Worst Actor Of All Time

I'll see your Robert Culp and raise you a Denise Richards.

Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill

Would it have killed you to have at least posted a picture or link OP? Would it? I mean would that have really been that hard? Would it? Why don’t you try to think more of others next time before you post? Can you give us a straight answer? At least be honest for once in your life and tell us why you were so inconsiderate?

Or were you being sex-exclusive with "actor"?

If so, I suggest Stephanie Ann "Grease Monolith" Seagal, Russian Spyski & All-Around Horrible Subhuman.

Keanu Reeves

R3 just likes to see her own image.

Gerard Butler

Nicholas Cage

I seriously considered Ben Affleck for the third spot, but...

Owen WIlson

The long and lucrative careers of all of these men remains a complete mystery to me.

Hey, OP.

From the Beyond, Bob asked me to give you this.

What exactly was Robert Culp known for?

It's funny to see a truly mediocre movie from decades ago like BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE, with Dyan Cannon, Natalie Wood, and Elliott Gould, all of whom have done better work elsewhere...

And then see Robert Culp, the kind of non-presence onscreen that seems to scream "HE WASN'T OUR FIRST, SECOND, OR EVEN FOURTH CHOICE. HE WAS WHO WOULD WE COULD GET, DAMMIT!"

That gay dude something Tyler-Ferguson.

Bonnie Franklin

Timothee Hal Chalamet.

Anthony Newley

I know a C list actor who can't believe that Gerard Butler has a career. He knows him and does not have one good thing to say about him.

Pauly Shore

Actress: Pia Zadora

Heather graham

Gerard Butler in Phantom of the Opera. Ugh.

Culp is known for four things: the co-star of "I Spy", "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice", Robert's father-in-law on Everybody Loves Raymond", and most importantly, playing 3 different murderers on "Columbo".

Nicholas Cage is a good runner-up, but Owen Wilson is unquestionably the worst actor ever.

This guy

I know Culp from The Greatest American Hero.

Amber Heard, the worst

Amber Heard, the worst

(ahem)

^^^ YEAH, AHEM, BITCHES!

Robert Culp wasn't THAT bad. Better than Keanu Reeves, at least

Watch it, r24.

You guys obviously have never watched soap operas.

Go back and rewatch the first couple of episodes of "The Sopranos". Meadow's best friend is David Chase's daughter.

Robert Culp taught Bill Cosby how to act. Contemplate that fact.

Mel Gibson

Mark Wahlberg

Angelina Jolie

John Leguizamo

and when he dies it’ll be Marky Mark

and when he does it’ll be Ben Affleck

Winona Ryder. She didn't deserve a comeback.

Donnie Walburg

Tommy Wiseau.

Ali McGraw

Culp was a superb match for Peter Falk on Columbo

Most successful bad actor of all time.

Cody Horn from Magic Mike.

Shelley Hack, Rose.

Please. Tanya Roberts made Shelley Hack look like Hepburn in comparison.

Helen Hunt. End of thread

Zoe Kazan. The scenes with her and Winona Ryder in “The Plot Against America” are an exercise on what not to do as an actor. If you ever seen Zoe onstage in a play it is even more painful.

Temporary thread derailment - Robert Culp’s son Joseph Culp played Archie Whitman, Don Draper’s father on Mad Men

Carry on.

R16, true story. In the 1980's Pia Zadora was appearing off off-broadway in The Diary of Anne Frank. When the Nazis showed up at the front door, people in the audience started shouting "She's in the attic."

Okay, Tommy Wiseau is the correct answer.

Susan Lucci

Ali MacGraw

Bruce Willis

Anybody remember Victor Mature? Now there was a bad actor!

R50 I'd forgotten about him! My Dad used to refer to him as "Victor Manure."

Another vote of Gerard Butler. Chris Pine is another. Denise Richards is another.

I'm surprised by how many of the actors in this thread I like.

I've never minded Robert Culp; he's one-note but usually competent. He worked solid for decades and established himself more than anything as a familiar face.

Daryl Hannah isn't a great thespian, but she has a presence and Tarantino found her best as an arrogant menace where she'd always been soft and vulnerable before.

Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder hit their acting nadirs with Dracula, as they both screamed contemporary California stupid in every scene they were in, yet they've both done passable work, and I'm happy they've both seen a career resurgence in the past few years.

Tracy Morgan was quite funny as a variation on himself on 30 Rock, and he seems comfortable in his role on The Last OG. He's really still a stand-up rather than an actor, but he has his moments.

Zosia Mamet, though, just fucking awful. Her character on Mad Men should've been great, but she was so ungainly and untalented that she ruined it. Nepotism really does let some stinkers through the gate.

Elizabeth Berkley

This thread sponsored by Bobby Cannavale. Literally the worst actor in the history of film and television.

Yeah r28, There was a young blond guy (I forget which soap) that I saw have a bad reaction scene where he literally moved like a bird, with wide eyes and weird head ticks. It was so awful, I was transfixed.

Victor Mature at least had a sense of humor about himself. He said something like "I'm no actor, and I gave 69 pictures to prove it"

I actually think he wasn't that bad. I liked him in Kiss of Death

Adam Sandler duh

(R53) Have you seen Keanu and Winona in Destination Wedding? Has to be one of the worst romantic comedies I've ever seen in my life. Watch it on Amazon prime and then get back with me. They still suck.

Larry Wilcox from ChiPs. Horrendous.

The entire cast of Good Omens. Cheesy acting.

I present to you Mr. Ronn Moss formerly of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.

This is such a critical question, it needs an analysis commensurate with its importance. Let's assume it can be answered along two continua: along one axis, how visible and successful they were. Along a second axis, how bad were they. (And I am distinguishing and diminishing the weight of "overacting" from simply horrid acting. Wm Shatner (and most of those named on this thread) an example of overacting.

