Top 30 Worst Acting Performances of All Time
#30: Eddie Redmayne
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“Jupiter Ascending” Apparently, no one ever told this English actor that “less is more.” So, after establishing himself as a serious dramatic actor, Redmayne turned in a performance completely out of this world. Now presenting: Balem Abrasax, a bizarre hodgepodge of flamboyant mannerisms and exaggerated reactions. Oh, and lots of random screaming. Yeah, calling this “over-the-top” does not do it justice. It’s the exact opposite issue of fellow Razzie recipient Jamie Dornan, whose turn in the first “Fifty Shades” movie is about as flat as a panini. Honestly, it’s a bit remarkable that 2015 delivered two performances that are equally horrible in their own unique ways.
#29: Hilary Duff
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“The Haunting of Sharon Tate” Let’s get one thing straight: this movie is flawed at a fundamental level. But, even beyond its tasteless narrative, perhaps its biggest sin is that it tried to pass off Hilary Duff as a compelling Sharon Tate. In a far cry from her Disney Channel days, Duff’s attempts at emulating Scream Queens of the past fail in every regard. At best, her delivery is mindlessly lethargic, and at worst, it’s downright disrespectful to the real-life victims. Plus, her scared face is totally hilarious, which is a pretty big issue considering this is supposed to be a horror film. Since Sharon Tate was an actress herself, you’d think they would’ve found a better one to play her.
#28: Jared Leto
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“Suicide Squad” After Heath Ledger took the Joker all the way to Oscar gold, hopes were high that the next iteration of the character would be just as popular. Unfortunately, Leto’s stint in Gotham earned him a very different kind of “honor” - that being a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor. In fact, most of his scenes were allegedly cut from the theatrical version of the film, and it’s easy to see why. From his questionable line readings to the inane facial expressions, each of Leto’s artistic choices is more baffling than the last. At a certain point, it makes you wonder if he knew he was in a big-budget blockbuster and not a cringey music video.
#27: Tom Cruise
Top 20 Worst Acting Performances of All Time
“The Mummy” It’s movies like this that make you wonder just what goes on in an actor’s head. Because, surely, at some point in production, Cruise would’ve realized that brooding around the screen for two hours wasn’t going to cut it. Especially for a franchise like “The Mummy.” Alas, Cruise isn’t funny enough to sell the camp, and not committed enough to do the horror scenes justice, either. So, audiences are left with a frustratingly ridiculous performance that isn’t even good enough to pass as a parody. After a showing like this, Tom Cruise’s tenure with the Mummy deserves to go back to a tomb for a very, very long time.
#26: Tyler Perry
“Alex Cross” There’s nothing wrong with an actor stepping out of their comfort zone. But, leaping from absurdist humor to self-serious detective is simply too great a leap for someone with Tyler Perry’s range. Or, should we say, lack of range. He only has one tone of voice and one facial expression; that’s it for the entire duration of the film. Any time he attempts to do more than that, it comes off as unintentionally funny instead. Perry’s dramatic shortcomings are especially glaring since he’s surrounded by a slate of pretty great supporting performances. Unfortunately, all they do is underline the fact that Alex Cross is by far the weakest link of the “Alex Cross” movie.
#25: Colson Baker [aka Machine Gun Kelly]
“Good Mourning” After watching this movie, the best piece of advice to give Colson Baker is to stick to rapping. His acting isn’t just bad, it’s even worse: completely forgettable. He looks confused most of the time, and even when he does stumble through lines, it’s with a blank expression that makes even mannequins seem passionate. The movie itself is filled with a glutton of star-studded cameos and confusing cutaway gags, seemingly to distract from the fact that its lead doesn’t know the first thing about acting. But, there’s no smoke thick enough to hide Baker’s complete inability to convey emotion. This isn’t his first onscreen role, but for everyone’s sake, hopefully, it’s his last.
#24: Justin Chatwin
“Dragonball Evolution” It takes some genuine skill to turn one of anime’s most iconic characters into a bland teen movie protagonist. But, somehow, Justin Chatwin made it look easy. He has no charisma, no heart, and certainly no screen presence. Quite frankly, this kind of lifeless delivery wouldn’t fly in any kind of movie, let alone one with such legendary source material. Chatwin just comes across as flat in every single scene, no matter if he’s spouting cringey quips or fighting for the fate of Earth. He doesn’t even commit to the power-up screams, which is pretty much “Dragon Ball” 101. Suffice it to say, this is Goku in name alone.
#23: Robert Downey Jr.
