Some actors are chameleons. Upon first viewing of any movie Gary Oldman has ever been in, you likely found yourself asking, “Is that- is that Gary Oldman?” Then exclaiming, “Holy crap, that’s Gary Oldman!”
Other actors are whatever the opposite of a chameleon is. basically playing themselves role after role, and not always convincingly. Hey, who are we to judge? If we could pull seven-figure paydays for showing up somewhere to look, act, and talk like ourselves, we’d be far too busy snorting gold flakes and mainlining liquefied money to write any of these silly lists.
But it can be truly startling when such one-note actors seem to suddenly discover all the other notes. It sometimes happens, and here’s the proof …
10. Ryan Reynolds – The Nines
This underrated 2007 psychological thriller was seen by about sixteen people, all of whose brains were on the floor by the time the credits were rolling. The film consists of three short, loosely connected films featuring the same three actors in different roles. If that sounds intriguing, take our advice and go watch the movie immediately; “underrated” and “intriguing” don’t really do it justice.
The three actors are Hope Davis (good actress), Melissa McCarthy (really good actress) and, um, Ryan Reynolds, who is usually known for genial mugging, and not much else. Displaying a range not in evidence before or since, he creates three totally unique characters that are connected to each other in a way that … well, we won’t spoil it for you. But you won’t believe you’re watching Reynolds, who more than holds his own opposite McCarthy and Davis.
9. Jean-Claude Van Damme – JCVD
Nobody would ever accuse Van Damme of being any kind of serious actor. French director Mabrouk El Mechri conceived and wrote this film, wherein Van Damme plays a slightly fictionalized version of himself caught up in a bank heist and, for awhile, it plays out exactly like the meta-joke it sounds like. But then a moment comes when you’re not sure if you should be laughing, and the “Muscles From Brussels“, well … crushes it.
Van Damme breaks the fourth wall to deliver an uninterrupted, six-minute monologue addressing his image, failed marriages, and substance abuse problems, that is startling in its directness and authenticity. Even though it’s primarily in another language, you can feel his earnestness and seriousness throughout. Nothing we’ve seen out of Van Damme before suggests he’s capable of such a thing; honestly, this kind of makes us wish he’d get cast in some more serious films, because the dude can obviously act.
8. Kristen Stewart – Welcome To The Rileys
In this small indie drama, the famously wooden and sullen (or is it sullen and wooden?) Stewart plays a 16-year-old stripper who helps a family recover from the untimely death of their only daughter. Debuting at Sundance, the film cost $10 million to make and did a whole $300,000 box office. However, no less a critic than the late, great Roger Ebert said:
“Stewart is, quite simply, a wonderful actress. I must not hold the “Twilight” movies against her. She played the idiotic fall-girl written for her, as well as that silly girl could be played … in recent film after film, she shows a sure hand and an intrinsic power. I last saw her in “Welcome to the Rileys,” where she played a runaway working as a hooker in New Orleans. In both films she had many scenes with experienced older actors. In both she was rock solid.”
So the next time Stewart plays yet another bland, barely-emotional vessel for the male lead to love for no good reason, remember that it’s a sad result of the Hollywood Typecast Machine, and she can actually do much, much more.
NSFW language and content in the video:
7. Dwayne Johnson – Southland Tales
Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly’s epic mindscrew is legendarily divisive. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the worst piece of crap anyone has ever crapped out into the crapper, or it’s some kind of twisted masterpiece (hint: “masterpiece” is the correct answer). At the center of it all is amnesiac actor Boxer Santaros, who thinks he is his character Jericho Cane, and is played by Dwayne Johnson. Yes, The Rock.
For a guy who’s built a career on his badass, cocky, uber-charismatic persona, Johnson conveys meek, befuddled powerlessness as Boxer so effectively, that it’s hard to believe it’s really him. In addition, when the Jericho Cane persona is on display, Johnson’s charisma leaps off the screen.
