# Have you ever seen an actor who never made a good film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** netflix, movies, actor-characters\ **Created:** [March 22, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203 "2024-03-22T13:35:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/141 "2024-03-24T23:44:47Z")
Wings Hauser. I’d pretty much forgotten about him, but for a long time I associated him with cheesy movies. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/142 "2024-03-24T23:46:25Z")
You’re saying Hell Comes To Frogtown II was no good and “cheesy”? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/143 "2024-03-25T00:17:32Z")
Nevermind, already covered. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/144 "2024-03-25T00:21:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Even better than he was in _Schindler’s List_? 😉 At least as good as he was in Krull. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/145 "2024-03-25T01:00:03Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Has Stacey Keach been mentioned yet? **Fat City** (1972) has a 100% Fresh rating from 27 reviewers on RT. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/146 "2024-03-25T01:15:38Z")
he was pretty good in Escape from LA but hell always be Mike Hammer to me ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/147 "2024-03-25T01:17:37Z")
michael dudikoff hes ok in fight scenes like in “American Ninja” but when not fighting any movie he’s in is trash … ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/148 "2024-03-25T02:04:11Z")
I love how his lowest rated film is literally some documentary about him so it isn’t even his fault. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/149 "2024-03-26T01:47:16Z")
**James Franco**? ISTR there was some buzz about his performance in 127 Hours but I don’t recall if the movie itself was acclaimed. I certainly stayed clear of it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/150 "2024-03-26T01:59:11Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > **James Franco**? ISTR there was some buzz about his performance in 127 Hours but I don’t recall if the movie itself was acclaimed. _127 Hours_ was a very good movie. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.5 on IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/151 "2024-03-26T02:04:42Z")
The thing about James Franco is he’s a workaholic. His filmography is incredibly long for a man his age. He’s averaged 7-8 projects a year this entire century. Not all of them are great, but still, he was in the Tobey MacGuire **Spiderman** movies that were mostly well-received. **The Disaster Artist** also reviewed very well. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/152 "2024-03-26T02:31:21Z")
Makes sense. Without looking up his credits, I was thinking he’s been in a lot of films and I couldn’t think of one that I’d consider good. I think he’s a good actor but I don’t really appreciate the projects he picks. I should have done my homework. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/153 "2024-03-26T03:23:42Z")
Don Adams had a starring role in only one film, _The Nude Bomb_, and it stank. (He did have minor roles in three other films, but the only one that might be considered “good”, _Back to the Beach_, is pretty much forgotten nowadays.) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/154 "2024-03-26T03:33:38Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Let’s say a minimum of 3 acting credits, since anyone can star in _one_ shitty movie. 3 is nothing; lots of people have been in 3 straight-to-video shitshows. “Best of the Worst” features guys like that all the time, like Leo Fong. A filmography of 7, 8 movies isn’t even all that impressive. Michael Dudikoff, mentioned upthread, is barely remembered today but he was in like 50 movies, and all of them sucked except “Tron,” and it’s not exactly a perfect movie. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/155 "2024-03-26T03:44:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A filmography of 7, 8 movies isn’t even all that impressive. Michael Dudikoff, mentioned upthread, is barely remembered today but he was in like 50 movies and 99.8 of them are kung fu /karate action flicks where he’s either soldier or cop or “agent” of some kind another guy is Don “the Dragon” Wilson a martial arts champ who got into alleged “acting” ala Chuck Norris… and for the girls, there’s Cynthia Rothrock who pretty much played herself in every movie no matter what the role or plot ---
**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:** [March 26, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/156 "2024-03-26T19:07:20Z")
**Duncan “Dean” Parkin** , who played Lt. Col. Glenn Manning in **War of the Colossal Beast** and Bruce Barton in **The Cyclops**. Those are the only two movies he ever appeared in. His entire career was playing big, bald, inarticulate brain-damaged one-eyed giants in Bert I. Gordon movies. You could make a case that one or the other is a “good” film, but it’d be a hard sell. Glenn Langan, who played Glenn Manning in **The Amazing Colossal Man** , declined to be in the sequel. And the original film (a sort-of backwards rip-off of _The Incredible Shrinking Man_) wasn’t all that great to start with. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/157 "2024-03-26T19:51:53Z")
Bradley Cooper. No idea of his cumulative IMDB scores, but I’ve never seen one of his movies that made me think “that was a good movie.” The one where he takes the pill that makes him super-smart was okay, but not as good as many other actors could have done. That particular part was one he played in his “everyman” setting. It’s not his only setting. Cooper goes effortlessly from Everyman suburban dad to submerged method actor. He’s the grounded guy in Apatow romps, or he fully commits to the heavy parts even if they’re less than admirable. On paper, that should equal to “range.” But in Bradley Cooper’s case, for whatever reason, he’s up there distracting from the plot, playing the guy who’s reaching for the big, big career and that tipping point where the audience complains that this obviously nice guy who really commits to the part has been robbed of his rightful Oscar too many times. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/158 "2024-03-26T20:05:10Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Bradley Cooper. No idea of his cumulative IMDB scores, but I’ve never seen one of his movies that made me think “that was a good movie.” And proof that this is definitely so is that he’s been nominated for Academy Awards in Acting **5 times** without winning (4 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor). And all the losing performances were in films that were all nominated for Best Picture without winning a single best picture award! Probably all of them poorly rated by both critics and audiences, I’m sure. Truly a terrible career 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/159 "2024-03-26T20:12:05Z")
Just because he’s successful doesn’t mean he’s not a ham and his movies won’t be watched forty years from now. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203/160 "2024-03-26T20:32:23Z")
He was very young but very good in Pursuit of Happyness which got fair-to-good reviews. And he was also ok in the Karate Kid remake which similarly got fair-to-good reviews. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-an-actor-who-never-made-a-good-film/999203.md?page=9)