Actors who clearly wanted and put their hearts into the role.... but it just didn't work

[Temporary_Name]

@Little_Nemo

-snip -

The Bank Job failed for a similar reason. Jason Statham played Terry Leather, who was supposed to be a lowlife criminal who’s in over his head trying to pull off a big bank robbery. But this is Jason Stathom; we’ve seen him in too many movies where he’s a typical action hero doing impossible things without breaking a sweat. We can’t accept him as a character who’s struggling to accomplish something.

The first thing I remember seeing Statham in was Snatch, where he was in over his head. I have not seen a great deal of his other work and I still believe that is his quintessential role. Since I have not seen The Bank Job my views are suspect but I have no problem imagining the actor being a victim of circumstances beyond his control. And to this day I am uneasily aware of any man who keeps pigs (even moreso if he is Chinese since watching Deadwood).

[Gyrate]

@Temporary_Name

The first thing I remember seeing Statham in was Snatch, where he was in over his head. I have not seen a great deal of his other work and I still believe that is his quintessential role. Since I have not seen The Bank Job my views are suspect but I have no problem imagining the actor being a victim of circumstances beyond his control. And to this day I am uneasily aware of any man who keeps pigs (even moreso if he is Chinese since watching Deadwood).

I’ve seen the Transporter films (which are very silly) and Death Race (which is just gratuitous action, crashes and explosions). Statham knows his niche and tends to stay within it, even if it means making films like Crank. That said, he sends up his traditional tough-guy character beautifully in Spy, so he’s got that going for him.

[Annie-Xmas]

Anyone who saw Michael Crawford in Broadway’s Dance of the Vampire will agree with me: Worst miscasting in the history of theatre. Not only was Crawford dreadful, but Steve Barton, who originated the role in Germany, went totally downhill when he didn’t get the role, and ended up overdosing on his prescription medications.

[Little_Nemo]

@Gyrate

I think Damon does a good job of playing an indecisive loser but yeah, Giamatti would have been so much better in the role. However, the failure of the film wasn’t Damon’s fault; it was a film with a good cast, an interesting premise and no coherent plot. Giamatti wouldn’t have saved that.

I agree the movie had other problems, mainly as you noted in the plot. I feel the filmmakers had at least four different ideas about what direction the movie should be going in and couldn’t commit to any one of them.

[JohnT]

@russian_heel

Watching “Hoffa” starring Jack Nicholson. Now this might not be the greatest example because the writing and direction is already poor, but surely JackNicholson as Jimmy Hoffa is a home run, no?

Er, no. Despite an earnest performance, Jack just does not pull it off either. All you can think of is it’s Jack Nicholson with a funny haircut playing Jimmy Hoffa and it just does not work despite the best efforts of a generational talent.

Let’s put it this way: Danny Devito steals the show!

What other movies are there where the actor tries hard but still falls short? The better the actor with the biggest turkey, the better! But remember: the actor had to put his heart and soul into the part.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I never followed the production, so he could’ve acted like a diva and phoned it in, but I think Hayden Christensen sincerely tried to do the best job he could as Anakin Skywalker.

[KneadToKnow]

@JohnT

I think Hayden Christensen sincerely tried to do the best job he could as Anakin Skywalker.

That’s what we were all afraid of.

[JohnT]

N/m

[RickJay]

@JohnT

I never followed the production, so he could’ve acted like a diva and phoned it in, but I think Hayden Christensen sincerely tried to do the best job he could as Anakin Skywalker.

No actor who ever lived could have pulled it off.

Everyone picks on Hayden. Watch Natalie Portman in “The Phantom Menace.” She is absolutely dreadful; it’s like watching a person act at gunpoint. It’s one of the worst acting jobs I’ve ever seen, and it’s NATALIE PORTMAN. The woman can act, as plainly demonstrated in (insert names of two dozen movies.) No one else is really any good either - Liam Neeson isn’t good, Ewan MacGregor isn’t good. I mean, either you can believe all these professional actors became incompetent at the same time and then magically rediscovered their talents once they moved on to the next project, or maybe you can believe it wasn’t the actors.

[thelurkinghorror]

Yeah, Christensen was getting praise for his roles in other movies, e.g. Shattered Glass. Sometimes it’s bad acting, sometimes even a good actor suffers under bad direction.

[D_Odds]

@Gyrate

I’ve seen the Transporter films (which are very silly) and Death Race (which is just gratuitous action, crashes and explosions). Statham knows his niche and tends to stay within it, even if it means making films like Crank. That said, he sends up his traditional tough-guy character beautifully in Spy, so he’s got that going for him.

Statham’s first role (IIRC, off the top of my head) was in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, a wonderful comic caper by Guy Ritchie. He wasn’t an action hero in any sense, was continually in over his head, and was certainly out of the niche for which he became known afterwards. Vinnie Jones was the tough guy in that, which may have been only his 2nd or 3rd credit.

[Gyrate]

@D_Odds

Statham’s first role (IIRC, off the top of my head) was in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, a wonderful comic caper by Guy Ritchie. He wasn’t an action hero in any sense, was continually in over his head, and was certainly out of the niche for which he became known afterwards. Vinnie Jones was the tough guy in that, which may have been only his 2nd or 3rd credit.

True, but I liked Statham in that - the character was in over his head, not Statham himself. Jones was alright but his interminable speech about the replica gun should have been trimmed down by about 75% (which is not Jones’ fault).

[LC_Strawhouse]

The 1990 movie I Love You To Death has an all star cast (including multiple Oscar winners) grotesquely hamming up a story about a small time New Jersey domestic dispute. Even worse, I think it was based on a true story to boot.