With these criteria agreed upon, the actor placed furthest on quadrant 2 (or 4, depending on how the x,y are weighted(:

Ali McGraw

R23 I agree, she's talentless. I never understood why this woman was an actress to begin with, she should have been a model, but not an actress!

R62, the debate has gone on for years. Which soap actor is worse, Ronn Moss or Drake Hogestyn?

Theresa Russell.

Culp may not have been Gielgud, but he was usually adequate

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Andrew McCarthy who always looked lost and had no range of emotion. Ryder, Affleck and even Reeves are gifted thespians by comparison

Tom Cruise--once he got beyond the male ingenue stage, he clearly tries but didn't have the talent to succeed

Kevin Costner---occasionally ok as in Bull Durham, but usually awful.

Ali McGraw was pretty awful. She made Tippi Hedren (another model turned actress) seem gifted by comparison

I'd also nominate Stephen Frey--somehow became friends with more talented actors and kept working, but he's terrible. He sucks the life out of the end of Gosford Park by his hammy acting and from all indications he probably had a hand in the obvious, humoreless dialogue he had.

Victor Mature permanently ruined the concept of maturity for me.

John Barrowman

Jack Nicholson.

How about actors that go from good to worst. Nicolas Cage.

Ronn Moss and Susan Lucci

The abominable Jeanne Crain.

dun dun duuuun!

Another one. Good to bad. John Travolta.

Hedy Lamarr

Katie Holmes, her acting on Ray Donovan was horrible, ruined the season it was so bad. I kept thinking, who did she sleep with for the part?

Yes. Shelly Hack. Fired because she couldb’t keep up with those masters of method acting : Jaclyn Smith & Cheryl Ladd.

Yes. Shelly Hack. Fired because she couldb’t keep up with those masters of method acting : Jaclyn Smith & Cheryl Ladd.

One more time. Good to bad. Robert Downey jr. . Who could forget his oscar-worthy performance in the box-office smash Doctor Dolittle.

TV's Alice, Linda Lavin.

R76:

HEDLEY!

That old fart on Days of our Lives -- Drake Hogestyn or however you spell it?

He does this craptastic fake 'Clint Eastwood' impression where he whispers all his lines in a pseudo-macho voice.

Like fingernails on a chalkboard...

Don’t forget the arched eyebrow, R83. It has a life of its own.

HA! So true R84.

Ben Affleck

Cara Delevingne, she is not even believable as a human being. She totally ruined that dc movie.

Robert Stack - especially in “Written on the Wind”

Both Ham AND Cheese.

Susan Day George

R75 lmao at John's hair

Oh wait: I meant LYNDA Day George at r89.

There are many great parts in "Pieces," especially given that so many of the actors in minor roles are dubbed.

Here's a brilliantly delivered dubbed line.

Nai Bonet.

Brendad Ickson

Totally forgot about Tracy Morgan. Does he have a brain injury or something?

[quote] Go back and rewatch the first couple of episodes of "The Sopranos". Meadow's best friend is David Chase's daughter.

You left out Jamie Lynn Sigler (Meadow "Sad-Faced" Soprano) and Robert Iler (AJ Soprano). Both terrible actors. Bad script-writing for both characters, too, though.

I'll see your Ronn Moss and raise you an Eric Braeden / Victor Newman.

[quote]Go back and rewatch the first couple of episodes of "The Sopranos". Meadow's best friend is David Chase's daughter.

Hunter Scangarello. They were cute singing "All through the Night," though.

Lawrence Harvey: he gave 'wooden' new meaning.

Jennifer Aniston. That dumb bitch has been playing the same note for 25 - 30 years.

I disagree with Donnie Wahlberg and John Leguizamo. They can act.

I nominate Andie Mcdowell

How many of you know what good acting is? How so? I am curious.

[Quote] How many of you know what good acting is? How so? I am curious.

Actors portray people (mostly - shoutout to CATS). You're asking how people could possibly rate that endeavor?

[Quote] Jennifer Aniston. That dumb bitch has been playing the same note for 25 - 30 years.

Awkward.....

Kristen Stewart has the acting range of a brick wall. Always mumbling and murmuring with her mouth hang open. No sex appeal and greasy looking does not help either

Katharine Hepburn

Kyle MacLachlan has somehow managed to have an entire career while only playing one note wooden guys with a stick up their ass.

R104 yes I’m asking how YOU possibly can rate acting. Or you just giving your opinion, or saying which person appeals to you in a little parlor game.

Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Both women can only play one character, no movie star looks. Their long and lucrative careers remains a puzzling mystery.

As if Jonah Hill wasn't bad enough, now we have his fugly talentless sister Beanie to deal with.

Greta Gerwig is a mediocre talent but it's a national outrage whenever she's snubbed at ANY awards show.

Andrew Shue. Ugh.

From my cold, dead hands -

Charlton Heston.

R88, And he was Oscar nominated for that movie.

[quote]Katie Holmes, her acting on Ray Donovan was horrible, ruined the season it was so bad. I kept thinking, who did she sleep with for the part?

Agreed. She is a miserable actress, though she is part of a strange subset of OP's category.

Holmes has the great fortune to have (like a stopped clock that two minutes each day performs admirably) done well, or well enough, in two good and two excellent films: The Ice Storm, Pieces of April, Go, and Wonder Boys. Whenever Katie Holmes' name arises, I think, well, she'll always have that.

Madonna - worst actress to ever hit Hollywood.

Tatum O'Neal. She wasn't even good as a child actor. And then she snorted her limited talent up her nose.

Joan Collins -- a one note career

Armie Hammer. In the words of one critic, a piece of toast.

