# "You're too good for this": good actors in bad movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189 "2006-12-31T04:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/41 "2007-01-01T04:48:16Z")
[QUOTE=Romola Des Loups] Forest Whitaker in just about everything he ever made, really. [/QUOTE] Fortunately, _The Last King of Scotland_ may finally net him the Oscar he deserves. 🙂 Clive Owen and Ioan Gruffudd had absolutely no business whatsoever being in _King Arthur_. Even Keira Knightley didn’t deserve that. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/42 "2007-01-01T04:50:43Z")
It seems **Ray Milland** (Oscar Winner for “the Lost Weekend”) seemed to do sleazier movies the longer he stayed in the business. He did “ **X- The Man With the X-Ray Eyes** ” in the 1960’s. It was a pretty good movie considering its strange premise. In the early 1970’s he appeared in “ **Frogs** ” - pretty bad. Also in the early 1970’s he did “ **The Amazing 2-Headed Transplant** ” - indescribably bad. (Makes “Plan 9” look like “Citizen Kane”). ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/43 "2007-01-01T05:10:01Z")
I am sorry for the previous posting. :smack: Ray Milland was not in “The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant”. > **[The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971) ⭐ 3.5 | Horror, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067245/)** > > 1h 28m | R (Yeah I also got the title wrong in my previous posting). Ray Milland was in “The Thing With Two Heads” > **[The Thing with Two Heads (1972) ⭐ 4.5 | Comedy, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069372/)** > > 1h 31m | PG If you click on either of those links you will see that the IMDB has a DVD Box with _both_ of those movies in the _same_ box!!! 😃 No doubt that was done to prevent angry customers from saying - “NO- I wanted the \*other \* early 1970’s 2-headed transplant movie !!!” Heck, even I made that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/44 "2007-01-01T05:49:59Z")
**Jeff Bridges** in _Stick It_. I mean, I guess it’s not a terrible movie if you’re a 14 year old girl. But I’m neither. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/45 "2007-01-01T05:53:10Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] What the hell is Jon Voight doing in _Baby Geniuses 2?_ [/QUOTE] Could it have been worse than his starring role as _Fearless Frank?_ ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/46 "2007-01-01T06:47:04Z")
Aaron Echhart is a fine actor. I feel sorry he wound up in **The Black Dahlia**. Man, that film sucked. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/47 "2007-01-01T10:56:14Z")
[QUOTE=spooje] Aaron Echhart is a fine actor. I feel sorry he wound up in **The Black Dahlia**. Man, that film sucked. [/QUOTE] I’m sure after _The Core_, it looked like a Shakespeare film to him. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/48 "2007-01-01T17:17:21Z")
[QUOTE=Caridwen] I have such a crush on him for some reason. I just have to see whatever movie he’s in and most of them are pretty bad. [/QUOTE] Me too. And I’m always thinking “Dude, **get a better agent**! I know you’ve got kids to feed and all, but you’re scorching hot and you can actually act, you deserve better than this crap. Why on earth didn’t you call CAA \*immediately \* upon release of LOTR, fer chrissakes?” Oh well. If you’re ever in Boston, look me up and we’ll have a Sean Bean movie night. With booze, since that’s the only way to endure most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/49 "2007-01-01T17:29:52Z")
Sean Connery (1 oscar win), Ralph Fiennes (2 nominations) and Uma Thurman (1 nomination) couldn’t save _The Avengers_ from being a giant steaming pile. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/50 "2007-01-01T17:39:29Z")
[QUOTE=ASAKMOTSD] Is that a whooshing sound I hear? :dubious: [/QUOTE] You mean, because Jodi Foster is a lesbian? She’s an _actress_. In this particular case, the movie was bad but I’m still not sure if it was because the actual movie was bad or because the two lead actors lacked chemistry (for whatever reason). ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/51 "2007-01-02T00:38:44Z")
**Pundit Lisa** > [@](#): > > You mean, because Jodi Foster is a lesbian? She’s an actress. In this particular case, the movie was bad but I’m still not sure if it was because the actual movie was bad or because the two lead actors lacked chemistry (for whatever reason). I’d have to disagree. I think an actor’s personal life has _everything_ to do with their onscreen portrayals. That’s why John Wayne is so convincing in “the Sands of Iwo Jima” and in the myriad of war films in which he appeared. I remember people talking about Anne Heche’s unconvincing performance with Harrison Ford in “Six Days and Seven Nights” due to Anne’s sexual orientation. Harrison Ford (as we all know) besides being a heterosexual _does_ have a PhD in archeology and is an accomplished space ship pilot. And of course Don Ameche invented the telephone. (The above posting was 100% facetious and basically I totally agree with your posting **Pundit Lisa** ) ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/52 "2007-01-02T02:02:54Z")
Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud, Helen Mirren, and Malcolm MacDowell all were in [Caligula](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0080491/). ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/53 "2007-01-02T02:50:44Z")
