# Great actors who've whored themselves out in bad movies

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690>\
**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:** 4

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**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/61 "2009-12-10T17:55:53Z")

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Years ago it was observed to me that British actors were far less picky than American actors in choosing their projects. American actors were described as far more concerned with “managing their career & image” than Brits. Whereas the British actors just considered it work. If it was in a quality project then all the better. This was the time of Michael Caine (Jaws 4) and Laurence Olivier ([The Betsy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077228/)!).

I can’t say I have been dis-abused of this notion altogether regarding the Brits (Ben Kingsley - Love Guru). But I think that American actors have softened up just a bit about taking roles for the work, and sometimes for the ironic pleasure of playing on their own celebrity & image (Brando - [The Freshman](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099615/), DeNiro - Fockers).

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**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, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/62 "2009-12-10T18:05:35Z")

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> [@joebuck20](#):
>
> I’m surprised no one has mentioned James Caan. He’s been in a lot of crap movies, especially in the past 15 years or so. But unlike many great actors who just ham it up or phone it in for their “whoring” movies, he always delivers a solid performance. The rest of the movie may suck balls, but the moments he’s on screen are golden.

Oh yeah. From the Godfather to Mickey Blue Eyes.

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**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/63 "2009-12-10T18:15:33Z")

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> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#):
>
> Oh, and Christopher Eccelson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in G.I.Joe Rise of Cobra.

Joseph-Gordon-Levitt in an interview said that he always wanted to do a movie like that (big, action-packed block buster), but seeing as he damn well knows is not action-hero material, he happily signed on the GI Joe because he figures he’ll never get another opportunity to do one.

> [@D\_Odds](#):
>
> Great actors? Kinda stretching the definition there?

After his turns in _Brick_, _The Lookout_ and _Mysterious Skin_ he’s been getting a lot of positive press from critics in the film festival circuit. Now that he’s leaving his “child actor” career behind, he is definitely becoming a very credible performer.

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**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/64 "2009-12-10T18:46:21Z")

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> [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](#):
>
> People, please, Nic Cage _owns_ this thread.
> 
> See: IMDb

Like \*\*Argent Towers \*\*said, you missed the part in the thread title where it says ‘\*Great \*actor’.

My nomination is certainly Marlon Brando. He absolutely meets the ‘great actor’ requirement in a way that many if not most actors mentioned mentioned in this thread do. At the same time, most of his catalogue are films that he was in to finance his doomed project of building a tourist destination out of a Tahiti island and to cover legal fees for all the court cases that he was involved in.

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**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/65 "2009-12-10T18:54:50Z")

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If you did something crappy JUST for the money once you had more money than you “needed” thats “whoring” in my opinion.

If its something you’d do for free if there wasnt anything else to do and you’d enjoy doing it anyway, thats a whole nother ball of wax.

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**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/66 "2009-12-10T19:07:33Z")

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> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#):
>
> After his turns in _Brick_, _The Lookout_ and _Mysterious Skin_ he’s been getting a lot of positive press from critics in the film festival circuit. Now that he’s leaving his “child actor” career behind, he is definitely becoming a very credible performer.

I’ll give both Eccleston and Gordon-Levitt are credible performers. I’m not familiar enough with the former to call him a great actor, though, and the latter has quite a ways to go before he can be considered a great actor. Perhaps Eccleston is an English great, but on shows widely available on my side of the pond, he’s got _Heroes, Doctor Who, The Legend of the Seeker, GI Joe,_ and a few guest appearances.

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**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/67 "2009-12-10T19:08:45Z")

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Even De Niro’s producing couldn’t save Bullwinkle from awfulness, and he was smirking the whole time he was on screen.

This was cute though: [You talkin’ to me?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epZxUhCE5l8)

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**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/68 "2009-12-10T19:15:51Z")

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> [@FriarTed](#):
>
> Sean Connery in half his film catalogue _L_

**ZARDOZ** \<- this should win the thread.

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**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/69 "2009-12-10T20:14:40Z")

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> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#):
>
> **ZARDOZ** \<- this should win the thread.