Reese Witherspoon and her 50 tv shows that she produces. She can't accept that Hollywood is run by a bunch of boys and she'll never be one of them.

For me it's Laurence Olivier - a ham of epic proportions.

Followed very closely to Nicholas Cage.

Afflecks and Wahlbergs

Darren Criss

[quote]Tatum O'Neal. She wasn't even good as a child actor. And then she snorted her limited talent up her nose.

I think the coke left her with some talent, R118. That, and its ravaging effect on her face, has given her a lovely mien for the same type of roles played by Dendrie Taylor, Dale Dickey, Beth Grant, and Lisa Emery.

She was quite effective in an episode of [italic]Criminal Minds,[/italic] as the mother of a serial killer.

Justin Timberlake

Beyonce

r62 I see your Ronn Moss and raise you a Drake Hogestyn

Cobie Smulders.......or however it spells its name.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Acquanetta!

Tom Hanks - completely one dimensional. Also, mr nice guy persona my ass.

R60 - Larry Wilcox wasn't so bad. Plus, he was muscular and hot in his tight uniform! Estrada? Now that's bad.

I don't think judging bad/incompetent acting is rocket science. Anyone can watch a scene and think, I don't believe this guy/girl. I'm so distracted and aware that I'm watching someone pretend to be or do something. This doesn't work.

Not everyone has experience acting/writing/directing, but we all live in the world and observe other people. Even unsophisticated people recognize BS onscreen a lot of the time.

William Shatner - I'm not saying he's wooden, but he always acts like he has a broom handle shoved up his butt.

[45] Great anecdote -- but not true. A visit to Snopes.com will shed light on the history of this joke. But it is a funny story.

January Jones, she really is terrible.

Norman Reedus

r45 r134 Here is the link to Snopes.

Kerry Washington. How she gets roles is . . . beyond me.

[Quote] Kerry Washington. How she gets roles is . . . beyond me.

The Lesbian Muffia.

I love Kerry Washington.

Yes, R133.

[quote]William Shatner - I'm not saying he's wooden, but he always acts like he has a broom handle shoved up his butt.

And he..... LIKES it.

(Pronounced in the inevitable Shatner rhythm.)

"How many of you know what good acting is? How so? I am curious."

They don't - they just name actors they dislike for personal reason. Seriously, there are people who think Reese Witherspoon is less talented than Andie McDowall, Ali MacGraw, or Pia Zadora?

R136, his crying when his TV brother died made me cringe.

I would agree that Ben Affleck is the worst actor, but he doesn't act, but memorizes and recites dialogue better than other non-actors.

And he is no one other than Ben Affleck as he does it, r144. "Play a character"? Nah.

r122, I think Olivier was as great as his reputation but I don't really like him. I agree with Holden Caulfield that his film Hamlet was too much like a goddamned general. His filmed Othello and Richard III are just embarrassing to me. But his Archie Rice in "The Entertainer" kicks ass and takes names.

Robert Pattinson and pretty much any actor involved in the Twilight saga

Rami Malek, anyone? The bug-eyed looking, weird acting Oscar winner, with the cuter twin brother, Sami.

Jennifer Aniston can only play Rachel Green and Sarah Jessica Parker can only play Carrie Bradshaw.

[quote] Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Both women can only play one character, no movie star looks. Their long and lucrative careers remains a puzzling mystery.

Reese Witherspoon is the narrator (book reader) for "Go Set a Watchman," book by Harper Lee, published posthumously (supposed to be an earlier draft of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Not that "Watchman" was a masterpiece, but Witherspoon almost ruined the book for me. Really one-dimensional and cheesy.

R150 Witherspoon also doesn't inspire real empathy from an audience in my opinion. Her acting is very one-note head acting. The rest of the body doesn't become different characters even in just personality roles rather than a lived in one. She performs/ed as a cute blonde with a slight cutesy lisp but there's never a real sense of human beneath the surface acting. The closest she came was in Wild but it was still not all the way there.

Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein. They overact would much.

[quote] They overact would much.

You underwrite would much.

Jessica Chastain. She plays the same cold, tough as nails feminist character. She’s had flop after flop but TPTB still cast in her leading roles.

Christian Slater - especially in his early days when he tried to emulate the Jack Nicholson voice. Oh mama.

R154 So who did she blow to win an Oscar?

[quote]Jennifer Aniston can only play Rachel Green and Sarah Jessica Parker can only play Carrie Bradshaw.

One better than Ben Affleck, who can only play Ben Affleck.

Jessie Chastise doesn't have an Oscar. She lost that one time she the better chance.

Mariska Hargitay is stiff as a board.

R157: Just like Matt Bomer can only play Matt Bomer.

r160 How much would I rather watch Matt Bomer playing Matt Bomer than Ben Affleck playing Ben Affleck? Let me count the ways.

Farrah Fawcett. Just a hairdo. Nothing more.

Self-conscious; doesn’t know what to do.

Always looks embarrassed.

Just nothing.

"Witherspoon also doesn't inspire real empathy from an audience in my opinion."

Which is why she's been a working actor since she was 15! Like I said, people are just naming the actors they personally dislike, not the ones who are truly talent free.

R162, she had real charisma in Charlie’s Angels. She was infinitely more talented than Jaclyn Smith or Cheryl Ladd.

Zosia Mamet - Cannot convince me of anything other than it's nice to have successful parents. She cannot act, has no presence, [italic]and[/italic] she's ugly. At least Andie McDowell, Daryl Hannah and Armie Hammer are nice to look at, or were at some point in their careers.

Ruby Rose.

Watch out r164!

Agree about Zosia Mamet. Her mother, Lindsay Crouse, is a strange actor to watch, but not untalented. I find Zosia really tedious to watch.

