Worst Actor in a Great Movie(s)

I recently watched Platoon and Wall Street. Both GREAT movies. And they both starred Charlie Sheen, one of the worst/most limited actors in Hollywood. Got me thinking, who is the worst actor/actress in a Great movie(s)? Charlie Sheen is slightly ahead of John Cazale (Fredo in The Godfather and Stan in The Deer Hunter). Any thoughts?

Ben Affleck in Good Will Hunting?
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix?
Mark Hamill in Empire Strikes Back?
Nick Cage in National Treasure?

Chevy Chase - Vegas Vacation / Caddyshack

Leonardo DiCaprio - Titanic

I don't think Nick Cage is a terrible actor (although I don't think he's Oscar material either), he just can't tell his agent 'no' to the plethora of terrible movies he appears in. I think he has done a commendable job in a few flicks, most notably 'Leaving Las Vegas' and 'Lord of War'.

Completely agree with the other ones mentioned (by RDW4), although it should be noted that Mark Hamill later became a wonderful voice actor.

Cazale was actually a pretty good actor. He just had the (mis)fortune of only appearing in only great movies. (All five of his films were nominated for best picture). You have to have some talent to wed Meryl Streep :).

Usually the problem is a great actor in a bad movie. A great movie by definition has to have good performances, at least by the majority of its actors. I thought Martin Sheen in _Apocalypse Now_ was pretty limited -- Dennis Hopper and Marlon Brando carried that movie. Maybe Michael J. Fox in _Back to the Future_. A great story or direction can sometimes overcome a talentless cast -- but I can't think of a good example of that right now.

Edit: Sly Stallone in _Rocky?_. But maybe he wasn't acting!

Cazale was going to be my first choice as well, but I do wonder if he was cast in parts that required the kind of static/one-trick-pony kind of acting he did, and it wasn't bad acting. Who knows?

If forced to just one pick, I'll say Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction.

It is indicative of a bigger trend of good directors, but mediocre actors, casting themselves in their own movies. Spike Lee is a particular abuser of this privilege, in my opinion.

The guy who played Frodo in the Ring trilogy. All he did for eight+ hours of movie was furrow his brow!
Cheers,
Alan Shank

Keir Dullea may not be the "worst" actor, but he probably has the international record for being the least known actor in one of the most famous roles in film history (Dave in 2001 Space Odyssey).

Kevin Costner in The Untouchables. A great script (by David Mamet, no less), and I always enjoy any movie about the Roaring 20s and gangsters, but Costner as Elliott Ness was an un-emotive wooden board. And he makes Robert DeNiro's performance (as Al Capone) seem even more hammy and over-the-top than it already is.

Not that I think Costner is completely terrible in everything, BTW...I thought he actually did an excellent job in 2008's little-seen Swing Vote.

Quote: OneAngryDwarf

Kevin Costner in The Untouchables. A great script (by David Mamet, no less), and I always enjoy any movie about the Roaring 20s and gangsters, but Costner as Elliott Ness was an un-emotive wooden board. And he makes Robert DeNiro's performance (as Al Capone) seem even more hammy and over-the-top than it already is.

Not that I think Costner is completely terrible in everything, BTW...I thought he actually did an excellent job in 2008's little-seen Swing Vote.

I thought Costner was very good in "Bull Durham", which he did not write or direct. He is pretty terrible in his own films, like "Water World".
Cheers,
Alan Shank

Quote: Wizard

If forced to just one pick, I'll say Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction.

It is indicative of a bigger trend of good directors, but mediocre actors, casting themselves in their own movies. Spike Lee is a particular abuser of this privilege, in my opinion.

Yes! Also, every movie Woody Allen has been in that is considered "good." Jeez, he is a horrible actor. Great director, though.

I agree Costner is pretty terrible, and I also liked _The Untouchables_. He seems to have found his stride, lately, though. I thought his performance in _The Upside of Anger_ was quite good. He is just not the leading hero/action man type. (How did he get popular in the first place?)

Quote: rdw4potus

Keanu Reeves in The Matrix?

