The worst actor working today

[Casual Shinji]

I'm sure he's already been mentioned at least once already...but Tom Cruise.

Are you confusing real life Tom Cruise with on-screen Tom Cruise?

He's a great actor. Name three films he has been truly awful in...

It's primarily because of his craziness that he's so good at what he does.

Just like Mel Gibson.

 

[DustyDrB]

Well...I hate Daniel Craig as an actor. His version of Jason Bourne James Bond is just dreadful.

 

[The Funslinger]

Jack Black and Eddie Murphy, as a rule. There are exceptions in their older work, but today all their stuff feels tired and unfunny.
For the ladies it's Sarah Jessica Parker.

Edit: Also there's the obvious Taylor Lautner, who has the acting ability of a Starfish.

I agree with all of this, but I have to highlight Jack Black. He has one thing: Mangling his sentences with a sort of rocker humming sound. It wasn't even funny the first time. Also, his face is irritating.

I'm going to go super duper obvious and say Megan Fox.

 

[saoirse13]

I see there is a lot of hate for Nic Cage. Well I'll only add to it slightly. I don't much like him. Especially after going to see Ghost Rider 2. (now that was a terribvle movie and terrible acting) I literally sat in th cinema laughing at inappropriate moments just because of the acting. That said, I do have to give him credit where credit is due. Match-stick Men was a good movie, Leaving Las Vegas and of course his best movie by far was 8mm.

I can-not stand Megan Fox, She just annoys the hell outta me.

Ray Liotta had literally only one mvie that his acting wasn't complete crap in and that was Goodfella's But granted that was probably because DeNiro and Pesci made the movie great.

Sharon Stone is a talentless annoying woman. And pretty much based the acting career on playing sluts. (sorry just my opinion)

Brad Pitt, god all that man ever does in movies is eat.

 

[Raven's Nest]

I'm sure he's already been mentioned at least once already...but Tom Cruise.

Are you confusing real life Tom Cruise with on-screen Tom Cruise?

He's a great actor. Name three films he has been truly awful in...

Let's see....

Mission Impossible.

Mission Impossible 2.

Mission Impossible 3.

That wasn't too hard.

Not that I agree with you but that's the same character... If you didn't like him in the first you weren't going to like him in the rest...

 

[Casual Shinji]

Uhm, yeah, Steven Seagal beats 99% of the choices here.

To be fair, the OP did specify to "avoid citing B-movie actors," which is probably why Seagal wasn't mentioned.

Well then, Orlando Bloom all the way.

That guy is like a wet blanket covered in margarine.

 

[Lugbzurg]

I have to say that Kristen Stewart. The woman has no talent, she just does the zombie face all the time. Not just in Twilight, in other movies too. I honestly don't know how she got in the business. To be fair though, Bella strikes me as being more than a little stupid in the books, so I suppose she fit that role at least. [/rant]

Not sure which male actor, there are a few pretty awful ones.

Well, she might've been a little better when she was... a child. She starred in Catch that Kid. Maybe, that's how. She's just gotten worse. (Seriously, now, she looks like she's gotta make a record-breaking puke/crap every minute!) Big studios only care about your big accomplishments in the past. They don't care if you're talentless now. Actually... wait... A lot of them don't care about talent, anyway. They just want to know how much dough you can rake in for them.

Anyway, I have really come to dislike Jim Carrey. A LOT. He is not an actor. He fails to fit the criteria. He always pulls the exact same personality every single time. That's not acting. Acting is to be able to pretend you are other personalities. This is far from acting. He's energetic, but he doesn't really "act", strictly-speaking.

Have I yet mentioned enough times that he really can't actually "act"?

 

[DevilWithaHalo]

You're only including a few of those elements for each of the movies. Please explain to me how ALL of those films fit your rather specific formula. What's more, he has fairly a different personality in each of those films. Heck, in Face Off and Adaptation he plays two different characters (sort of) in each movie. It sounds more like you're just trying to shoehorn those films in to meet your own preconceived notions. I'll give you the slightly eccentric bit, as he does tend to have eccentricities in most films he plays in. However, given that those eccentricities and the way they're portrayed vary significantly from character to character, it's not as though that's the most damning thing that could be said about an actor.