I think one of the reasons Adam Driver (undeniably talented, whether you care for him or not) was such a breakout star in GIRLS is because the bar was so very low. DL fave Lena is a truly terrible actor as well as an annoying presence onscreen. I never got the love for either Jemima Kirke (accent + snark do not equal acting talent) or Allison Williams (pretty but extremely limited).

History will not be kind to GIRLS. Really, one of the weakest ensembles on television--it makes SATC look like Chekhov by comparison.

Zsa Zsa Gabor. On the other hand, her sister Eva (Green Acres, Disney's Aristocats) could be quite charming.

David Caruso, remember him?

But the man knows how to work sunglasses, r170.

Margot Robbie. She get gigs either because of her looks or the fact that she can contribute financially to a project’s implementation through her production company.

I disagree about Margot. She was great in I, Tonya.

I nominate Andie Mcdowell

Sorry R101, any actor who can blush on cue while filming does not belong on this list.

How can we forget Beyoncé?! The Queen Bey herself?!

Was it the critic David Simon who said of Madonna “her face says nothing to the camera.”?

r175, she's not the worst. You just don't like her.

For an otherwise "interesting" performer Madonna is one of the worst actors ever. She is incapable of registering as a normal person. And I think it's because she doesn't know how to be one naturally and she has nothing to draw from. She seems to also be playing Madonna in her personal life away from a camera.

Scott Eastwood

J. Lo, J-Law, Jude Law and Cole's Law. Ugh! Just the worst.

RE: The Diary of Anne Frank.....

Moreover, at no point in a standard staging of The Diary of Anne Frank do Nazi soldiers or German police characters appear on stage looking for Anne Frank and inquiring into her whereabouts — they’re simply an unseen presence heard pounding on the downstairs door of the annex in which the Frank family and other fugitives are hiding at the end of the play’s penultimate scene, and thus there’s no chance for the “She’s in the attic!” punchline to be delivered live as a jeering taunt.

R166 and now she's Batwoman 😑

R177 I like her but the woman can't act.

Charlize Theron and Renée Zellweger. Harvey’s Angels.

Watch and learn

Kerry Washington. She’s done more photo shoots than movie roles. Thank God.

Halle Berry. She got an Oscar because she got naked on screen.

R186, I would have shown dong if I knew that.

For those of you who named Kerry Washington it was never more obvious than in “Mother In Child”. She was laughable in comparison to Bening and Watts.

Awww, R32! John Leguizamo is great in " To Wong Foo ...."!

Worst, Old School = John Wayne.

There have already been several threads on this OP. Would it have killed you to have done a search before you posted this? Would it? What’s wrong with having a little consideration for others and doing a search first? Would it really have been that hard? Would it? Are you going to be able to give us an honest answer to this? Are you?

R49, Bruce was terrific in "Moonlighting." He is, or was, a gifted comedic actor. Then he went and died hard, took himself seriously, got mega-rich, and supported Republicans. Feh!

And, r186, to hedge her bet, she got implants for the role.

From 60s/70s TV, a toss up between Mike Connors of Mannix and Jack Lord from Hawaii Five O

Buddy Ebsen

[quote]Worst, Old School = John Wayne.

Concur.

....and they gave him an academy award for True Grit.

Ronald Reagan

[quote]Buddy Ebsen

Wash your mouth out with soap and water, R194.

R135 For some reason, whenever it see in print or hear the name January Jones, I hear the first few notes of "Autumn in New York" sung to hear name. She was effective in "Mad Men", though. I've seen a lot worse acting.

Tom Holland, Ansel Elgort, and the 300 other bland white boys.

Hey, Robert Culp went full-frontal back when it was a real rarity. He wasn't particularly outstanding, certainly, but he had a nice presence; he wasn't a bad actor though.

Sofia Coppola, now, that's a bad actor.

R142 is so wise. So.... wise.

For God's sake..... it's the phlegm that Covid-19 spit up......... Pauly Shore!

Lily Rose Neppotism.

R193, it's no toss-up. Jack Lord by a mile. Now Jack Lord vs. William Shatner...THAT'S a toss-up.

Mike Connors is from Henry Wilsson's stable of studly straight trade, so he gets a pass.

R193, it's no toss-up. Jack Lord by a mile. Now Jack Lord vs. William Shatner...THAT'S a toss-up.

Mike Connors is from Henry Wilsson's stable of studly straight trade, so he gets a pass.

IMO, Jack Lord and William Shatner are in the category of "So Bad It's Good." Very campy. Shatner was probably more aware thank Lord of the campy nature of his performances.

I saw "The Celluloid Closet" a long time ago. IIRC, they said that Charlton Heston was the only one who didn't realize that Ben-Hur was homoerotic.

[quote] Shatner was probably more aware thank Lord of the campy nature of his performances.

Meant: Shatner was probably more aware *than* Lord of the campy nature of his performances.

Didn’t someone just do this thread a month ago?

Matt Dillon.

Rob Lowe.

R200, you beat me by a few minutes. Scrolling through this thread, I was just waiting for the daughter to make her appearance and she never did. Coppola has the very unique talent of sullying anything she appears in. Even in the lightweight Peggy Sue, you wondered how this ethnic girl made her way into the WASP household. When you saw her last name in the credits, it all made sense.

Was it this scene, making everybody angry? (Sofia Coppola, Godfather 3.)

Andy Garcia is such a good actor that he was able to act opposite THAT, and still ignore her terrible line readings, and still give a good performance opposite her.

Renee Zellweger is in no way a bad actor. She's actually a very good actress, a good singer and an above average dancer/performer. She is no way untalented. Charlize Theron ok. She "beat herself up for Monster" and did alright be she is not a good actor. The low register she tried in Bombshell made me laugh. "It's no one's job to protect you Kayla". I all but saw the throat shift in her delivery trying to play a lower decibel. She's not a real actor in any sense.