No question mark needed. This is the correct response. Earth-shattering movie. So good, in fact, that it almost completely conceals the jaw-dropping inadequacies of its lead actor.

Out of the 100 biggest boxoffice draws (adjusted for inflation), I have to think that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had the worst acting. I liked those books very much and read them several times as a kid, but I really hated the movies.

The later STAR WARS movies were excruciating to watch. I have never seen House of Wax all the way through but it is pretty bad.
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1 Gone with the Wind 1939^
2 Star Wars 1977^
3 The Sound of Music 1965
4 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial 1982^
5 The Ten Commandments 1956
6 Titanic 1997
7 Jaws 1975
8 Doctor Zhivago 1965
9 The Exorcist 1973^
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937^
11 101 Dalmatians 1961^
12 The Empire Strikes Back 1980^
13 Ben-Hur 1959
14 Avatar 2009
15 Return of the Jedi 1983^
16 The Sting 1973
17 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981^
18 Jurassic Park 1993
19 The Graduate 1967^
20 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 1999
21 Fantasia 1941^
22 The Godfather 1972^
23 Forrest Gump 1994
24 Mary Poppins 1964^
25 The Lion King 1994^
26 Grease 1978^
27 Thunderball 1965
28 The Dark Knight 2008
29 The Jungle Book 1967^
30 Sleeping Beauty 1959^
31 Shrek 2 2004
32 Ghostbusters 1984^
33 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969
34 Love Story 1970
35 Spider-Man 2002
36 Independence Day 1996
37 Home Alone 1990
38 Pinocchio 1940^
39 Cleopatra (1963) 1963
40 Beverly Hills Cop 1984
41 Goldfinger 1964
42 Airport 1970
43 American Graffiti 1973
44 The Robe 1953
45 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 2006
46 Around the World in 80 Days 1956
47 Bambi 1942^
48 Blazing Saddles 1974
49 Batman 1989
50 The Bells of St. Mary's 1945
51 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003
52 The Towering Inferno 1974
53 Spider-Man 2 2004
54 My Fair Lady 1964
55 The Greatest Show on Earth 1952
56 National Lampoon's Animal House 1978^
57 The Passion of the Christ 2004^
58 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 2005
59 Back to the Future 1985
60 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002^
61 The Sixth Sense 1999
62 Superman 1978
63 Tootsie 1982
64 Smokey and the Bandit 1977
65 Finding Nemo 2003
66 West Side Story 1961
67 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001
68 Lady and the Tramp 1955^
69 Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977^
70 Lawrence of Arabia 1962^
71 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975
72 Rocky 1976
73 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
74 The Poseidon Adventure 1972
75 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001^
76 Twister 1996
77 Men in Black 1997
78 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957
79 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009
80 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 1963
81 Swiss Family Robinson 1960
82 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975
83 M.A.S.H. 1970
84 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984
85 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones 2002^
86 Mrs. Doubtfire 1993
87 Aladdin 1992
88 Ghost 1990
89 Duel in the Sun 1946
90 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 2003
91 House of Wax 1953
92 Rear Window 1954^
93 The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997
94 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989
95 Spider-Man 3 2007
96 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991
97 Sergeant York 1941
98 How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2000
99 Toy Story 2 1999^
100 Top Gun 1986

The casting of Shelley Duval as Jack Nickolson's wife in the "The Shining" always bugged me. She's a bit wooden, also a bit of an odd character anyway. The movie worked for me anyway though despite that.

There's also actors who almost always bring something to a mediocre movies. I think I've almost always thought Anthony Hopkins brings something to a role, even if the movie isn't up to par.

If you want to talk about wooden, we have to mention Kristin Stewart in Twilight. After all the ranting and raving from different female friends of mine I gave it a chance. I rented Twilight, but was aghast because of her horrible wooden acting "skills". Although she did improve in the second movie.

Quote: rdw4potus

Keanu Reeves in The Matrix?

I thought the title was Worst actor in a greeat movie, not worst actor in a bad movie.