6. Hayden Christensen – Shattered Glass
Hayden Christensen is most famous for playing a sentient block of wood in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and he’s one of the main reasons that trilogy is oft-maligned. However, in 2003, Christensen turned in a nervous, mannered performance as disgraced journalist Stephen Glass, the New Republic reporter who literally fabricated most of his stories. Hayden acts circles around veterans Peter Sarsgaard and Hank Azaria, and proves that sometimes, having the wrong director can make an otherwise-good actor look really, really bad.
82 Comments
You have got to be kidding me. Kristen Stewart and Hayden Christensen? Two of the worst actors in Hollywood.
Hayden Christensen was very good in Shattered Glass but he did NOT act circles around Peter Sarsgaard!! Puh-lease!
I actually had an inkling of Jet Li’s acting ability when I saw The One so I’m not surprised he could dish out a stellar performance. What about Jim Carrey? I’ve always liked Jim but the first time I thought he had range was when I watched him in The Majestic.
People hate Kristen Stewart because of the Twilight movies. The problem is that they gross much more money than most of her other films. She is an extremely underrated because of Twilight. There is just no denying that Twilight is awful. These are actors who just should have gotten better careers. The reasons why other actors and actresses are lauded is because they give good performances in movies that are successful. They are actors that just deserved better careers. The thing is an actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Anna Kendrick are more popular is because of their performances in their more successful movies. As long as we can forget the crappy Twilight movies, which are based on books not popular for being a good series, we will not hate on Kristen Stewart. Emma Watson, again, gives better performances in successful movies. Harry Potter will always be better than Twilight. I can’t say the same thing about Taylor Lautner, on the other hand, or Tara Reid, or Megan Fox. The problem with Twilight is the script and direction. Stewart had nothing to play in Twilight. An actor or actress is considered good when they give good performance in successful movie.
Totally agree about Stallone,The Rock,Keanu and Def Hayden in ‘Shattered Glass’,one of the best films of the past decade.Also check out Hayden in ‘Life as a House’ He has magnetism and talent to see against one of the biggest Chameleons,Kevin Kline.And if its available around,check out Keanu in My Own Private Idaho.He’s with one of my favorite actors,River Phoenix,and his role seems so shallow and funtime,you never assume that he will affect you,or his character’s about face will,by the close of the movie.But it does.And I will always stan for Stallone in Rocky IV.Dont even get me started.Life changing lines in that movie,delivered by him.Dwayne should be noted for being the ONE wrestler,who not only made it in Hollywood,but made it work.He’s been awesome in Everything.
Eric Roberts in King of the Gypsies and Pope of Greenwich Village.
I would have to group so,e famous comedic actors in here or even in their own list…
Adam Sandler usually makes movies solely for a paycheck but Punch Drunk Love and even Reign Over Me showed he has some chops.
Ben Stiller was fantastic in Greenberg.
Well Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction and Everything Must Go we’re great performances.
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Vince Vaughn has even showed some good acting skills even in small roles like in Thumbsucker.
James Franco in 127 Hours
Andy Samberg did great in Celest and Jesse Forever
Marlon Wayne’s was real good in Requim For. A Dream
And even thought I do not really like Jck Black he got acclaim for Bernie
Most these guys are known for making whacky comedies but they all have the ability to act unfortunately the indie movies don’t pay the bills.
It’s true about Haydn Christensen; apparently he actually did tons of takes for Revenge of the Sith, way more than is normal, where he did some great sinister acting – but Lucas made him re-do and re-do it, take after take – until he got the whiny bitch emo performance we ended up with. Apparently THAT was what Lucas was going for….says it all, really.
These are only ‘good’ actors if you are very, very easily entertained/convinced. But most all the acting in Hollywood is awful.
Dwayne Johnson is actually not to bad an actor, he’s fairly convincing and his movies deliver! Even the over the top persona he does on WWE is entertaining and probably good training for his screen acting.
