# Great actors who've whored themselves out in bad movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690 "2009-12-10T03:40:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/1 "2009-12-10T03:40:52Z")
The recent Steven Seagal threads got me thinking about “On Deadly Ground,” a horrible movie (even by the standards of Seagal flicks) that’s nevertheless worth a viewing if for no other reason than to see Michael Caine hamming it up as a corrupt oilman in one of his “I know this movie is going to be a steaming pile of shite, but don’t care so long as I get a big paycheck” roles. He was also in “Jaws: The Revenge.” I don’t remember his exact quote about that movie, but he said something along lines of he’d never seen it, but he had seen the house his paycheck from it had bought and it was beautiful. So what other great actors have whored themselves out in really shitty movies? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/2 "2009-12-10T03:44:31Z")
The absolute king of this phenomenon is **Jon Voight.** Seriously…_Karate Dog?_ Actually, this [fight scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hywK7SsqE8Y) is pretty good entertainment and I’m sure Voight laughed all the way to the bank. I’ve often wondered if he is deeply in debt or something. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/3 "2009-12-10T03:44:51Z")
How about Laurence Olivier in _Clash of the Titans_? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/4 "2009-12-10T03:45:48Z")
Does Sir Alec count in Star Wars? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/5 "2009-12-10T03:57:59Z")
I’ve heard that Donald Sutherland was once asked why he appeared in so many poor movies, to which he replied “I have a big wine cellar”. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/6 "2009-12-10T04:08:18Z")
Orson Welles appeared in a lot of bad movies to finance his own films. Laurence Olivier was very honest about appearing in a lot of bad films so he could leave a large estate to his family when he died. Anthony Quinn appeared in a thinly veiled account of Jackie and Aristotle Onassis because she had been rude to him once (“The Tycoon”). Groucho Marx appeared in some horrible movies in the 1940s and 1950s. Unlike Chico (who gambled his money away), Groucho was a tightwad so it wasn’t money. I can understand why Jimmy Cagney came out of retirement to appear in “Ragtime”, which was a disappointment. Plus people around him felt he needed to act again to recharge himself. But why did he appear in a horrible TV movie “Terrible Joe Moran” as an aging boxer (Katherine Hepburn rejected it when it was pitched to her as a tennis player)? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/7 "2009-12-10T04:54:03Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The absolute king of this phenomenon is **Jon Voight.** Seriously…_Karate Dog?_ Actually, this [fight scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hywK7SsqE8Y) is pretty good entertainment and I’m sure Voight laughed all the way to the bank. I’ve often wondered if he is deeply in debt or something. Wow. Just…wow. :smack:😃 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/8 "2009-12-10T05:01:34Z")
Anthony Hopkins in FREEJACK Sean Connery in half his film catalogue _L_ ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/9 "2009-12-10T05:09:37Z")
Michael Madsen and F Murray Abraham. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/10 "2009-12-10T05:14:12Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Does Sir Alec count in Star Wars? Based on what I’ve read, I’m pretty sure that he thought so. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/11 "2009-12-10T05:47:59Z")
Ben Kingsley in _Bloodrayne_. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/12 "2009-12-10T06:29:19Z")
Has no one yet mentioned Robert DeNiro, one of the finest actors of his generation (seriously, watch _Raging Bull_) who has proceeded to appear in an almost unbroken string of craptastic movies in the last decade for no reason other than to pad his retirement fund and finance his TriBeCa productions and film festival? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/13 "2009-12-10T06:42:28Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The absolute king of this phenomenon is **Jon Voight.** Seriously…_Karate Dog?_ Actually, this [fight scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hywK7SsqE8Y) is pretty good entertainment and I’m sure Voight laughed all the way to the bank. I’ve often wondered if he is deeply in debt or something. Don’t forget _ **Baby Geniuses 2** _ ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/14 "2009-12-10T06:42:33Z")
I actually think _Meet the Parents_ is one of the best comedies, mostly because of DeNiro’s acting. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/15 "2009-12-10T06:49:29Z")
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Oscar nominee [Gary Busey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnWpQL53ncM#t=6m30s). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/16 "2009-12-10T06:56:24Z")
Did someone mention [F](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTEgUhQruys)? His friends call him F. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/17 "2009-12-10T07:00:15Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I actually think _Meet the Parents_ is one of the best comedies, mostly because of DeNiro’s acting. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xRDmk7iHRDU/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/xRDmk7iHRDU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&start=9 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/18 "2009-12-10T07:06:27Z")
“People ask me why I’m playing in this picture. The answer is simple: [Money, dear boy.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MoneyDearBoy) I’m like a vintage wine. You have to drink me quickly before I turn sour. I’m almost used up now and I can feel the end coming. That’s why I’m taking money now. I’ve got nothing to leave my family but the money I can make from films. Nothing is beneath me if it pays well. I’ve earned the right to damn well grab whatever I can in the time I’ve got left.” —Laurence Olivier, on his role in Inchon ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/19 "2009-12-10T07:07:45Z")
Even [Dame Helen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wuqnTUoavs) is not immune. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/20 "2009-12-10T07:13:05Z")
Christopher Walken in _Balls of Fury_. As to the OP, this should be an award in Michael Caine’s name, since he’s about as big a film whore as any out there, and to my understanding, unapologetic about it. He’s occasionally in a good film out of sheer numbers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690.md?page=2)