Entertainment
9 Award-Nominated Actors Who Were In Truly Terrible Movies
A great actor can't prove his or her chops in simply any movie — no matter how skilled the actor is, they need great material to show off their craft. The actors on this list have been lauded for their performances in a variety of films, but in between their great film work came some not-so-awesome movie choices... some of which are so embarrassing that they may want them stricken from their IMDb pages. Here are 9 movies that talented actors were in — and totally wish they weren't.
'My Boyfriend's Back' (1993)
The trainwreck of a film received a depressingly low 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is about a teenager who dies and returns as a zombie to take his longtime crush to the prom. It featured not one, but two Academy Award winning actors in small roles.
Image: Buena Vista Films
Philip Seymour Hoffman
The deceased actor won the Best Actor award in 2005 for Capote, 12 years after having a bit part in the terrible My Boyfriend’s Back. 2013 Best Actor winner Matthew McConaughey had a small role in the film as well.
'Cyborg 2' (1993)
This low-budget sequel to Cyborg was the acting debut of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. (Think you can guess who it is from the poster?)
Angelina Jolie
Jolie scored an Oscar for her supporting role in Girl, Interrupted — only six years after the role in Cyborg 2 that scared her away from auditioning for a year.
'Private Resort' (1985)
This “teen sex romp,” about two buddies looking for ladies at a Miami beach resort, received a 20% of Rotten Tomatoes and was the first starring role for this actor.
Image: TriStar Pictures
Johnny Depp
Depp moved on from Private Resort to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood — specifically, the name Jack Sparrow.
'The Shaggy Dog' (2006)
The Oscar-nominated actor and Marvel star probably doesn’t brag about his role in this Tim Allen movie about a man who turns into a, well, shaggy dog.
Image: Disney
Robert Downey, Jr.
Let’s just say that The Shaggy Dog was no Chaplin.
'Gigli' (2003)
Gigli has a permanent place on nearly every list of the world’s worst movies, and it wasn’t just Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez who should be embarrassed about their involvement in it.
Christopher Walken
Walken doesn’t always pick winners (he did star opposite John Travolta in the remake of Hairspray, after all) but there’s no denying that Walken is far more talented than Gigli would suggest. The 1978 Oscar winner (he scored one for The Deer Hunter) could have done so much better.
'Dreamcatcher' (2003)
This bad adaptation of a Stephen King novel (that received a generous 30% on Rotten Tomatoes) features an Emmy nominated Showtime actor.
Image: Warner Bros.
Damian Lewis
Homeland’s Nicholas Brody (RIP, I guess?) won the Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category in 2011, only eight years after starring in the horror flick.
'Critters 3' (1991)
The third installment of the Critters series was essentially a terrible ripoff of Gremlins — but it did launch the career of one very famous actor.
Image: New Line Cinema
Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio was nominated for an Academy Award three times (poor Leo — he never scored one) and admits that he’s pretty embarrassed by his role in Critters 3... but at that age, he’d have “done anything for attention.”
'Catwoman' (2004)
This superhero film, which Peter Travers at Rolling Stone called a “$90 million dollar disaster,” didn’t exactly show off the star’s acting chops.
Image: Warner Bros.
Halle Berry
The Extant star took home an Oscar in 2002 for Monster’s Ball, and five years later accepted the Razzie for her role in Catwoman , slamming the film in front of the haters. You gotta own it.
'Jack and Jill' (2011)
Adam Sandler plays an even more obnoxious version of all of his other characters, this time in a wig. You may, however, have expected a whole lot more from one of the supporting actors in the flick.
Image: Columbia Pictures
Al Pacino
Yep, Pacino — of iconic films Scarface and The Godfather — co-starred in the mess of a movie that a Time reviewer said made her feel “dead inside.”