Ryan Reynolds is one of my favorite comedic actors. I adore him in rom-coms and action movies. Then, I watched Buried and I was blown away. Amazing performance. I’ll definately have to check out The Nines.
Keanu Reeves is one I’ve never been a big fan of. I was ok with him in The Matrix movies. I even tolerate him in Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing as Don John (WAY too many good actors in that, he’s gets ignored as soon as he’s off screen). I’m not going to go out of my way to see The Gift, but if I catch it on, maybe I’ll watch it.
There is no hope for Nic Cage though. He’s him. In everything he does, it’s just him.
K Stew is HORRIBLE. You can’t blame it on the material. She’s the same person in Adventureland. I won’t watch Welcome to the Rileys. I think the ONLY reason she was decent (or passable) in The Runaways is because Joan Jett was there, teaching her to show emotion.
Speaking of K Stew, Rob Patt is pretty bad too. I thought I would give him a shot, thinking “it’s the material” and I watched Water For Elephants. Wow. I adore Cristoph Waltz. I’m fine with Reese Witherspoon. Rob was horrible though.
there’s my two cents.
You forgot the worse actor of all time but I can see why you dont have him on this list because he is famous and yet he can’t act no matter how hard he tries….Ashton Kutcher!
Claude Van Damme,You look like a bad boy when you smile or flush.
I always thought that Will Smith was very a one-dimensional actor, always playing a smart-talking, wise-cracking ass-kicker, ALWAYS. Then I saw “Pursuit of Happiness”. Jesus, was I wrong.
Wesley snipes, is a good dramatic actor, but like Stallone came to be known mostly as a brooding scary black man/martial artists. check out his more dramatic roles. when it comes to snipes being a good actor ALWAYS bet on black.
One actor I normally don’t care for is Tom Cruise, who too often relies on his movie-star smile for his performance. However, in Collateral he did a great job playing an aging assassin playing headgames with a taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) whom he forces into being his chauffeur for his latest round of killings. The two play each other very well and have a complex relationship.
Nice list. I especially liked giving kudos to Haim in “Lucas” and Stallone in “Copland”… man, Sly stole that movie! But you missed #1. Elvis Presley. 2/3rds of every one of his films was a dud, but when he cooked, “King Creole”, “Jailhouse Rock”, “Wild In The Country”, “Flaming Star” and even “Charro!”, he was very, very good. And it must be remembered that for his 25 year entertainment career 1952-1977, he spent the majority of that time 1956-1972 as a movie star. He was awful in a lot of movies, but that’s because the films were so bad. It just didn’t matter. When the role was meaty, he had the goods.
I think most of these actors suffer from a perception problem. They keep getting cast in these roles that don’t really let them show off what they can do. I disagree with the Rock’s entry in the list though, both because I think anyone who takes more than a half a glance at his career will see he has a very wide variety of roles, and because the one example they chose to show off his talents was probably the single worst movie I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen Superman IV. He has plenty of movies where he is more than a stereotypical meathead, even when he’s supposed to be playing a stereotypical meathead. As for Southland Tales, it was just dumb. There was no plot, and it was disappointing that they got all these great comedic actors and then wasted them. I spent the first half of the film waiting for the punchline, and the last half of the film waiting for it to be over.
“And I’ve seen Superman IV.”
That was a definite LOL moment for me. Nicely said.
I think you will appreciate this: Superman IV, the Honest Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNqbqcV4dU
That’s what made me think of it. Such a great channel. 🙂 It really is a toss up between the two, but at the end of the day, as bad as it was, Superman at least had a plot, and some fight scenes. Southland Tales had confusion masquerading as depth.
I first thought The Rock could act when he was in Be Cool, he showed genuine comedic talent and was far and away the best thing in that movie that included a bunch of Oscar nominees.
Watching Hayden Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin in Episode III is the one time I cried in the cinema, apart from Les Miserables. The guy is awesome, and the only reason someone may think he’s not is because they’re too busy wanting him to be the imaginary version of Harrison Ford they saw when they were 15.
