Great actors/actresses totally wasted in a movie?

[Duck Duck Goose]

I just got done watching Apt Pupil. I am a huge Ian McKellan fan. I will pay money to watch him in anything, even including a by-the-numbers Stephen King movie. It wasn't a BAD movie, and his performance was not unintelligent, but I sat there wondering, "Why is he doing this?" Well, obviously, for the money.

Then I sat there thinking about all the other fine actors who for various reasons got stuck in a movie that made no use of their talents whatsoever. The most egregious example I could think of was Sir Laurence Olivier with Marilyn Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl. Also, there was Meryl Streep in that F/X extravaganza with Goldie Hawn, Death Becomes Her. You sit there wondering, "Why?"

Anybody else want to nominate something?

[vandal]

Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite actors. I'll watch any of his movies.

Then came along The Wedding Singer and Big Daddy. I saw both of these films and could not understand why Steve took on the roles he played, let alone acted in the movies to begin with.

[voguevixen]

Sam Neill, who played the husband in The Piano and starred in several hi-brow type films. Then all of a sudden he started turning up in utter crap movies like Mouth of Madness and Event Horizon. No idea why he would do that sort of thing since it's pretty obvious he's not a hack who needs to grab the cash before the public tires of him (a la Jim Carrey, who has had amazing staying power, actually).

[divemaster]

I bet Peter O'Toole regretted appearing in Caligula once he saw how Bob Guccione re-edited the movie to add the porno stuff.

[Goose]

Quentin Tarantino in From Dusk 'Til Dawn. Actually he sucks at acting, but is a great director and I wondered why he would have done that movie. It wasn't terrible, but how do you go from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction to a horror flick?

[¦:•)]

Anthony Hopkins in Mission Impossible 2.
He went "uncredited" for a reason. Either Jim Carey or Woody Allen could have read the same few lines and it would have made no difference to the audience.

I think he was there as a favor to someone.

[Danielinthewolvesden]

Sean Connery in "First Knght", man did that stink, and even Sean couldn't save it.

[RealityChuck]

I always felt that Cindy Williams -- a fine actress in The Conversation ("He'd kill us if he had the chance.") completely wasted her talent in Laverne and Shirley.

Toward the end of his career, Lawrence Olivier was famed for taking anything and every part coming his way, including in Inchon.

[Torgo]

I bet Peter O'Toole regretted appearing in Caligula...

I'll bet he didn't exactly brag about "King Ralph" either.

Orson Welles (co-starring with James Franciscus and <gulp> ED MCMAHON) in the 1981 Pia Zadora vehicle "Butterfly."

[SPOOFE]

Harrison Ford in Six Days, Seven Nights. He was such a flat character in that, when he's normally dynamic and interesting... never saw Sabrina, but I haven't heard any good things about that, either...

Samuel L. Jackson in The Phantom Menace. He's usually a great actor, but that role simply wasn't for him (I don't know how many "Use th' Force, muthahf***er" jokes I've heard...)...

And I always felt sorry for anyone who starred in a film with Pauly Shore (I gets them Shore-licks in whenever I can!)

[DRY]

I bet Peter O'Toole regretted appearing in Caligula once he saw how Bob Guccione re-edited the movie to add the porno stuff.


Umm--who DIDN'T regret appearing in Caligula? I doubt Malcolm McDowell or the late John Gielgud point to it with pride on their respective resumes, unless it's to say "My career actually survived this"

[divemaster]

Malcom McDowell always struck me as someone who relished strange or offbeat roles/movies. He's certainly been in a few.

I had forgotten about Gielgud.

[annalamerino]

Catherine Deneuve in Dancer in the Dark
with Björk, winner at the recent Cannes Film Festival.

She is such a good actress, but not as a factory drudge. She's simply too sophisticated.

[Eve]

I always thought putting Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was a disaster. Yes, yes, she LOOKED great, but was totally miscast as a bubbleheaded boho groupie. Truman Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe for the part, and she would have been MUCH better.

As you all know, I worship at the Giant Joan Crawford Head, and she was wasted in so many crappy films. She was capable of great work—see her in "Rain," "Dancing Lady," "Mildred Pierce," "Possessed"—and she wound up in . . . I can barely say it . . . "Trog."

[kunilou]

A special award should go to stars who do cameos in bad movies either as a favor to the director or to get a paycheck.

Samuel L. Jackson in Phantom Menace

Walter Matthau in Earthquake

Gene Hackman in Superman

Rod Steiger in practically everything he's done for the last 20 years.

Dianne Keaton in Father of the Bride (she had one scene where she was given the opportunity to be funny, and she seized it -- which just made the rest of the movie look more pitiful)

Glenn Close in Mars Attacks.

William H. Macey in Mystery Men

[Arnold Winkelried]

Coming to a theatre near you, this summer:

Robert DeNiro in "Rocky and Bullwinkle."

[Bullroar]

Gotta be Woody Allen in anything serious, like "Scenes in a Mall", or that jazz one. What a waste of comic timing.

[obfusciatrist]

Michael Caine - Jaws 4: The Revenge (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093300)

[evilbeth]

Kate Winslet in Titanic.

[JavaMaven1]

Nicholas Cage in anything after he won his oscar--has that guy gone on a downslide or what?

The cast for Wings of The Dove--a stellar cast (starring Helena Bonham-Carter) bogged down with a tedious script.

What was that Bette Midler/Nathan Lane/Stockard Channing movie in which Midler is playing Jacqueline Susann? They should have had Stockard Channing playing Jacqueline--she would have been a far better choice.

