Good actors have made some really bad movies
Among them, these actors have 13 Oscar wins and 37 nominations. That doesn’t mean it’s always been smooth sailing and that got us wondering: Why would two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington even want to make The Equalizer — not to mention The Equalizer 2
1 Michael Caine, Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Over the years, much has been made of Caine’s role in this flick, which features a shark travelling from the east coast to the Bahamas to track Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary). In 2010, he said of the film: “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”
2 Jon Voight, Anaconda (1997)
His career was going well. Three years earlier he had a small but great part in Seinfeld and had just come from playing Jim Phelps in the first reboot of the Mission: Impossible TV series. Then he slipped into this snake-hunting role. He has a great accent (what country it’s from is still up for internet debate) but he dove into the role in a movie that also features stars such as Jennifer Lopez and an the always angry Ice Cube.
3 Natalie Portman, Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace (1999)
Most people remember — and still have a hate-on for — Jar Jar Binks, but it was Portman who felt the biggest sting. She feared her career was washed up after scenes with the likes of Jake Lloyd and Liam Neeson. It took her a couple of movies, including V for Vendetta, to get back on the A list.
4 Marlon Brando, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Maybe it was his attitude — one of the screenwriters on the project called him “a monster” — but Brando, considered by many to be the greatest actor of the 20th century, made a real stinker with fellow actor Val Kilmer in one of Brando’s final Hollywood roles
5 Al Pacino, Jack and Jill (2011;)
Why, Al, Why? We know you haven’t made a lot of comedies, but this? Pacino — yes, Scarface himself — turns in a strange performance when he falls for Jill, played by Adam Sandler (who also plays twin brother Jack).
6 Anthony Hopkins, Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
At 77, he gets into the action game in this Michael Bay-directed epic. We’re not sure why he bothered, but then we aren’t sure why people continue to go to Transformer movies.
7 Nicole Kidman, Trespass (2011)
Not really sure why Kidman decided to join Nicolas Cage in this mess. In the movie — directed by Joel Schumacher (remember Batman & Robin?) — she must deal with a group of home invaders who want to kill her family. We know why Cage makes bad movies (too many to count), but Kidman?
8 Forest Whitaker, Battlefield Earth (2000)
Before he won an Oscar for playing an evil dictator, he came close to getting burned in this tale by Scientology founder Ron L. Hubbard. This was a John Travolta vanity project from the start.
9 Robert De Niro, Dirty Grandpa (2016)
Bruce Pearson (Bang The Drum Slowly), Johnny Boy (Mean Streets), Rupert Pupkin (The King of Comedy) Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) and then Dick Kelly, a.k.a. Dirty Grandpa. Something just doesn’t belong here (and we don’t mean Zac Efron).
10 Susan Sarandon, Ping Pong Summer (2014)
This role for Sarandon baffled us at first. It’s a newer movie and Sarandon is still a viable actor. She plays Randi Jammer, a smalltown table tennis guru who helps a hip-hop wannabe defeat the town bully in a table tennis match. We are assuming getting Sarandon to play the role was a real score for first-time director Michael Tully. After a little internet snooping, we discovered Sarandon is a co-owner of SPiN, a chain of table tennis clubs. Ah, so maybe that explains it.