Sorry, you can't expect me to take the time to do anything you're accusing me of being bias about; that's rather self defeating waste of time. You like him, I don't and gave reasons. You disagree, now we can move on with our lives.

Except he isn't emotionally distant, he isn't fighting for a noble causing, he's stealing a baby. Yes the movie has character growth, most good films do.

Trying to give his wife the family she wants isn't noble? Sure the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the intent behind the act was a good one.

You're accuseing a David Lynch film of being formula?

The film? No. The actor? Yes. But even good directors can be somewhat formulaic (sadly even those some might enjoy, like Joss Whedon).

Except he doesn't act badly, his performances help define Raising Arizona and Wild at Heart. And these are films by the Coen Brothers and David Lynch, some of the best directors to ever work in Hollywood.

The quality of their work overall has been decent enough (Watching No Country For Old Men seemed equivalent to paint drying), but even some of the best directors have produced absolute shit. While a matter of popular opinion, even here on the Escapist, many examples can be given. One in particular springs to mind, I'll give you a hint, his last name rhymes with mucus.

I will grant that Cage sometimes has moments of charming enthusiasm, but as a general rule I tend to be uninterested in his work.

 

[The Funslinger]

Uhm, yeah, Steven Seagal beats 99% of the choices here.

To be fair, the OP did specify to "avoid citing B-movie actors," which is probably why Seagal wasn't mentioned.

I got Stephen Seagal confused with Jason Segel for a moment. I would have been pissed...

 

[bigfatcarp93]

Keanu Reaves. Watch Dracula, and you'll see what I mean.

"Oh, my wife is dying... should I show some emotion?

...

...Nah."

 

[axlryder]

"Just be sure to state why you think they're the worst of the worst."

You should do that, too, as I'd like to know your reasoning behind Worthington. Is it his inability to hold an accent, that he always fails to show emotion, or something else? Inquiring minds and all that jazz.

OT: Let's see. I just watched The Scorpion King 2, so can I just list the entire cast? Oh, right, needs to be mainstream actors. Does Schwarzenegger count? 'Cause he can't show any emotion either. (One good role and casting decision -- for an emotionless android nonetheless -- does not make him good.)

Edit: Oh, I forgot to say a female. Eva Mendes, no question about it. Never good in anything. Ever. I'd say (in fact, I have said) she's worse than Megan Fox, really.

I think it's just the way he manages to actively make a seen worse with his presence. It's like he physically sucks the energy and intensity out of a scene.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Emma Watson.

She makes me want to chew the sofa whenever the Harry Potter movies come on, and now I hear she's being put into more movies. Why can't we just let the talented people from the HP movies have careers? Why does it have to be that talentless vapid whorebiscuit?

Oh it feels good to get that out. I haven't had a good rant about her in a while.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm sure he's already been mentioned at least once already...but Tom Cruise.

Are you confusing real life Tom Cruise with on-screen Tom Cruise?

He's a great actor. Name three films he has been truly awful in...

Let's see....

Mission Impossible.

Mission Impossible 2.

Mission Impossible 3.

That wasn't too hard.

Not that I agree with you but that's the same character... If you didn't like him in the first you weren't going to like him...

You asked for three movies so I gave you three movies. Same character, but that's 3 different opportunities for acting.

I do appreciate, however, that you realize this is based on personal opinion.

Keanu Reeves. It's kind of fitting that his most famous role is in a late 90s movie set in a computer generated world, because he's about as animated and expressive as a late 90s video game character.

Heh heh, my favorite thing about good ol' Keanu is that he went from being the token "Moronic Male Bimbo Surfer Dude" in every movie to being "God's Savior For Mankind" in every movie. *insert South Park episode making fun of this fact*

 

[The Funslinger]

I have to say that Kristen Stewart. The woman has no talent, she just does the zombie face all the time. Not just in Twilight, in other movies too. I honestly don't know how she got in the business. To be fair though, Bella strikes me as being more than a little stupid in the books, so I suppose she fit that role at least. [/rant]

Not sure which male actor, there are a few pretty awful ones.