[DRY]

Malcom McDowell always struck me as someone who relished strange or offbeat roles/movies. He's certainly been in a few.

I had forgotten about Gielgud.


McDowell probably does relish strange or offbeat roles, but I think Caligula sets the bar much, much higher. And I've only seen the Cinemax expurgiated version (no faked porn, no sword thrust explodes bladder scene)

[SPOOFE]

You know what always disappointed me? Mark Hamill in Village of the Damned. It always left me scratching my head and thinking, "Luke Skywalker, a preacher?"

[Typo Negative]

What was that Bette Midler/Nathan Lane/Stockard Channing movie in which Midler is playing Jacqueline Susann? They should have had Stockard Channing playing Jacqueline--she would have been a far better choice.


That horrible film was 'Isn't she great?'. Awful.

[Joe_Cool]

Sean Connery in "First Knght", man did that stink, and even Sean couldn't save it.

Speaking of sean connery, has anyone seen Highlander 2: the Crackfest?

Now there was a movie that never should have been made.

[Ellen Cherry]

What about Jack Nicholson in "Wolf." Was that movie ever a waste of time! The idea of Jack Nicholason as a werewolf isn't a bad one, but boy pee-yoo did that movie stink.

[SuaSponte]

Gene Hackman in Superman




Gene Hackman in Superman was GREAT. Ditto for Superman II. He was the best part of two decent/pretty good flicks.

My favorite great actors/crappy movie of all time was Ben Kingsley and Forrest Whitaker in "Species". Two superb actors in a by-the-numbers aliens attack flick designed primarily to showcase Natasha Henridge's (sp?) (fantastic) body. What I loved about the film is that Kingsley and Whitaker played it straight, putting all of their considerable acting skills into mouthing some of the dumbest lines ever scripted.

V.

[Duck Duck Goose]

Thank you, SuaSponte, for reminding me about Species. Ben Kingsley is another one of my favorite actors who seems to do a lot of "whatever they'll pay me for", like that Alice in Wonderland thing that was on TV, but he always gives 100% and never just walks through it. See also Sneakers with Robert Redford. The only thing that I've ever seen him in that I've actually been embarrassed for him was Harem from I think 1985, with Nastassia Kinski, what a stinker. Nobody came out of that one alive. And that was the only thing I've seen him in that he himself looked a little bit embarrassed, especially in one of the so-called "love scenes".

[tiggeril]

Helena Bonham-Carter in Fight Club. She did a lovely (as it were) job as Ophelia in Hamlet (even though Mel Gibson would NOT be my first choice as the Prince), and then she went and slutted herself out for a "Hey! Look! Brad Pitt's abs!" film. Blech

[TVeblen]

Gene Hackman saved the Superman movie! He's a true actor, master of his craft.

There are so many bizarre miscastings it's hard to limit, but here's a hearty agreement for Audrey Hepburn over Marilyn Monroe in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Also notable: Michael Caine in Hurry, Sundown; it screwed the pooch all way around; Jane Fonda and cockney Michael Caine as languid Southerners??

Clint Eastwood in Bridges of Madison County; hey, I was a guest, I didn't choose the movie.

Whazzis name--hunk du jour--as Lestat in Interview w/ a vampire. Daniel Day Lewis could have done something w/ it, or even Johnny Depp. Once again, a good book, screwed.

Veb

[HomeSlice]

Steve Martin and Heather "yummy" Graham in Bowfinger.

[SPOOFE]

Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man.

[Shirley Ujest]

Gene Kelly in Xanadu.

[Odieman]

Jack Nicholson in Batman.

[JBENZ]

Two Words: "The Avengers"

Sean Connery, Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes in the world's dumbest flick. If Uma had a nickel for everytime somebody said "She ain't no Diana Rigg" she'd be Bill Gates. Hell...she'd have 20 or 30 bucks just from me.


But the absolute worst of all time was Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand in "Christopher Columbus".

[CalMeacham]

Chico Marx as a monk talking with Christopher Columbus in "The Story of Mankind". His character doesn't even have a name! He has not one funny line! What was the point?

TSOM has got to be one of the weirdest flicks ever made. I'd love to get a copy on videotape so I can show it at my annual Bad Film Festival. It's based on a popular history book by van Loon, and the casting of this movie is epically strange. Vincent Price aqs "Mr. Scratch" (the Devil) and Ronald Colman as "The Spirit of Mankind" make some sense, but why cast Peter Lorre as Nero, or Groucho Marx as Peter Stuyvesant, or Harpo Marx as Isaac Newton (!) (!!!!!) But at least Groucho gets to do some wheeling and dealing with the indians, and Harpo gets to play the harp after getting hit on the head with an apple (don't ask). But then why put Chico in a role where he can't do anything? Even his fake-Italian accent is wrong for what is supposed to be a Spaniard. Maybe they just didn't want to break up the set, so they felt that had to put him somewhere.

Maybe they can splice together scenes of Tom Selleck's King Ferdinand with Chico's to get a complete bad Columbus epic.

[annalamerino]

I just saw Toy Story 2 again (another birthday request. At least it's at the $1 matinee now).

I felt sorry for Bo Peep(Annie Potts). She's the cutest character, and they gave her nothing to do, not even tag along for Woody's rescue, just kiss him at the end.

Not only did Jessy (Joan Cusack) get all of his attention, Barbie (Jodi Benson) completely upstaged both of them.

Bo and Jessy both need better parts before they sign on for "Toy Story - the Prequel".