(Hint: The acting in the original SW movies is alternatively wooden and cheesy. Take off the nostalgia glases.)
Not so much that these people are bad actors as it is the roles selected for them.
Someone mentioned Colin Pharrell. In Bruge was just awesome and he killed the part.
Ashton Kutcher in Butterfly Effect anyone?
Oh lordy lord, Southland Tales
One actor, Matthew McConaughey. He seems to have shaken that rom-com “himbo” tag off him, after roles in “The Lincoln Lawyer”, “Killer Joe”, and his latest, “Mud”. The man seems to get better and better. Another one is Bradley Cooper. He is actually a very good actor ( his Oscar nom earlier this year proved that)
I’d put Will Smith on here. He gets a lot of unnecessary hate from movie buffs, but he really IS talented.
I would argue that he is the best at delivering emotional scenes. An example of that is the dog scene in I Am Legend, that’s one of the saddest scenes of all time IMO. There’s also the scene in Hancock where he explains his first memory of waking up in the hospital and no one came to see him, he nailed it.
“You gotta wonder though, what kind of bastard must I have been…..that nobody was there to claim me? I mean, I’m no, I’m not the most charming guy on the world so I’ve been told but… nobody?”
And there’s also the scene in I-Robot where he talks about the little girl trapped in the car. He really knows how to get a tear out of his audience.
I agree. I definitely felt a twinge in the scenes mentioned. I’m not really a fan of Will Smith, I mean I don’t hate the guy but I don’t watch out for his films either. However, I was blown away by his movie “the pursuit of happiness.” It’s definitely different from his wild wild west film.
Did you really just say this about Will Smith? I don’t think there is anybody who disputes Smith’s acting ability. He’s a two-time Oscar nominee, and four-time Golden Globe nominee! Where are you seeing all this hate, cause I’ve never encountered any.
For real—I think one of Smith’s best dramatic roles is the very good fast-paced ’90’s thriller ENEMY OF THE STATE—I’ve always thought that film is underrated simply because he starred in it,which is a shame because he’s damn good in it, and I’ve always thought he was a good actor,too. And the Rock has shown more & more over the years that he can do more than strong man action roles—check out BE COOL, where he plays a gay bodyguard (one of the few comedic roles I’ve seen him in,and he was funny in it.) He was also a scary and convincing bad guy in FASTER (one of his few straight-up hardcore villain roles) and also pretty good as a father going undercover to get his son out of prison in the really good recent crime drama SNITCH. So he can act his behind off when he gets a good role,too!
C’mon… Stallone is not so bad. Watch the final scene of Rambo I. I think it was very touching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qIgVrOy9vM
Ryan Reynolds is also fantastic in a little movie called ‘Buried.’ The entire movie is just him buried alive in a coffin, trying to get out. Claustrophobic and absolutely terrifying. He is riveting.
I never really took Chris Tucker seriously as an actor, after Friday and the Rush Hour movies he pretty much became a parody of himself, but watch him in Dead Presidents. That was an Oscar worthy performance. I see why he got frustrated with Hollywood and quit because all he was being offered was gang banger and basketball playerroles.
I gotta say that Stallone is a great actor in my book. Every time I watch First Blood I’m completely taken by Rambo’s meltdown in the end scene. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that particular scene very strong and touching somehow.
Thanks for the list, I have a few movies to watch.
What I generally see with many of the actors listed, they always get cast in the same kind of movies. You could be the greatest actor, but if the studios do not see anything else for you then their ‘Sly Stallone kind of actor’ or ‘constantly dazed and confused looking actress’ cookie cutter roles, you will not get any other chances.
This list is basically about actors that have broken from their moulds and were able to show their actual talents.
7. Dwayne Johnson
When he acts, like in Be Cool or like movies, not the action roles, he is REALLY fun to watch. He has the clutz down to par.
2. Sylvester Stallone
Sadly I disagree here, as I see to much of his old roles. He is great in what he does, but this is not like the other actors.