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“Dolittle” Hot off the heels of his star-making tenure as Iron Man, RDJ cashed in all that goodwill with a movie where he sticks his hand into a Dragon’s you-know-what. We wish we were kidding. The worst part? He doesn’t seem fazed by it at all. In fact, for most of the runtime, Downey Jr. looks half-asleep. The usually charismatic actor can’t seem to decide whether “Dolittle” is a crude comedy or heartfelt drama, and the result is a performance that fails to satisfy either. That’s all without even mentioning his distracting and inconsistent Welsh accent. Clearly, instead of talking to animals, he should’ve been speaking to an accent coach.
#22: Jamie Kennedy
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“Son of the Mask” No one was ever going to live up to Jim Carrey’s star-making turn in 1994’s “The Mask.” But, surely they could’ve found someone better than Jamie Kennedy. All of Carrey’s original wit is lost in this soulless reinterpretation, where Kennedy reduces the brand’s irreverent humor to its lowest common denominator. The jokes come off as cringey and mean-spirited, and that’s if they land at all. Most of the time, Kennedy’s delivery just falls completely flat, to the point you aren’t sure if you’re supposed to be laughing in the first place. In the end, “Son of the Mask” fails because its leading man can’t seem to decide if he’s in on the joke or not.
#21: Colin Farrell
Top 10 Colin Farrell Performances
“Alexander” The Great King’s biopic completely failed to live up to its character’s nickname, and that’s putting it lightly. The movie is overly serious, emotionally distant, and lacks any of the depth it so desperately feigns. Unfortunately, all of that criticism also applies to leading man Colin Farrell. Even though the film has been officially recut four separate times, no amount of editing can hide the fact that he’s woefully miscast here. As a result, all his attempts at drama come across about as convincing as his absurd wig. At least Halle Berry’s fellow Razzie-winning turn in “Catwoman” was so bad it’s good. This one is just plain bad, full stop.
#20: Sofia Coppola
“The Godfather Part III” (1990) The third time isn’t always the charm, as the final “Godfather” film is universally seen as a step down from its predecessors. Although it has its share of flaws, one of the most glaring is the poor performance by Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. The daughter of the film’s director, Coppola had no training as an actor and was a last-minute replacement when Winona Ryder dropped out. Her delivery jarred with the tone of the rest of the film and has been an example of the dangers of nepotism for decades, even if her performance does have a few defenders. Thankfully, she made a better director than she did an actress.
#19: Dennis Hopper
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“Super Mario Bros.” (1993) Although a seasoned actor, Dennis Hopper’s performance as the villainous Koopa in this video game adaptation is more over-the-top than the overgrown turtle his character is based on. Hopper plays Koopa with all the maniacal corporate evil of the worst snake, or in his case dinosaur, in a suit crossed with Dr. Evil. Granted, it would be hard for anyone to make the kind of lines Koopa says believable, but Hopper’s delivery is just so strange and goofy that it can’t be called good. He’s still entertaining, but not as intended.
#18: Steven Seagal
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“Half Past Dead” (2002) Steven Seagal doesn’t exactly have a lot of range as an actor to begin with, and his usual stoic, whispery performance would actually be preferable to his lack of effort in this action flick. Seagal hurries through his lines and, despite the film nominally being a buddy movie, he has very little chemistry with co-star Ja Rule. Even Seagal’s signature fight scenes feel unenthusiastic and tepid. It’s a sad thing when a title like “Half Past Dead” can just as easily apply to the performance of the star of the movie.
#17: Mariah Carey
“Glitter” All we want for Christmas is an actress who can actually, well, act. Sure, the Songbird Supreme can strut a stage like no other, but that didn’t translate to a committed film performance at all. In fact, calling Carey’s acting chops “amateur” is a major insult to all the aspiring thespians out there. She basically has one facial expression in her repertoire, and since she’s the film’s star, you’ll be seeing a lot of it. The fact that the movie’s soundtrack is genuinely great just speaks “Glitter’s” fundamental flaw: it’s not a film at all, it’s a glorified music video, and Carey’s lifeless acting failed to convince critics or audiences otherwise.
#16: Megan Fox
“Transformers” franchise (2007-) The “Transformers” movies have gained a reputation for having shallow female characters who are only cast for their appearance and not their acting ability, which began with Megan Fox. The actress takes what is, on paper, a fairly interesting character and drains her of much personality. Even with the notorious director Michael Bay framing her onscreen like a sex object, Fox herself has copped to acting poorly in the movies and we can see how being new to film, and working under a director like Bay, would lead to a bad performance.
