When a performance doesn’t work in a movie, an audience’s first reaction is usually to blame the actor. However, this isn’t always entirely fair.
Sometimes, a script is so awkwardly written that not even a multi-Oscar winner could make it sound believable. Sometimes, a director guides actors towards a vision that sounded better in their heads.
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Finally, we have to face the painful truth that sometimes they should’ve gone with a different actor. No matter how talented and versatile an actor is, they’ll eventually find a role they’re not right for.
Unfortunately, these stars found that out the hard way.
Sophie Turner — “X-Men: Apocalypse”
I take no pleasure in coming for Sansa Stark like this, but I’m honestly struggling to remember anything about this character’s personality.
Like, Nightcrawler was shy and anxious, Cyclops was lovelorn and scared of his powers, and Quicksilver was the best character in the movie.
But Jean just kind of explained her powers and then screamed a bit when she went Phoenix. I need more than that.
Cole Sprouse — “Riverdale”
I’ll give him points for being more likable than Archie, but if you have to say you’re a weird loner, you’re probably not very convincing as one.
Speaking of, I can’t be the only one who doesn’t buy this kid as a gang member. The Southside Serpents really thought he’d be a good fit?
Benedict Cumberbatch — “The Grinch”
On paper, this should’ve worked fine because he had the loathing and self-isolation down as Smaug. Sure, it’s hard to top how hard Jim Carrey went when he played the Grinch, but a grumpier Smaug would have fine.
What we got, however, was a soft, gentle voice that really doesn’t scream, “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.” It doesn’t scream anything , as a matter of fact.
Zendaya — “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
Some people can pull off “too cool for school,” but Zendaya’s strengths are a lot more present when her character lets her be more energetic. In her turn as Michelle Jones, she ended up crossing the wrong side of that fine line between “lowkey” and “flat.”
Going outside her comfort zone was an admirable ambition , but it doesn’t always pay off.
Jennifer Lawrence — “X-Men: Days Of Future Past”
Mystique’s character is usually defined by her air of sophisticated mystery — her motivations are always just unclear enough to keep us guessing all the way.
However, Jennifer Lawrence plays her with such a rawness that we know exactly what she’s trying to do and she ends up seeming more like J-Law than the actual character.
That can work for a lot of roles, but this isn’t one of them.
Scarlett Johansson — “Ghost In The Shell”
I don’t know whether this comes down to her or the director, but it seems like someone got so caught up in having Scarlett play a robot that they ignored the fact that Major Matoko Kusanagi passes as a human because of her fiery, not-at-all robotic personality.
Oh, and they call her Major Mila Killian in this. I’m sure that has nothing to do with the casting choice.
Jared Leto — “Suicide Squad”
According to The Atlantic , Jared figured that watching actual crime footage and mailing his castmates live rats would get him into The Joker’s twisted mindset.
Hopefully, the style-over-substance performance that came from this taught him that pulling outrageous stunts in the name of method acting is no substitute for actually exploring the details of a character’s personality and deciding how to interpret them.
Topher Grace — “Spider-Man 3”
Say what you want about Venom , but the way that Tom Hardy built a distinct, credible personality for Eddie Brock and another one for Venom and made them fit together basically saved the movie.
If you go back to Topher’s performance, though, it’s pretty hard not to see it as “Eric Foreman gets a symbiote,” and nothing makes Venom less menacing than that.
Sofia Coppola — “The Godfather: Part III”
Let’s get this out of the way: Sofia’s performance as Michael Corleone’s daughter is flat enough to take all the wind out of what should be a climactic and tragic scene.
But it gets hard to place much blame on her for that when you find out, as Entertainment Weekly did, that she was a last-minute replacement after Winona Ryder fell ill and she hadn’t even expressed much interest in becoming an actor.
Hayden Christensen — “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones”
Speaking of bad performances that aren’t entirely the actor’s fault, we have Hayden’s turn as Anakin Skywalker, which waffles between flat monotones and abrasive (if understandable in context) whining.
His style worked well when he played a disgraced journalist in Shattered Glass , but it’s a much tougher fit in an action-packed space opera. Especially when it’s weighed down by the script’s painfully awkward dialogue.
The actors were just doing their best , OK?