8. Kristen Stewart
I might get around to watching the mentioned movie, but from ‘Panic Room’ and the 3 mins I was able to force myself to watch Twilight, I saw no acting.
9. Jean-Claude Van Damme
1. Keanu Reeves
As mentioned above, these two had their off-character movies and it finally what they could do.
Gotta disagree. Sylvester Stallone… cannot act. The only reason he’s ever chosen is his voice and face, and he only has THOSE because of a chance miswiring in his face.
Dude… Go watch First Blood and Rocky like NOW! He actually IS a great actor. But if the face and voice is all you see then maybe you should just forget about it…
I watched Welcome to the Rileys. It was BAD. She played herself if she would have been a stripper instead of an actress. Just like her AWFUL role in Snow White and the Huntsman. She played herself if she lived in Medieval times.
Her problem is she puts too much of herself into her roles and just ends up being herself instead of a different character and people praise her for it?!
She was KIND OF good in The Runaways but Dakota Fanning stole the show in that one.
She’s an unemotional mouth breather who really needs to attend a few acting classes.
If you knew anything about Chinese film, you’d have already realized that, in his native tongue, Jet Li is a wonderful actor.
Exactly! The movie, Fearless (with sub-titles) was an eye-opener for me. He delivered a sensitive, masterful performance.
Jet Li was amazing in Fearless, Romeo Must Die, and Unleashed. and no one mentions, except the author about JCVDs performance in his movie, I watched it being a fan from way back, but man, when he did that monologue, my jaw bounced twice off the floor.
Jet Li’s always been a good actor–it’s usually been overshadowed by his martial arts skills though. Check out THE ENFORCER aka MY FATHER IS A HERO, an action film in which he plays a good dramatic role for a change,as well as LEGEND OF THE SWORDSMAN aka SWORDSMAN II, and KUNG FU CULT MASTER aka LORD OF THE WU TANG, where he barely speaks throughout the film, but does some incredible stunts and fights anyway.
And,yeah, Keanu Reeves was both good AND scary as hell in THE GIFT—too bad he dosen’t do more roles like these more often.
So Kirsten Stewart can act because she can scream and say f**k every two seconds? AMAZING.
I’m going home and watching “The Nines,” because it looks awesome… but I’ve got to say, I always knew that Ryan Reynolds was an actual actor and not just a face maker.
I have to agree with the assessment of Kristen Stewart as well – the Twilight movies (And books) targeted ten year old girls, so I suppose her performances as Bella were just doing the best she could with what she had to work with (Though I admit that I got really tired of the open-mouthed stare). I’ve liked her in other roles, including “Panic Room” and “The Runaways.”
Johnny Mnemonic was awful, and that’s too bad, because I think it could have been a really good movie… Dolph Lundgren was the only thing I liked about it, and even at that, I wouldn’t say it was a truly amazing performance – it was good, but I think the foolishness around him made him look a bit better than he was. But Keanu Reeves redeemed himself – he messed me UP as the redneck husband in “The Gift.” His Donnie was down cold scary, and I believed every minute.
Not on this list, but still surprising to me, is Jim Carrey. I have no idea who convinced him that he was funny, but his over the top, hit-you-in-the-head humor does not appeal to me at all. He drove me nuts in the Ace Ventura movies and in ” Dumb and Dumber.” And then I saw him in “The Majestic.” What a performance – I couldn’t believe how good he was in a dramatic role. I bought him completely.
Will Farrell pretty much sucks. I saw that Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson were in Stranger than Fiction with Will Farrell and I wondered why they were lending their legendary names to a movie that was obviously going to be junk. Quite surprisingly, Farrell was the best thing about that movie. Ok, Maggie Gylenhall was quite wonderful to look at.
With the hair and beard Dolph Lundgren sported in “Johnny Mnemonic” he could just as well have been a decent “Thor”
Agreed…but thank Heavens for Chris Hemsworth. That man is the very definition of man-candy Nordic god Awesomnessss…with that many “s”
Except Chris Hemsworth isn’t even the slightest bit Nordic.