Well, she might've been a little better when she was... a child. She starred in Catch that Kid. Maybe, that's how. She's just gotten worse. (Seriously, now, she looks like she's gotta make a record-breaking puke/crap every minute!) Big studios only care about your big accomplishments in the past. They don't care if you're talentless now. Actually... wait... A lot of them don't care about talent, anyway. They just want to know how much dough you can rake in for them.

Anyway, I have really come to dislike Jim Carrey. A LOT. He is not an actor. He fails to fit the criteria. He always pulls the exact same personality every single time. That's not acting. Acting is to be able to pretend you are other personalities. This is far from acting. He's energetic, but he doesn't really "act", strictly-speaking.

Have I yet mentioned enough times that he really can't actually "act"?

Jim Carey was in anything besides The Mask, and Bruce Almighty?

Shut up, I can't hear you! LALALALALALA!

Seriously, Jim. Give me those two movies and fuck off...

 

[axlryder]

You're only including a few of those elements for each of the movies. Please explain to me how ALL of those films fit your rather specific formula. What's more, he has fairly a different personality in each of those films. Heck, in Face Off and Adaptation he plays two different characters (sort of) in each movie. It sounds more like you're just trying to shoehorn those films in to meet your own preconceived notions. I'll give you the slightly eccentric bit, as he does tend to have eccentricities in most films he plays in. However, given that those eccentricities and the way they're portrayed vary significantly from character to character, it's not as though that's the most damning thing that could be said about an actor.

Sorry, you can't expect me to take the time to do anything you're accusing me of being bias about; that's rather self defeating waste of time. You like him, I don't and gave reasons. You disagree, now we can move on with our lives.

Except he isn't emotionally distant, he isn't fighting for a noble causing, he's stealing a baby. Yes the movie has character growth, most good films do.

Trying to give his wife the family she wants isn't noble? Sure the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the intent behind the act was a good one.

You're accuseing a David Lynch film of being formula?

The film? No. The actor? Yes. But even good directors can be somewhat formulaic (sadly even those some might enjoy, like Joss Whedon).

Except he doesn't act badly, his performances help define Raising Arizona and Wild at Heart. And these are films by the Coen Brothers and David Lynch, some of the best directors to ever work in Hollywood.

The quality of their work overall has been decent enough (Watching No Country For Old Men seemed equivalent to paint drying), but even some of the best directors have produced absolute shit. While a matter of popular opinion, even here on the Escapist, many examples can be given. One in particular springs to mind, I'll give you a hint, his last name rhymes with mucus.

I will grant that Cage sometimes has moments of charming enthusiasm, but as a general rule I tend to be uninterested in his work.

It would probably be easier to just say "his characters in those films don't all fit that narrow formula", which would be an accurate statement.

 

[lacktheknack]

If anyone says Nicholas Cage I'll punch you!!! He's the greatest actor of all time, I love him.

I was about to say Nicolas Cage... he's also my favorite actor.

<youtube=1zdWC9rHWmk>

Oh Nic, you're so dreamy in the weirdest way.

 

[anthony87]

Keanu Reeves? Anyone?
(I'm making this post before looking through the whole thread so I might be ninja'd)


Imagine how could that scene would be if he could emote.

 

[chadachada123]

Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Cage, and Rene Zellweger (she isn't even deserving of having her name spelled correctly, she's that terrible).

The first because...anyone that's seen Twilight would understand.

The second because he can't display any emotion in any realistic fashion.

The third because LOOK AT HER HIDEOUS FACE MY GOD.

 

[Hafnium]

Kiera Knightley, she just annoys me to my core. One of the reasons I didn't like the Pirates-movies all that much, all the men acted like she was amazing and oh so desirable. I would have put her in the crow's nest if I was cap'n.

 

[aggers]

Tommy Wiseau
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCj8sPCWfUw

enough said