#15: Kirk Cameron
“Saving Christmas” (2014) Christian movies aren’t exactly known for their stellar acting. They’re more echo chambers for beliefs than actual entertainment. Such is the case with its outspoken star, Kirk Cameron. Cameron’s acting here makes the actors in local commercials or adult films look masterful by comparison. His stilted delivery earned him a well-deserved Golden Raspberry Award, and he proved in good company, since many other aspects of the critically derided film “won” some as well. He can put the blame on an “atheist conspiracy” all he wants – the fact is he just sucks here.
#14: Arnold Schwarzenegger
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“Batman & Robin” (1997) “Ice”-aw this coming, did you? Very few of the actors involved in this infamously campy superhero film come off well, but Arnold Schwarzenegger’s terrible performance stands out, even among the dross of “Batman & Robin.” Schwarzenegger hams it up to the extreme, delivering his terrible, ice-pun laden dialogue with the kind of manic glee you only see in an actor who knows his part is terrible, but is going to have as much fun as he can with what he has. And, while we wouldn’t recommend watching him if you hate puns, Schwarzenegger is still surprisingly entertaining in such an awful role.
#13: Halle Berry
“Catwoman” (2004) Halle Berry is a very talented actress, but talent will only get you so far in some cases. As the lead in another reviled superhero film, Berry helps set the tone of the movie at incomprehensible, with her interpretation of the title super heroine ranging from cartoonishly meek, to needlessly sexual, to the just plain bizarre (What even is that basketball scene?!). Granted, there’s plenty to criticize about “Catwoman,” but Berry is at the forefront of it all. At least she was a good sport and accepted her Razzie in person.
#12: Madonna
“Swept Away” (2002) Madonna has proven herself to be a great actress, most notably in her Golden-Globe winning turn as Eva Peron in “Evita.” On the other hand, she has been nominated for 16 Golden Raspberry Awards, the gold standard for movie awfulness. For “Swept Away,” she received the Razzie for Worst Actress and shared Worst Screen Couple with Adriano Giannini. Madonna had a lot working against her: Swept Away was a remake of a critically acclaimed 1974 film, her spoiled-brat rich-girl character wasn’t easily likeable, and it was a high-profile collaboration with her then director-slash-hubby Guy Ritchie. But her performance, like the film, is arguably her worst.
#11: Dakota Johnson & Jamie Dornan
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“Fifty Shades” franchise (2015-18) This entry isn’t going to just one actor, but two, because the leads of all 3 movies are Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. Though each film has made hundreds of millions in box office receipts, each film has also received biting reviews, with many criticizing Johnson and Dornan’s lack of chemistry. While the actors admittedly had poor source material to work with, considering the screenplays were based on novels spun off of “Twilight” fan fiction, it’s not like Hollywood couldn’t have taken liberties to improve the dialogue. With Christian Grey coming off as a total creeper, and Anastasia Steele decidedly one-note, is it any wonder both Dornan and Johnson “won” Worst Actor and Worst Actress Razzies for their roles?
#10: Jaden Smith
“After Earth” (2013) Nepotism rears its head again! Jaden Smith plays Kitai, a boy who becomes stranded on a post-apocalyptic Earth with his father, played by his real-life dad, Will Smith, after their ship crashes. Jaden lacks his father’s formidable charisma, though, and following him as the film’s lead is rough, given his stilted, overacted, unnatural performance. Will Smith has worked with his son before in other films, but their chemistry here is nonexistent. And while that’s not entirely Jaden’s fault (the elder Smith’s uncharacteristically wooden performance creates a jarring contrast), we can’t say that his acting is very good.
#9: Mike Myers
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“The Love Guru” (2008) Sometimes a performance is a career killer. Exhibit A: Mike Myers in “The Love Guru.” HIs portrayal of Pitka, the world’s #2 guru, received the exact opposite reaction of his universally loved Austin Powers character. Maybe it’s the stereotype-heavy portrayal of Hinduism. Maybe it’s the barrage of little person jokes heaped on Verne Troyer’s character that totally fall flat. Maybe it’s the distracting asides that don’t ever seem to produce laughs. It’s hard to gauge how badly audiences disliked Mike Myers’ performance, but one thing’s for certain: Studios haven’t been knocking each other out of the way to star Myers in a live-action film…
#8: Taylor Lautner
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“Abduction” (2011) In 2011, Lautner had reached heartthrob status playing Jacob in the Twilight films, when along came “Abduction,” a John Singleton-directed action-thriller. The film features Lautner’s star-turn as Nathan Harper, a young man who might not be who he thinks he is. So why didn’t this profitable film produce any big-budget, leading-man opportunities for Lautner? Perhaps because his performance could be described as one-note, and that one note is a vacant-eyed stare. And in a scene where Nathan’s parents are killed, watching Lautner struggle to wrangle up tears is painful. In his review of “Abduction,” New York Post critic Kyle Smith compared Lautner’s acting chops to Bert from Sesame Street. And it’s hard to disagree.