Johnny Depp — “The Lone Ranger”
It was bad enough that this performance came off like Johnny was trying to see how many times he could get away with rehashing Jack Sparrow, but the cringe factor was not helped by the decision to cast a white actor as a Native American character.
In short, nothing about this worked.
Denise Richards — “The World Is Not Enough”
The stilted, expressionless way she delivered her lines would have been hard to get past at the best of times, but it definitely made it impossible to believe that her character was a nuclear physicist.
There’s a difference between acting and reciting the script.
Michael C. Hall — “The Crown”
This man’s performances are usually loaded with emotional depth and fascinating acting choices, so it’s unclear how his turn as President Kennedy ended up sounding so stiff and awkward.
This might have worked if he was still being Dexter, but it did nothing to capture JFK’s easy charm and confidence.
Gary Oldman — “Tiptoes”
This embarrassing movie had Gary Oldman star as a little person. Not only does that decision come off as inescapably icky, but it left Peter Dinklage in a pretty thankless supporting role just to keep up this bizarre casting farce.
Keanu Reeves — “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”
Keanu’s attempt at a British accent not only failed to impress, but it also dragged down everything else about his performance.
After all, when his speaking style is naturally halting, that means the scenes where he professes his love for Mina Harker will be too.
Russel Crowe — “Les Misérables”
I’m hardly the first person to talk about how out-of-place and inappropriately forceful Russell’s singing voice was for pretty much the entire movie, but miscasting really is the perfect way to put it.
It’s not that his singing is necessarily awful. It just really didn’t work in the kind of musical that Les Misérables is. If he was in a rock opera, his performance probably wouldn’t be so infamous.
Cameron Diaz — “Gangs of New York”
She’s not the only one in this movie with a questionable Irish accent. However, it becomes a lot more noticeable when her character doesn’t have much to do besides stealing a guy’s watch and getting knives thrown at her by Daniel Day Lewis.
It also doesn’t help when Daniel’s accent is thoroughly researched and immaculately performed.
Jaden Smith — “After Earth”
It’s not like After Earth was a good movie in general, but the viewing experience definitely wasn’t helped by watching Jaden go from whining at his dad to throwing tantrums at his dad for the bulk of the runtime.
Will sounded like he was phoning it in, but the over-the-top angst from Jaden didn’t balance it as well as they probably hoped.
Shannon Purser — “Sierra Burgess Is A Loser”
The problems with Sierra Burgess have more to do with how the character is written than how she’s acted, but Purser’s charm as Barb in Stranger Things almost works against her here.
Her thankless attempts to try to make us feel for this character just makes it seem like the movie’s excusing her loathsome behavior even more. Poor Shannon couldn’t win here.
Sean Connery — “Highlander”
Considering we’re talking about a movie where a Scotsman learns to become an immortal warrior, you’d think Sean Connery would fit perfectly. Unfortunately, he’s not the one playing the Scotsman.
Instead, he’s an ancient Egyptian who spent centuries in Spain. And which accent is he using? Why, Scottish, of course.
Kevin Costner — “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”
Here we have another case of an American actor struggling to use a British accent. At least we can give Keanu credit for trying to stick to his attempt to the bitter end.
Kevin Costner, on the other hand, can’t seem to go a scene without slipping in and out of the accent. At least his performance wasn’t as bad as the Bryan Adams song they used to promote this movie…
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan — “Fifty Shades of Grey”
According to Cosmopolitan , director James Foley claimed that Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan like each other in real life.
That would probably come as a shock to a lot of viewers because their lack of on-screen chemistry definitely gave us the opposite impression. When a movie centers around a couple that apparently falls in love despite never seeming like they want to be in the same room together, that’s a problem.
Alexandra Daddario — “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
It’s hard enough to get into a role when you’re seven years older than your character is supposed to be, but it turns out that nobody in charge realized her character was supposed to be blonde until the sequel.
This all seems petty, but it speaks volumes about the kind of support Alexandra didn’t have as she tried to navigate this character.
Baby Doll — “American Sniper”
A lot of pressure can be on you when the baby that’s supposed to be in the scene gets sick and their replacement never shows up, but that’s no excuse for this utterly lifeless performance.
Not only did Bradley Cooper tell Ellen about his disbelief at working with a plastic baby, but he even had to move his fake co-star’s arm with his thumb during the scene.
You’ll never work in this town again, baby!