R28, Jesse Tyler Ferguson caught one when he was at a car wash and panned it and soap fans nearly canceled him.

R185, I can't tell whose worse in that scene.

The dialogue ain't bad. Lends itself to some banter, but neither of them were great.

[bold] The one where former drama club members bitch about successful actors [/bold]

If it’s possible to get past her glowing, youthful beauty, gorgeous thick hair and great body then Valérie Kaprisky, hands down, in Breathless.

Eldergays will remember the very untalented Lois Chiles. Model turned horrible actress.

Audrey & Judy

[quote]Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein.

Bite your tongue. Alex Borstein is fucking brilliant in Mrs. Maisel. She's the only one on the show that actually has an interesting character arc.

R219 is correct.

Also, you can't spell 'Silo' without 'Lois'

I hate to say it, but I disagree with r219. I feel they overact. I thought Rachel was great in the House of Cards.

How on earth did Rami Malek get famous? He won an oscar for a god awful impersonation and he's ugly.

Zosia Mamet actually can act. I was shocked when I saw her in some non-Girls roles. The problem she had on Girls was that she was a site gag for the first couple seasons and once her virginity was lost, they didn't know what to do with her besides have her cry hysterically. Her mother definitely has limited range

[quote]Her mother definitely has limited range

I've worked with her mother in the past. I agree she does have limited range, but she's not the worst. I've seen some good work from her. And she has been nominated for an Oscar. I think her problem was that she was a rich spoiled girl, having all that Sound of Music money, and she never really had the drive to work at being excellent.

Brad Pitt. He got an Oscar for being good looking. Ugh.

[quote]I hate to say it, but I disagree with [R219]. I feel they overact. I thought Rachel was great in the House of Cards.

I think what you're reacting to is the tone of the show. They've positioned it to be a "loud" sitcom where everyone is more a stereotype, especially the Jewish characters, and every situation is very broad (no nuance).

I still think Alex works brilliantly. I forget what season it was in, but there is a scene where her character goes home (was it when her mother dies?) to her shitty basement apartment and she sits down in her chair and begins to cry. It was a devastating moment that you rarely see on tv. Alex demonstrated in that moment that she had range and ability.

Actress of a Certain Age---Starred in Mamet's "House of Games," but spoke in that same affectless, clipped way (wearing the same clipped hairstyle) in her other roles, such as on "L&O" and "Columbo":

Lindsay Crouse.

R225: The other Brad I would add is Bradley Cooper. He doesn't wow me as an actor and isn't remotely attractive. I'm not a hater but I just don't get why he got so famous.

I don't get the Laura Dern love. She plays the same loud, angry woman over and over again. Her oscar win was horrible.

Jennifer Lawrence, Brie Larson, Emma Stone, and the 300 other bland white girls.

Crouse was funny and attractive in [italic]Slap Shot[/italic]. She only had two scenes in [italic]All the President's Men[/italic], but she was good in them. Since then, I've only heard the affectless, clipped speech r227 describes. I take it back. She was good in [italic]Places in the Heart[/italic]. Otherwise, if you want a frumpy, disdainful woman, hire Crouse.

As for Zosia, I'll believe when I see it. I never watched [italic]Girls[/italic]. The last time I saw her was [italic]Stumptown[/italic] and, yikes, not good.

Rosie O'Donnell. Just look at her cringeworthy performance in "Riding The Bus With My Sister." They had to pick the only actress worse to play her sister, Andie McDowell. I'm still shocked that Anjelica Huston agreed to direct that piece of shit.

I find Crouse creepy for some reason.

For a heterosexual lady, Lindsay Crouse always seemed a tad... butch.

Recent pic.

None of these Hollywood actors being named can be anywhere close to the worst when soap actors like Ronn Moss are out there. Ronn, Drake H and Eric B are definitely the three worst actors I’ve ever seen.

Even if some of these movie actors only gave one good performance in their careers, it’s still one good performance. The losers above can’t even give a good line reading, let alone sustain a scene or god forbid an episode.

Mamet has had gay rumors about him since he began.

Alec Baldwin

Baldwin definitely got an absurdly inflated rep early on in his career. He's a pretty good comic actor, but he believed his own early PR about him being his generation's Brando. Then he did Broadway and some serious dramatic parts in films... and it's not true.

Why all the negativity about the talented Pauly Shore?

Encino Man is an all-time classic. Shore delivers a performance that is an inspiration for all actors that follow.

Meryl Streep is a great actress but she's definitely not the greatest actress ever. There are other actresses who are better.

Neely O’Hara

Any of the child to now young adult actors on Modern Family.

"Jennifer Lawrence, Brie Larson, Emma Stone, and the 300 other bland white girls."

Once again, people are just naming the actors they don't like, regardless of talent. 99% of SAG is unemployed.....if someone works all the time and is so respected by their peers that they win an Oscar, that's a pretty good sign that they aren't the worst.

^^ Agreed. This thread has become pointless.

Casper Van Dien

Tommy Wiseau is not an actor.

I know this is low hanging fruit, but watching Dwayne Johnson try to channel Danny Devito in the recent Jumanji movie was an extraordinary experience, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Marisa Berenson and her Eurotrash accent! Saw her in 2001 as Grace Torrence in Coward's Design for Living and she had to shake the Equity Cares can in the lobby at the end of the performance. Ha Ha! Bet she knew Lois Chiles!

Katharine Hepburn. As Charles Pierce said impersonating Hepburn as Eleanor of Acquitaine "Lion in Winter; Pussy in Summer. I work when I can." Said with that quavering Bryn Mawr posh accent of hers. Think John Waters said that whenever he saw her on screen, he wanted to stand up and scream "You old fraud!"

