# Post-Oscar career lows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906 "2007-08-01T01:46:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/1 "2007-08-01T01:46:17Z")
Based on some posts in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=430904). Name an Academy Award winning best actor or actress and then name the worst movie they did after their award-winning performance. It has to be a post-award performance - anybody can make bad movies on the way up. But to widen the scope, we’ll allow supporting awards and, if the movie was bad enough, nominees. A few recent winners to get us started: Halle Berry - Monster’s Ball (2001) - Catwoman (2004) Jim Broadbent - Iris (2001) - Around the World in 80 Days (2003) Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas (1995) - Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) Jennifer Connelly - A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Hulk (2003) Jamie Fox - Ray (2004) - Stealth (2005) Cuba Gooding, Jr - Jerry Maguire (1996) - Boat Trip (2003) Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote (2005) – Mission: Impossible III (2006) Nicole Kidman - The Hours (2002) - Bewitched (2005) Gwyneth Paltrow - Shakespeare in Love (1998) - View from the Top (2003) Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich (2000) - America’s Sweethearts (2001) Geoffrey Rush - Shine (1996) - House on Haunted Hill (1999) Hillary Swank - Boys Don’t Cry (1999) - The Core (2003) Charlize Theron - Monster (2003) - AEon Flux (2005) Denzel Washington - Glory (1989) - Heart Condition (1990) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/2 "2007-08-01T01:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote (2005) – Mission: Impossible III (2006) [/QUOTE] MI: 3 was a perfectly decent action movie, and one of the main reasons was Hoffman. He was sensational in that movie, a perfectly believable and detestable sociopath. I don’t think enough time has passed to assess Hoffman’s post-Oscar low point. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/3 "2007-08-01T02:02:41Z")
Lawrence Olivier – **Hamlet** (1948) (and a nomination for **The Boys From Brazil** (1978)). **The Jazz Singer** (1980) and **Inchon** (1981) Jack Palance – \*\*City Slickers \*\*(1991), \*\*Cops and Robersons \*\*(1994) There is often a drop off in roles after an Oscar win: the actor starts demanding more money and starts playing it safe. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/4 "2007-08-01T02:18:35Z")
Orson Welles was only nominated for an acting award for Citizen Kane, but won for best screenplay on the same movie. He ended his career in the animated Transformers Movie. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/5 "2007-08-01T02:20:46Z")
[QUOTE=Malodorous] Orson Welles was only nominated for an acting award for Citizen Kane, but won for best screenplay on the same movie. He ended his career in the animated Transformers Movie. [/QUOTE] That’s a low? ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/6 "2007-08-01T02:32:01Z")
I was certain Cuba Gooding, Jr. was gonna be the inspiration for this thread. He only won Best Supporting Actor, but there are at least four abominations credited to his name after Jerry Maguire: Pearl Harbor - 24% on Rotten Tomatoes Snow Dogs - 23% Boat Trip - 7% Daddy Day Camp - Not yet released, but come on… In all fairness, he only had a brief part in Pearl Harbor. ETA: I noticed the OP already mentioned him. I’ll leave it just to point out that Cuba represents an exceptional case. Also, I didn’t follow the OP’s format. Man, I suck today. Apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/7 "2007-08-01T02:33:34Z")
Jon Voight (_Coming Home_), James Coburn (_Affliction_), Mary Steenburgen (_Melvin & Howard_) and F. Murray Abraham (_Amadeus_) all appeared in the unspeakably horrid TV movie [Noah’s Ark](http://imdb.com/title/tt0168355/) (along with Oscar nominee Carol Kane). Red Buttons’ _Fantasy Island_ appearances and Estelle Parson’s _Watermelon Man_ and other post Oscar slumming don’t begin to touch this stinker (though I’m sure Shelley Winters managed). ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/8 "2007-08-01T02:52:23Z")
Tommy Lee Jones deserved his best supporting actor Oscar for “The Fugitive”. He must have really needed pocket money badly to make last year’s “Man of the House”. A stinkeroo. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/9 "2007-08-01T04:28:15Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Jamie Fox - Ray (2004) - Stealth (2005) [/QUOTE] That one isn’t fair; Stealth was in post-production when Fox won. I heard they re-edited to increase his part to capitalize on the free publicity. Pretty much all the ones you listed separated by a single year are probably the same deal. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/10 "2007-08-01T04:56:22Z")