I disagree. Granted, **Zardoz** is an incoherent mess but it’s not a big empty action flick and Connery’s presence in it is not really an example of a “They drove a dump truck of money up to my house!” type of role (unlike, say, **Highlander II** or **League of Extraordinary Gentlemen** ). **Zardoz** was the film director John Boorman did after the hugely successful **Deliverance** so by virtue of the good will generated by that film, there was a fair amount of interest and anticipation going into the project. At the same time, Connery was coming off his run as James Bond and wanted to do something artistically ambitious. Unfortunately, while Boorman has directed some good films (e.g., **Point Blank** , **Hope and Glory** , and the already mentioned **Deliverance** ), his style is a bit eccentric and that can result in some real trainwrecks.\*\* Zardoz \*\*ended up being one of his trainwrecks.

[QUOTE=Icerigger]

Henry Fonda  
Shelly Winters

\*\*Tentacles \*\*  
[/QUOTE]

That’s a much better (albeit obscure) example. It’s one thing to whore yourself out for a role in a gazillion dollar empty-headed sci-fi/action flick but it’s even worse when it’s for a cheapjack Italian rip-off of **Jaws** with special effects that look like they were done in somebody’s bathtub.

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**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/70 "2009-12-10T20:24:39Z")

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How about Samuel L. Jackson? He’s a good actor and should have enough presence in Hollywood by now to be able to be picky about the roles he takes. But he also enthusiastically did Snakes on a Plane.

I used to think nice things about Dennis Hopper and then I saw him in the abysmally bad fourth Crow movie as a jive-talking Satan-worshiping pimp. You lose a lot of respect for a guy when he shouts “Satan is my homie!” like he means it.

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**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/71 "2009-12-10T20:32:45Z")

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> [@D\_Odds](#):
>
> I’ll give both Eccleston and Gordon-Levitt are credible performers. I’m not familiar enough with the former to call him a great actor, though, and the latter has quite a ways to go before he can be considered a great actor.

Well, then I’d guess there isn’t anyone his age that you would consider great–because he is as good an actor as anyone from his generation.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/72 "2009-12-10T20:45:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> I disagree. Granted, Zardoz is an incoherent mess but it’s not a big empty action flick and Connery’s presence in it is not really an example of a “They drove a dump truck of money up to my house!” type of role (unlike, say, Highlander II or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

While I agree that **Zardoz** doesn’t belong in this category, I have to disagree about **League of Extraordinary Gentlemen** – this is another case like _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ above – Sean Connery himself is executive producer. The guy _wanted_ to make this film – he wasn’t seduced in by someone else’s truckloads of money.  
I’ve got a theory that there’s a reason for this, and for much of the departure from Alan Moore’s story line. Connery wanted to make one last Big Adventure Film, and this is it, with him playing the old time hero, Alan Quartermain himself. There’s no way he’d let Mina hog the glory and show himself as a rescued drug addict, so that part of the story went out the window, and Alan Quartermain grabbed the center stage. It also shows him passing the torch onto the next generation, as he gives the gun to the Tom Sawyer character, and effectively lets him do the Killing Shot at the end – after Quartermain himself gives him instruction.

Connery hasn’t done any films since then (He has three following credits on IMDb, but they’re all for voice-only work)  
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311429/fullcredits#writers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311429/fullcredits#writers)

[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000125/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000125/)

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**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/73 "2009-12-10T21:39:41Z")

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> [@astorian](#):
>
> Similarly, there are some fine British stage actors who’ll play the villain in a moronic American action picture, because that allows them to go back to the West End and do the kind of low-paying work that actually interests them for a few years.

Kenneth Branagh, aka Dr. Arliss Loveless.