William Shatner

Andie MacDowell

Watched "Modern Family" the first time in a few years since it jumped the shark and I had stopped watching. The now very much bigger son of Sophia Vergara's character still can't say a line believably after all these years. Don't they have dialogue coaches -- and can't someone help him to not just learn his lines, but to speak them with some truth?

Rob Lowe in anything.

[quote] History will not be kind to GIRLS. Really, one of the weakest ensembles on television--it makes SATC look like Chekhov by comparison.

All of the actresses on Girls. All four of the major characters were unlikeable and unable to act. The guys were talented - Christopher Abbott and Adam Driver.

[Quote] I find Crouse creepy for some reason.

She was on Buffy.

Lassie

The cast of Small Wonder.

I agree this thread has gone off the rails but if there's one person who truly deserves this title it's Jennifer Aniston. Horrible actress and terribly overrated.

Jennifer Lawrence. Her career began and ended with Harvey Weinstein.

Also, they made such a fuss over Aniston's looks on "Friends" and afterwards. Courtney Cox was much prettier than her, and Lisa Kudrow was funnier. Aniston just looked like an ok average girl, perhaps of Greek/Mediterranean ancestry. She must have had and still has the best PR people. I just never the reason to fuss over her for her looks or her talent.

I don't like Aniston but she's not even close to being the worst actor ever. She was decent in The Good Girl.

DLers are only mentioning Lawrence because they don't like her. Anyone who thinks she can't act hasn't seen Winter's Bone

The real worst actor is probably someone no one has heard of. The worst successful actor is probably Jessica Alba

I wouldn't call him the worst of all time but Jack Black always annoys the hell out of me because when he's playing himself (on talk shows say) he's always overacting. He always mugs and "sings" in his awful pretend singing voice. The one movie he did I ever liked was 'Bernie". He was perfect casting, although my impression is that he's straight (character was gay).

I agree the kids on Modern family are terrible. It's why I don't watch it anymore. Thank God it's on it's last season.

I agree the kids on Modern family are terrible. It's why I don't watch it anymore. Thank God it's on it's last season.

R257

Small Wonder...

Riveting

You're tearing me apart R248!!!

Reese Witherspoon. Her acting on The Morning Show was cringeworthy.

There have already been several threads on this OP. Would it have killed you to have done a search before you posted this? Would it? What’s wrong with having a little consideration for others and doing a search first? Would it really have been that hard? Would it? Are you going to be able to give us an honest answer to this? Are you?

Worst child actor of all time: Larry Matthews, who played RIchie Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Atrocious.

R52 I'll raise you one untalented nepotism princess and raise you the dead-eyed mush-mouthed Margaret Qualley, who is 80% teeth and makes Liza and Ariana Grande sound like diction coaches. There is no reason whatsoever why she's getting any roles other than being very rich and Andie McDowell's daughter.

Welcome to the datalounge, where Reese Witherspoon is less talented than Tommy Wiseau and the Small Wonder kid.

Reese Witherspoon nailed her role in Election, but she doesn't have much range otherwise.

You can have a limited range and still be good, interesting and likable in that range. Reese's talent is limited but not nonexistent IMO, and R271 is right, there are scores of people ahead of her in that regard.

Face it, Reese, mostly sucks. Someone like Thelma Ritter was always your no-nonsense aunt from Brooklyn but she could do could comedy or drama, upstage major stars and also break your heart. People can do a lot with even a persona.

Even if she "mostly sucks" she's still not even close to being the worst actor ever

Justin Timberlake. Seriously.

Ashton Kutcher

I'm watching the soap opera melodrama Little Fires Everywhere. Reese is doing a really good job. She plays a rich bitch.

I liked Reese on BIG LITTLE LIES. I enjoy her more when she plays with her (innate?) comic bitchiness (ELECTION, LEGALLY BLONDE to an extent). It's when she does straight heavy drama that she can become tiresome.

That said, she's talented. I don't think she would have lasted this long and this prominently without any talent.

Of some younger actresses named, I think Emma Stone will last. THE FAVORITE showed that she's got some chops and versatility. I'm not sure Jennifer Lawrence will last, though I don't dislike her.

[Quote] I'm not sure Jennifer Lawrence will last, though I don't dislike her.

I like her but she definitely needed to take a break.

Tommy Wiseau will be happy to accept this superlative.

Ted McGinley

The entire cast of Eight Is Enough

Eve Plumb

Chad Michael Murray

I like Larry Mathews as Richie Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke show.

He often looks likes he's about to crack up (I think it's part of his charm) but he delivers his lines and gets his laughs. And he's not precious or precocious or coy, which is also part of his charm.

Ben Platt

Emma Stone. She mostly just plays herself in a lot of her films. I don’t get the hype with her.

R281 He even did Shakespeare at one point, kinda:

R262 I can think of a few films I’ve enjoyed watching Jack Black in, but indeed they were all roles where he either played himself (HIGH FIDELITY) or played a very camp & manic man (SCHOOL OF ROCK).

I did like him in the JUMANJI reboot, because it seemed so oddly fitting watching him hit on Nick Jonas like he was the vessel for the spirit of a vapid horny teen girl. Made more sense than it should have.

The worst performance by a leading player in a Hollywood film is Nancy Kelly in The Bad Seed. She plays the whole film in a style that was pushed aside when movies got sound. Granted, that script is not subtle and her director did her no favors, but what she serves up in that movie is execrable.

R269, Angela Cartwright on "Make Room for Daddy" was equally atrocious.

An excellent example of a very good child actor is the little boy currently playing Douglas Forrester on "The Bold and the Beautiful".

Jack was great in Orange County too. You can't really go wrong when Catherine O'hara and John Lithgow are involved.