Let’s see if anyone can guess these two. From an Oscar win in 1960 to [Purple People Eater](http://imdb.com/title/tt0095930/), with Neil Patrick Harris and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. From an Oscar win in 1966 to [Jury Duty](http://imdb.com/title/tt0113500/), with Pauly Shore. [spoiler]Sampiro was way ahead of me; they’re both Shelley Winters. She had an Alan Smithee film in there, too.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Hildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/11 "2007-08-01T05:19:32Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Jon Voight (_Coming Home_), James Coburn (_Affliction_), Mary Steenburgen (_Melvin & Howard_) and F. Murray Abraham (_Amadeus_) all appeared in the unspeakably horrid TV movie [Noah’s Ark](http://imdb.com/title/tt0168355/) (along with Oscar nominee Carol Kane). [/QUOTE] Fuckin Amen to the Jon Voight nod. That guy hasn’t had an interesting role in 30 years. Fire your fuckin agent already. F. Murray Abraham: I always thought this guy must be a total asshole or either a theater purist. He belongs in the spotlight. What exactly is the problem? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/12 "2007-08-01T05:51:56Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo] F. Murray Abraham: I always thought this guy must be a total asshole or either a theater purist. He belongs in the spotlight. What exactly is the problem? [/QUOTE] For a guy who started out dressed as a piece of fruit to sell underwear, he’s done pretty well for himself. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/13 "2007-08-01T07:05:03Z")
Martin Landau received nominations for Best Supporting Actor in 1989 and 1990, and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for _Ed Wood_ in 1995. Then he did [B_A_P\*S](http://imdb.com/title/tt0118663/) (5% on [RottenTomatoes.com](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/baps/?critic=columns) in 1997. _B_A_P_S\* also featured Halle Berry, who would later win an Oscar, of course. This inspired a great blurb from _The Onion_: [B_A_P\*S Rented On Strength Of Academy Award-Winning Stars](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31187) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/14 "2007-08-01T08:29:11Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Estelle Parson’s _Watermelon Man_ and other post Oscar slumming [/QUOTE] _Watermelon Man_ is a very funny and underrated movie. I wouldn’t consider it slumming at all. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/15 "2007-08-01T12:11:15Z")
Joan Crawford: From _Mildred Pierce_ to, well, most of her post-MP career, including shilling around the world for Pepsi, culminating in _Trog_. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/16 "2007-08-01T12:21:20Z")
Some post-mortem career lows: Lawrence Olivier: from multi-Oscar winner, including a special achievement award and a lifetime achievement award, to a recycled cameo in _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_. Marlon Brando: from double Academy Award winner to recycled cameo in _Superman Returns_. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/17 "2007-08-01T12:26:09Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] _Watermelon Man_ is a very funny and underrated movie. I wouldn’t consider it slumming at all. [/QUOTE] I agree and was just about to write the same thing. It had a lot of flaws but Estelle Parsons wasn’t one of them. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/18 "2007-08-01T12:27:13Z")
Anthony Hopkins- Silence of the Lambs to Freejack ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/19 "2007-08-01T12:35:05Z")
I cannot believe noone has mentioned “Ishtar” for both Hoffman and Beatty (I know he only won Oscar as director but he deserves mention.) Also “Two Jakes” for Jack Nicholson, one of my most disappointing movie going experiences of all-time. And any of 50 or so movies with Louise Fletcher, presumably “Mamma Dracula” was representative. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906/20 "2007-08-01T12:58:29Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Hillary Swank - Boys Don’t Cry (1999) - The Core (2003) [/QUOTE] Hilary Swank gets a reprieve. She won a second Academy Award post-_The Core_ for _Million Dollar Baby_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-oscar-career-lows/413906.md?page=2)