Ms. Armstrong deals with that difficulty by casting attractive actors to breathe life into shapeless roles.

In each movie, Amy and the man she says was her lover, Joey Buttafuoco, are played by actors far more attractive than the real people.

It floats comfortably midstream, coasting along on the strength of attractive actors and visuals.

Or maybe people just like attractive actors and fast cars.

Mr. Leonard is an attractive actor, and he handles the inner tumult with some versatility.

He said well-known, attractive and authoritative middle-aged female actors willing to commit five or seven grueling years to one role are not that common.

And when they are, probably in 13 episodes or fewer, these attractive actors may find better roles.

Mr. Chen, working with attractive young actors, has done nothing to mitigate the eroticism, to judge from rehearsals seen in Shanghai.

A nimble, attractive actor, he made an affable, spirited bohemian painter.

The four attractive actors rarely manage to make their intense discussions about guilt and desire seem like anything beyond advanced scene work.