I thought Kristen Stewart was great in The Panic Room and The Messengers. And I always thought she did the best with what she was given in Twilight.
I never put two and two together regarding Keanu Reeves in The Gift (probably because I saw The Gift years before I saw The Matrix). He was absolutely terrifying in that role. Triggeringly realistic.
Jet Li was great in Unleashed.
Shattered Glass was an excellent film. There was another movie Hayden Christensen performed well in, but I can’t remember what it was called (issues with his father, hair was dyed black, angry young man).
Life as a House!
I never forgot seeing Keanu Reeves when “The Gift” was showing on a plane. Even though I was riveted by the film, I was still surprised that it was the same guy who played an airhead in “Bill & Ted.” He was PERFECT as a real creepy redneck teetering on the verge of uncontrolled violence. The problem is that he’s too often associated with airheads and wooden guys like Neo from the overrated “Matrix” films. Maybe he needs to dump action movies permanently and move to dramas like he did in “The Gift.” No wonder I almost didn’t recognize him.
I reccomended it to my sister, a fellow Keanu fan. She called me in hysterics, upset that he had played such an evil character so well, and begged me never to let her know about any other such movie, hehehe. He was super-scary.
You have to add Colin Farrell. He was awesome in “In Bruges”.
…and in Tigerland.
And Seven Psychopaths.
No one on this list i think is a bad actor.
Ryan Reynolds range between Van Wilder and Amityville was impressive.
The Rock in Scorpion King I had my doubts, but then by Rundown and Be Cool he improved DRASTICALLY, he has really mastered his art.
Stallone is WAY underrated. People mistake his speech impediment for bad acting. But his subtext is excellent… and on another note, the fact that he wrote most of his work and directed much of it is just inspiring.
Hayden Christensen wasnt really given a fair chance. SW movies much of the time is the directors fault in terms of the acting. But his characters change from episode II to Episode III was still impressive.
Keeanu, I have always thought had a bad wrap. monotone doesnt make you a bad actor, if in the real world monotone people really exist. His line delivery and subtext are still well done.
Corey Haim? whoever said he was a bad actor? I never heard that.
Jet Li suffers from the same thing Van damme does: language barrier
Anthony Anderson as Antwon Mitchell in The Shield
Mo’nique in Precious
They killed these roles
I’m sorry not to see some of the earlier actors here who also broke away for one great performance. After being praised for his performance in “The Searchers” John Wayne said, “I told you sons-of-bitches I could act.” Archie Leach showed what he could do and then went back to doing what he wanted to do: being Cary Grant. *sigh*
I have to agree with the Ashton Kutcher comments also. I just watched the Butterfly Effect yesterday for the first time in my “adult life” if you will, and I was blown away by how well he played that roll.
agree with Ashton Kutcher in the comments. The man has made his living off of silly roles, but his performance in the Butterfly Effect is Outstanding. And yup, read his history and you find a guy that is anything but stupid both from an educational standpoint and business acumen.
Helium voiced Joey Lauren Adams turned in one amazing performance in Chasing Amy against the very bland Ben Affleck. Unfortunately, nothing really came of it and she hasn’t done much else since. Probably due to her voice, which is a bit annoying.
Another great addition would be Ashton Kutcher. I know people think he’s a raging douchebag, and maybe he is, but he’s funny in 70s Show and other comic roles, and he turned in a masterful dramatic performance in Butterfly Effect. He’s really talented.
The Butterfly Effect was absolutely brilliant. The only thing I’d seen him in had been “Dude Where’s my Car?” and I was completely blown away by The Butterfly Effect. One of the few films that actually had me on the edge of my seat, in no small part thanks to Kutcher’s fantastic ‘descent into madness’ portrayal.