Although none of them are in Deniro’s or Olivier’s class, it was still a pretty talented ensemble appearing in the inexcreable [North](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0110687/). A partial list includes: **Alan Arkin** (2 Oscar and 4 Emmy nominations) **Kathy Bates** (3 Oscar nominations with 1 win, 6 Emmy nominations, and 6 Golden Globe nominations with 2 wins) **Julia Louis-Dreyfuss** (3 Oscar nominations with 1 win, 8 Emmy nominations with 2 wins, and 3 Golden Globe nominations with 1 win) **Dan Aykroyd** (1 Oscar nomination, 3 Emmy nominations with 1 win) **Graham Greene** (1 Oscar nomination) **Bruce WIllis** (3 Emmy nominations with 2 wins) I doubt that they all needed the bucks. No, I think they appeared in it because they had (way too much) faith in the Director, Rob Reiner. So there’s yet another reason why "good actors (appear in) bad movies. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/54 "2007-01-02T02:55:06Z")
Bad movies? Heck, every actor has made bad flicks. Good actors show up in MST3K offerings. You want bad movies with lots of good actors? Try **The Swarm** [The Swarm (1978) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078350/) There’s Michael Caine again, and Olivia de Havilland and Henry Fonda and — it’s too painful to recite. Or **The Story of Mankind** Ronald Colman, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Agnes Moorehead, Dennis Hopper (!), and all three Marx Brothers! > **[The Story of Mankind (1957) ⭐ 4.8 | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051016/)** > > 1h 40m | Approved Or one I just watched – **Starcrash** , with Christopher Plummer (and with John Barry doing the music!). You expect Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, and David Hasselhoff in something like this, but Christopher Plummer? This is what he gets for calling The Sound of Music “The Sound of Mucous” > **[Starcrash (1978) ⭐ 4.0 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079946/)** > > 1h 32m | PG ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/55 "2007-01-02T03:29:12Z")
Actors have to eat too, and not every project is going to be a winner. Show business stardom is a fickle business. If a you’re “name” actor you’d better make hay while the sun shines. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/56 "2007-01-02T03:47:46Z")
[QUOTE=KarlGauss] I doubt that they all needed the bucks. No, I think they appeared in it because they had (way too much) faith in the Director, Rob Reiner. So there’s yet another reason why "good actors (appear in) bad movies. [/QUOTE] Good point. I think the same can be said for M Night Shyamalan’s movies. After _The Sixth Sense_ became such a huge hit, I’m sure many actors were dying to work with him, and he’s been living off that credit ever since. For example, _The Village_ had William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Joaquin Phoenix, and Adrian Brody. That’s a pretty good cast for a pretty bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/57 "2007-01-02T04:03:22Z")
[QUOTE=KarlGauss] **Julia Louis-Dreyfuss** (3 Oscar nominations with 1 win, 8 Emmy nominations with 2 wins, and 3 Golden Globe nominations with 1 win) [/QUOTE] She won an _Oscar??_ You’ve got to be kidding me. The only movie I can even think of she was in was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. What’d she win for? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/58 "2007-01-02T04:22:27Z")
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry] She won an _Oscar??_ You’ve got to be kidding me. The only movie I can even think of she was in was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. What’d she win for? [/QUOTE] Oops. That’s what I get for using a “template” (of the previous actor’s awards). You are absolutely correct, of course. To be clear, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss has - 8 Emmy nominations with 2 wins - 3 Golden Globe nominations with 1 win - nothing to do with Oscars ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/59 "2007-01-02T06:41:57Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] …on the VHS box it actually said: “World War One meets the 20th Century!” [/QUOTE] Part of me just died. I remember when\*\* Clash of the Titans\*\* came out and hearing my mom refer to Lawrence “Anything For A Buck” Olivier. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189/60 "2007-01-03T00:34:15Z")
Saw Steve McQueen in his starring debut in \*The Blob \* last night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-too-good-for-this-good-actors-in-bad-movies/386189.md?page=4)