#7: The Whole Cast
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“The Last Airbender” This one might hold the record for the most bad performances in a single film. Although, “performance” implies there was any acting happening in the first place. In lieu of any real emoting, the main cast just frowned a lot and recited their lines like they were reading them from a teleprompter. Though, it shouldn’t be all that surprising considering its leads had never professionally acted before - and it showed. “Avatar” deserved better, especially considering the characters had already been brought to life by a sublime voice cast in the original series. When animated characters are more expressive than a live-action cast, you know you’ve done something horribly wrong.
#6: Jennifer Lopez
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“Gigli” (2003) We’re filing this performance’s inclusion under collateral damage. Sure, it wasn’t J-Lo’s finest hour, but “Gigli” was an all-time stinker. Of course, part of the reason it’s so bad is her performance. Lopez seemingly sleepwalks through the film, showing very little acting range. In the end, J-Lo received the Razzie for Worst Actress, and she gave us a squirm-inducing seduction scene with a line so bad it may have ruined Thanksgiving: “It’s Turkey Time … gobble, gobble”. Ewww.
#5: Eddie Murphy
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“Norbit” This takes the idea of a one-man show to new heights. In a big push for the actor, “Norbit” stars Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy again, and also Eddie Murphy. Except, it soon becomes painfully obvious that, in an ensemble of just yourself, there’s nowhere to hide. Murphy’s shtick becomes grating in record time, especially since he doesn’t commit to any of his three characters beyond their superficial stereotypes. Instead, the make-up and prosthetics do most of the heavy lifting, while Murphy himself is content making the same jokes with a slightly different inflection. Even for a three-in-one special, this unfunny performance still isn’t worth the price of admission.
#4: John Travolta
Top 10 John Travolta Performances
“Battlefield Earth” (2000) With WatchMojo’s 2016 list naming “Battlefield Earth” the Worst Movie of All Time, you knew someone in the cast was taking the bullet for bad acting. And that person is John Travolta. Based on Scientologist L. Ron Hubbard’s 1982 novel, Travolta plays Terl, a giant humanoid alien in the year 3000 who’s stuck on a wasteland called Earth. Travolta’s performance has been called hammy, weird, over-the-top, and just plain awful. The most scathing review may have come from Washington Post’s Rita Kempley, who calls Travolta’s acting “godawful” and describes him as “prancing around like a peacock at an egg roll.” Ouch.
#3: Adam Sandler
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“Jack and Jill” (2011) Stop us if you’d heard this one before: Adam Sandler gives a horrible performance in a misguided, crass, unfunny comedy. But what sets “Jack and Jill” apart from the canon of crappy Sandler roles? This film gives us not one, but two, awful Sandler performances. So bad, Sandler earned Razzies for Worst Actor and Worst Actress. Sandler’s Jack is nothing new: A somewhat goofy, uncomfortable man-child with percolating anger. Jill, however, is something else. Sandler’s screechy-voiced twin sister is whiny, needy, and totally annoying, and his portrayal of a woman is even less convincing than Tyler Perry’s Madea. Can Jack and Jill go up the hill and never come back?
#2: Nicolas Cage
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“The Wicker Man” (2006) Nicolas Cage’s frenetic, eccentric, over-the-top style can be electric, like in his Oscar-winning turn as an alcoholic screenwriter in “Leaving Las Vegas.” We’re torn when it comes to his performance as Edward Maulus in “Wicker Man.” It was #2 on WatchMojo’s list of Oscar Winners Who Sucked in Other Movies, but it was #1 in Best Freakouts in Movies. So all that’s left to do is pay homage to one of Cage’s most memorable performances and ask: If a bunch of crazy women make you wear an enclosed bee helmet when you’re allergic to bees, wouldn’t your reaction sorta be like Cage’s? We think so.
#1: Tommy Wiseau
“The Room” (2003) Few performances can equal the unparalleled badness of Tommy Wiseau’s lead role as Johnny in “The Room.” The European(?) actor/writer/director of this Z-grade cult classic plays a man betrayed by his fiancée (sorry, “future wife”) and his best friend. Yet, despite their betrayal, Wiseau’s acting swings wildly between monotone disinterest and vague amusement. Every one of his choices as an actor is so strange, so inappropriate for the situation that people have theorized that Wiseau acting badly on purpose. Or that he’s an alien. But as wrong and inexplicable as his performance is, it remains incredibly watchable and has to be seen to be believed. It’ll “tear you apart.”