Saoirse Ronan is overrated.

[quote] Face it, Reese, mostly sucks.

Oh dear.

[quote] Saoirse Ronan is overrated.

Which makes her the worst actor of all time?

R256 Pal was serviceable in light entertainment productions, but when it came to drama he was simply no Me.

Two words: Chalamet sucks.

[quote]The worst performance by a leading player in a Hollywood film is Nancy Kelly in The Bad Seed.

Nancy Kelly was repeating her stage role, and did not dial it down one bit for the camera. But "The Bad Seed" is a camp classic, and not only because of Patty McCormack's performance as pig-tailed murderess Rhoda Penmark. The whole movie, including Kelly's performance and Eileen Heckart's, as the mother of one of Rhoda's victims, is played at a fever pitch and is highly entertaining.

[quote]Angela Cartwright on "Make Room for Daddy" was equally atrocious.

Agreed. She couldn't deliver a line without smiling, even if she was supposed to be upset and announcing that she was running away from home.

"Dennis the Menace" star Jay North was pretty awful, too. Every line was so over-emphasized, he didn't even seen human.

R299, at least Jay showed his ass onscreen.

. . . didn't even seem human.

Dude beauty enables you to get by in life with rather less talent then is normally required.

R298 What I was saying upthread, there's a difference between overacting (which can be very amusing), which takes a certain kind of skill, and simply horrid embarrassing attempts at representing human behavior. Nancy Kelly was astonishingly arch, wooden, theatrical... false, false, false... no normal human would ever actually behave that way. But what hoot.

Also, many of the actors listed here are criticized for "only being one note, not inhabiting different characters." They are like one mask of "stardom" in all plots. John Wayne etc. But in a sense that star performance is like Noh, Noh theater, dance/acting performance... is not even remotely "natural"... is it bad?

I get what you mean about Reese. She's certainly not the greatest actress or the most versatile but she's also not the worst actress ever.

I love that Keanu thinks "Dude beauty" is a thing. That seems in character for him.

Unless, of course, he was merely calling us "Dude."

Awfully pretty in that photo, anyway.

I would have agreed with Adam Sandler until I saw Uncut Gems...

R302 has it that the pretty & charming & babyfaced can get away with figurative murder artistically.

In my household the punchline “Crebain from Dunland!” is still the way we take the piss out of terrible, awful, no-good acting.

Michelle Williams. Vile human being.

[quote]Michelle Williams. Vile human being

Deplorable alert at R308.

[quote] I would have agreed with Adam Sandler until I saw Uncut Gems...

I haven’t seen UG yet but I really liked him in his more dramatic roles - Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish. I hate all his comedies.

Julia Roberts. We all know she really isn't America's Sweetheart.

Chris Evans

Worst actor of all time. Little Jake Lloyd, star of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The blank looks...the vacant stares... CHRIST... I want to punch him in the face. That voice...the complete lack of interest in ANYTHING that he's doing. The dead line readings...no attempt to perform at all...he's the worst. Lucas was insane.

Wow, y'all forgot Robert Wagner--or as he was known to be known to his intimates, RJ. I don't think he could act at all but he was pretty when young. He could act straight--I even saw him once with Jill St. John many years ago in a restaurant acting straight I guess.

R310 Spanglish is an underrated movie.

R313 the acting might have been better if George knew how to direct.

Anyone who ever appeared in an ABC or (especially) an NBC soap opera.

R316, including Elizabeth Taylor?

There were exceptions, but mostly ABC and NBC had glorified hair models. CBS had some good talent, though.

ABC has much better soap actors (on the whole) than CBS and certainly NBC, which is the worst.

OLTL has some of the best soap acting on balance than any other soap.

R319, I think ATWT had the best actors. Unlike other soaps, they seemed to place talent over looks. I would guess that DOOL and Passions had the worst actors of all.

R319, I think ATWT had the best actors. Unlike other soaps, they seemed to place talent over looks. I would guess that DOOL and Passions had the worst actors of all.

I enjoy classic and pre-code films, but find Clark Gable hammy and wooden.

That's easy. Vin Diesel.

DEAR MOTHER OF GOD!

This... A complete theatrical zero. 0

Check out "Night Nurse" with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell and a villainous Clark Gable in a really fun pre-code film.

Whenever I see Frank Langella in anything, I’m like, “oh, he’s tired again...”

R326 LOL that's what i thought when he popped up in Lolita.

Oprah

Somebody mentioned Ansel Elgort a lot but it's true. They keep casting him in lead roles in the hopes that it will eventually stick. The Goldfinch is proof that he can't put asses in seats.

I'm gonna add Steven Seagal to the list.

R330 good riddance to that asshole.

[quote]The Goldfinch is proof that he can't put asses in seats.

My ass would like to sit on his erect penis. But movie-wise, no. I have seen only one film he was in, The Fault in Our Stars, and it was so annoying, I turned it off 30 minutes in. It was more Shailene's fault, though, than Ansel's.

I didn't see The Goldfinch. The reviews weren't so hot, and my friend who has to see absolutely everything told me not to bother. I don't know that I will be able to say no to WSS, though, should it ever be released.

What about that Welsh gambon R.Burton?

Burton could act well when he wanted---Equus, Virginia Woolf, but he took just about anything for money and made a lot of clinker, often chewing the scenery whole hog. Many of his contemporaries on stage in his early days thought he was the best actor of their generation.

Alicia Vikander. Notice how her and Fassbender's careers have diminished without good old Harvey.

R329: Who thought a guy named Ansel Elgort was a good idea? Why is he getting lead roles?

Malin Ackerman

"Alicia Vikander. Notice how her and Fassbender's careers have diminished without good old Harvey."

