese|had fun with their role]] but not her.
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* [[Emily Browning]] in ''[[Sucker Punch]]'' - though mostly justifiable in that she's clearly scared or baffled through the major part of the film.
* Played to great effect in the 1979 ghost story "The Changeling" and George C. Scott. He's [[Seen It All|seen so much weird shit]] by the time he's in the well that he seems almost bored when the medal makes its appearance.
* [[Justin Timberlake]] spends most of ''[[In Time]]'' with the same grumpy facial expression. May be justified, but it's really not due to having taken a lover while all the chaos happens in the movie.
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** But then, it's called subtlety (it's all in the eyes, baby!) It works very well for a character as subdued as Olivia, but viewers have become so used to actors [[Chewing the Scenery]] that it's probably hard to recognize and not mistake for woodenness.
** On the other hand, her emotional problems are a plot point in Season 2. The trauma of being a human guinea pig wrecked her emotionally and taught her to channel any fear into anger. We meet an alternate universe version of Olivia who is much more emotional, confirming that it's a deliberate acting choice.
** This is more a problem with her co-star, Joshua Jackson, who literally has two modes: Deadpan Snarker, and just deadpan. This is especially visible in Season Three, when his character has to deal with a whole bunch of emotional problems about half-way in.
* Milo Ventimiglia, who played Peter in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''. About the most "emotion" he shows is a slight curl of his lip, but that's actually a result of partial face paralysis.
** It's glaringly obvious when he's in a scene with someone who can actually ''act''--Jack Coleman, Cristine Rose, [[Christopher Eccleston]], [[Zachary Quinto]], David Anders, [[Hayden Panettiere]], and on into the sunset (fortunately he never had a scene with Mr. Muggles). Watching his interactions with his on-screen brother Adrian Pasdar is especially painful. One comes across as dangerous, calculating and creepy, the other appears lobotomized. Oooooh dear.
** He simply inherited it from his on-screen father, Robert Forster, who apparently decided that Arthur Petrelli was too powerful to have any emotion on his face or in his tone when delivering his dialogue. He doesn't even seem bored, just... monotone.
* Often turns up as part of the [[Stylistic Suck]] that forms ''[[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace]]''. Liz in particular seems susceptible to it:
{{quote|"That's strange. That cat just told me to leave."}}
* Kim Kardashian playing an accused murderer's girlfriend on ''[[CSI New York|CSI:NY]]''. Borderline [[Narm]].
** [[
* Elisabeth Rohm, when she was on ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'', was given the derisive nickname "Rohmbot" because of this.
* The ''entire'' cast of ''[[Sunset Beach]]'' veered from this trope to [[Large Ham]].
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{{quote|'''Scully:''' I saw your face, Mulder. There was a definite moment of panic.
'''Mulder:''' You've never seen me panic. When I panic, I make this face. [Remains expressionless.] }}
* Almost the whole cast of ''[[The Secret Life of the American Teenager]]''.
* On one episode of ''[[Frasier]]'' ("The Late Dr. Crane"), Niles is talked into getting a botox injection. Due to the paralyzing nature of the treatment, a revelation causes him to exclaim "Oh my God!" without moving a single muscle above his mouth.
** Martin once gave a similar (non)-reaction after returning from the spa. When asked why he didn't smile or anything after receiving good news, his response was that he thought he was smiling.
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* The main cast of ''[[Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG 1]]'' criticized ''themselves'' for the ending to "Thor's Chariot," where they only seemed mildly intrigued by the sight of a ship the size of a city appearing and eliminating an entire Goa'uld army in seconds. In behind-the-scenes interviews, they explained that none of them appreciated just how impressive (or big) the ship would look in the finished episode, so they did not think to put more awe or fear into their expressions.
** Interestingly, despite Teal'c often trying to be emotionless, it was often clear from his face alone what he was feeling at the moment. Also, as seen in interviews, [[Christopher Judge]] is much more lively off-screen (described by [[Amanda Tapping]] as a "jackass").
* Adorably subverted on Fox's ''[[Raising Hope]]''. Typically TV babies just stare or appear agitated, bored, and fussy, but the twins playing Hope always seem to be genuinely fascinated by what's going on around her (them). Their reactions always seem to fit the scenes.
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* Nearly everyone in the first ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' game, thanks to the phoned-in voice acting. Xelha, in particular, seems to have trouble expressing any strong emotion.
** Similarly, ''[[Arc Rise Fantasia]]''. Special mention to the character whose voice actor seems to have put his full emotive talents into sounding vaguely Brazilian, resulting in a sort of silly-clearly-fake-accent-monotone.
* In ''[[
* In ''Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'', Alec Snevar sounds like his actor was literally reading the script; there is basically zero effort put into making the character sound realistic.
* Infamously, Samus from ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'' speaks in a monotone throughout the entire game.
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* [[Suburban Knights|"Dude,]] [[...And Show It to You|that's my heart."]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oz88kJSdT6Y#t=38s Halifax's city flower is the broad-chested rose. Its city emotion is mild surprise. "Oh. Haha a puppy."]
* "nnnNo..." pretty much sums up Youtube user [http://www.youtube.com/user/TedCrusty TedCrusty's] videos.
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* Squidward in ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' sometimes is like this - for example, while there are vikings thrashing the Krusty Krab. But he usually doesn't care too much unless it's directly affecting him.
* Mildred from ''[[Scaredy Squirrel]].''
* A great example in The ''[[Justice League]]'' comes from [[The Joker]] of all people. When an explosive he had planted in Las Vegas seemingly fails to go off, The Joker watches a video replay in super slow motion that reveals {{spoiler|that The Flash had carried the device to the outskirts of town ''while it was exploding''}}. The Joker's only reaction was uttering a subdued "Huh."
** This is justified as the bomb {{spoiler|isn't his real plan.}}
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** Also [[British Royal Guards|the palace guards]] are supposed to be this way, and are often goaded by tourists hoping to get them to break face.
** And if you piss them off, indeed they just might "[[Megaton Punch|break face]]".
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7803389.stm The fourth cartoon on this page] shows South Africa's ex-president Thabo Mbeki in a range of emotions, though yet to show even one.
* A running joke concerning many Finnish athletes, who apparently have hard time showing emotion even when they win something big. A good, notable example is the F1 driver-turned-rally-driver-turned-F1-driver-again Kimi Räikkönen, parodied [http://i.imgur.com/pMY7o.jpg here]. Another one is ski jumper Janne Ahonen, the only man ever to win the 4-hills tournament five times. He even got a dubbed nickname, "The Mask", from the German press due to this.
** After Ahonen won the 4-hills for the 4th time, he was keeping his regular stoic face on during celebrations. A German reporter asked him to smile, just a little, for the camera. His response? [[Deadpan Snarker|"I am smiling."]]
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