I had to seriously rethink my opinion of Stallone after Copland
The first time I saw him in an interview, I was blown away by his wit. He’s definitively an intelligent, well-spoken (crooked mouth and all) and charismatic individual, and I have no issues with his acting. John Rambo is one complex character, and he owned it.
People just think hes stupid due to his slurred speech, which was caused by nerve damage during his birth. Hes really smart, and funny as hell too.
Just a couple of notes:
8. Kirsten Stewart, besides being known for blank, emotionless stares in the Twilight series, actually had a decent career prior to her descent into deer-in-the-headlights acting. “Into the Wild” was excellent, and her performance in Panic Room is one of the best “kid” performances in the early 2000’s.
4. Dolph Lundgren’s performance in the somewhat underrated Johnny Mnemonic was pretty good, I still go back to his performance as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV as the best of his career. The movie was cheese, but he was subtly awesome. I’ll also add – did you know Dolph has a Master’s in Chemical Engineering and a near-genius-level IQ? Yeah. He’s smart.
2. Stallone gets the short stick when people talk about his acting, but have you seriously watched him? He gives it his all in the Rocky films (I, III, and VI are fantastic) and he did a good job at stretching the action genre with stuff like Cliffhanger. His best performances, however, have been John Rambo in First Blood and the 4th Rambo film. People who think of Rambo as a brainless machine-gun wielding unstoppable ‘MURICA-defending killing machine really need to give those films a second look, especially the first one. I’ve said elsewhere that his performance in the first movie should’ve received a best actor nomination, and I stand by that. He done good.
Well, I agree, but I don’t know who ACTUALLY thinks that Stallone or Dolph Lundgren are anything but smart. Stallone wrote the script to the first Rocky film himself. Hans “Dolph” Lundgren has degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering from multiple universities.
Stallone is the example of what happens when a brilliant writer and actor gets typecast as an action hero. The man has an Oscar for writing Rocky, and he rewrote the entire script for First Blood. In the book, John Rambo went on a killing spree and got killed in the end. Stallone decided to rewrite the script so that Rambo didn’t actually kill a single person in the film. The only person that dies does so because he unbuckled his seat belt in a helicopter. Of course, he also rewrote that Rambo lives in the end, which lead to the absolutely horrible Rambos 2 and 3. But ANYONE that thinks Stallone can’t act needs to watch First Blood, especially the scene in the cop station with Colonel Trautman. And I don’t agree with Kristen Stewart being on this list. Shes horrible regardless of role or level of emotional involvement.
Well, they should give First Blood and Rambo a second look. Avoid First Blood Part II and Rambo III.
I agree. If you put Twilight aside, Stewart should not be on this list.
People rip on her a lot, though. I think that’s why she’s on the list. She was pretty good in ‘Adventureland’, too.
I was terrified as i started reading this list.
so afraid that you will some how shove the anti- actor Nicolas Cage in here.
one can only imagine The sigh of relief when reaching the end and finding that sanity is still among us.
god bless.. and away with the Anti- actor!
Nic Cage: Leaving Las Vegas, Raising Arizona, The Rock, Con Air, Lord of War, Windtalkers.
Raising Arizona and Leaving Las Vegas are two of my favorite movies due in no small part to Cage’s terrific performances
.
And The Weatherman, don’t forget The Weatherman
CON AIR?????. Hahahahaha. Cage with that horrible southern accent and long hair was pretty much laughed off the screen. And wind talkers was arguably one of his worst performances.
I second both Raising Arizona and Lord of War. He was JUST ENOUGH psycho to pull both roles off beautifully.
I love him (most of the times…who can forget that cape-in-the-wind scene of FaceOff?) but Nic Cage plays Nic Cage in every movie.
Raising Arizona and Adaptation? Have you never seen either of those?
Not sure if Will’s comments are for me, but…I loved Raising Arizona and liked Adaptation. Still, Cage’s own personality always permeates his characters.
He pisses me off so badly as an actor. He has the capacity to be so good but usually sells it all out for some kind of gimmick. I told him he was a fake.