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**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/74 "2009-12-10T21:58:52Z")

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> [@joebuck20](#):
>
> I’m surprised no one has mentioned James Caan. He’s been in a lot of crap movies, especially in the past 15 years or so. But unlike many great actors who just ham it up or phone it in for their “whoring” movies, he always delivers a solid performance. The rest of the movie may suck balls, but the moments he’s on screen are golden.

James Caan was interviewed for a British documentary about Hollywood, and he explained that he is a perfect barometer for bad movies. He gave numerous examples where he had the opportunity to be in a movie that went on to win critical acclaim and awards, but turned it down for another one that ended up being an epic failure. It sounded to me like he wasn’t whoring at all – he honestly believed that the movies he chose were going to be great; he just has a terrible sense of what will be a great movie.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/75 "2009-12-10T22:02:27Z")

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James Caan also appeared in more science fiction films than I’d expect – **Countdown, Rollerball, Alien Nation, Lathe of Heaven**. I’m not saying they were bad films – heck, I’m a science fiction fan, and I think these flicks were better than the average run. But mainstream and Hollywood tend to think of SF as the Gutter, and I;'m surprised he did so many of them.

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**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/76 "2009-12-10T22:19:52Z")

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> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> While I agree that **Zardoz** doesn’t belong in this category, I have to disagree about **League of Extraordinary Gentlemen** – this is another case like _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ above – Sean Connery himself is executive producer. The guy _wanted_ to make this film – he wasn’t seduced in by someone else’s truckloads of money.

I stand corrected. How about I substitute it with **Meteor**?

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**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, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/77 "2009-12-10T22:47:38Z")

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> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> While I agree that **Zardoz** doesn’t belong in this category, I have to disagree about **League of Extraordinary Gentlemen** – this is another case like _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ above – Sean Connery himself is executive producer. The guy _wanted_ to make this film – he wasn’t seduced in by someone else’s truckloads of money.

Not necessarily. You’re thinking of _producer_. The title of _executive producer_ is largely meaningless, and is sometimes just a bone thrown to someone who might only be peripherally involved in a film. It’s possible it was offered to Connery as a flattery-padding of his salary.

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/78 "2009-12-10T23:13:22Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Not necessarily. You’re thinking of producer. The title of executive producer is largely meaningless, and is sometimes just a bone thrown to someone who might only be peripherally involved in a film. It’s possible it was offered to Connery as a flattery-padding of his salary.

Not necessarily, although I suspect that’s usually true. I really do think that Connery held out for story changes that suited his purpose – the entire story of Quartermnain fits in so well with what I have outlined that I suspect he’d not have done the film if he couldn’t do it that way. Whether the “executive producer” title is merely ornamental and a sop to the star’s ego is irrelevant if that’s true.

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**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/79 "2009-12-10T23:21:58Z")

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> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Not necessarily, although I suspect that’s usually true. I really do think that Connery held out for story changes that suited his purpose – the entire story of Quartermnain fits in so well with what I have outlined that I suspect he’d not have done the film if he couldn’t do it that way. Whether the “executive producer” title is merely ornamental and a sop to the star’s ego is irrelevant if that’s true.

Hmmm. [I’m skeptical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Connery):

> [@](#):
>
> Connery stated in interviews for the film (included on the DVD release) that he was offered a role in The Lord of the Rings series, declining it due to “not understanding the script.” CNN reported that the actor was offered up to 15% of the worldwide box office receipts to play Gandalf, which had he accepted, could have earned him as much as $400 million for the trilogy. After the series went on to become a huge hit, Connery decided to accept the lead role in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, despite not “understanding” it either.

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**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\
**Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-actors-whove-whored-themselves-out-in-bad-movies/520690/80 "2009-12-11T00:17:53Z")

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In America we see acting as art. Some of these movies is like Picasso doing a paint by numbers painting. It is beneath him. Bet he could have sold it too.

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