They had a lot of flops before Harvey was arrested. I think they are both decent actors but that's not the same thing as being a big star or having a ton of charisma. The public doesn't care about them.

OLTL had more Lead Actress Emmy winners than another other soap -- in addition to Slezak, other wins went to Judith Light, Robin Strasser, Hillary B. Smith, and, well, Susan Haskell in 2009.

I was actually at the ceremony that year and went up to Debbi Morgan at the after party.

"Have you called the police?"

"...why?"

"You got robbed tonight."

She laughed.

Madonna.

Ansel Elgort is the Sam Worthington of Jai Courtneys.

Tom Hanks and Jack Nicholson - two of the most overrated actors ever.

Overrated isn't the same thing as worst. Start another thread for overrated actors

Tori Spelling.

This thread should be renamed "actors I don't like."

Tori Spelling is often hilarious- she is wildly self-aware and self-deprecating. She also doesn’t see herself as Meryl Streep.

ATWT did have good actors. DOOL, Sunset Beach and especially Passions had the worst.

Watched some of the Fast and Furious movies this weekend. Paul Walker was pretty awful. He was nice to look at though.

R346 too bad Tori doesn't have that same [italic] self awareness [/italic] when it comes to her finances.

Tori is terrible with money, but that has nothing to do with her acting abilities.

Judy Norton Taylor on “The Waltons”. She blames her Playboy spread for ending her career, but her acting was wooden and stiff from the first episode and never got any better.

I wonder what she means, R350.

I remember watching The Final Destination and my god Bobby Campo was painful to watch.

Estelle Warren.

Dwayne Johnson and Scarlett Johansson

Fassbender looks like hell and is a 'race car driver' now R335.

Sam Jones has to be in contention for this title. It was never his acting ability that fueled his minor film career.

The Shat or the Hoff? Decisions, decisions.

R340 Madge doesn’t even come close in the Popstar Straight-to-DVD Frigate Class. Not when we have seen the talents of Drake, Donny Osmond, Bon Jovi, Britney, Beyoncé, Sting, RyGos, Adam Levine, Eminem, Fergie, J-LO, Jared Leto, Joe Jonas...

And of course the performance to end all performances - Lance Bass in ON THE LINE. It’s funny he didn’t pick up a single thing about light comedic acting from any of four his bandmates who have all turned in semi-passable work onscreen in the past.

In classic Hollywood, this block of wood.

Tom Holland

Zendaya

Them Walton girls was all plain.....

The Gyllenhaal Siblings

Noah Centineo

Adam Driver

LORNE GREEN

All TV and movie actors who ever lived, according to this thread.

R367, ha!

Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, and Annette Bening.

Gal Gadot the only thing she was ever halfway decent in was Wonder Woman. She needs to take some acting classes.

Amber Heard by far

Another vote for Lois Chiles. But her stiff delivery and vacant expression did have some odd fascination.

Lois Chiles was very bad. At least she managed to move her eyebrows in this scene.

Britt Ekland was the Madonna of her day in terms of acting ability

Brie Larson

Kumail Nanjiani

Lois Chiles! Yes, it was so sad knowing that her work was pure shit and because it had been preserved on film, it would never go away. Those rotten performances would be seen again and again.

That guy Quentin Tarantino has in almost all of his movies, can't even remember his name but I cringe every time I see him, he was Bill's brother in Kill Bill 2, among many other badly-acted roles.

(R378) Cokehead Michael Madsen.

[quote]Zoe Kazan. The scenes with her and Winona Ryder in “The Plot Against America” are an exercise on what not to do as an actor. If you ever seen Zoe onstage in a play it is even more painful.

My god yes, I cannot stand to watch her act. She was painful to watch in that god-awful, "The Big Sick".

Lois Chiles was good in Broadcast News.

[quote]Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, and Annette Bening.

OMG!!! Worst actresses EVER!!!

Tie between Sofia Coppola and that chick in the last 3 Star War movies. She's awful.

Julia Roberts

Lana Wood.......

On Roku I have been watching the 60s b&w The Outer Limits series, and Robert Culp seems to be a semi-regular on there. The clothes, interiors, costuming, story lines, all of it, are pretty funny now. There are a few seasons, so I am waiting for some good actors to come on, maybe.

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson

Donald J. Trump.

Samuel L. Jackson, or at least his performance in "Deep Blue Sea." I realize it wasn't his fault that he was given the worst monologue of all time, but I was rooting for the shark. Some idiot on youtube called the monologue "Right up there with the St. Crispin's Day speech" in Henry V. Ridiculous! Jackson's speech starts around 1:18.

Bonnie Franklin

R388 well, I just can’t see where you’re coming from, son.

R39 no one was at their best in Deep Blue Sea 😄

I kind of thought that was the point of the scene, r389. The shark wanted him to STFU!

None will remember this, but a model named Ariane Koizumi was in a movie called Year of the Dragon with Mickey Rourke. Pauline Kael said she was nostrilly and officious, like an Asian Ali McGraw. One critic said she was so ineffective that when she's killed in the film, the only thing he could think of was that it was well done. Wikipedia said she wound up as a salesclerk at Prada.

As a child I loved Robert Culp in Trackdown. And he was so damn beautiful in those tight pants that my young loins burned for him. And I've enjoyed him in most everything I've seen him in since. I definitely don't agree that he was a bad actor.

Ashley Judd. My God she's bad.

[quote]Reese Witherspoon and her 50 tv shows that she produces. She can't accept that Hollywood is run by a bunch of boys and she'll never be one of them.

What an incredibly stupid thing to say.

Whatever you think of her as a person, Reese Witherspoon is a very talented actor and she, wisely, realized that Hollywood doesn't create projects for women beyond 20, so she created her own.

I admire her.

John Fucking Wayne.

[r397] A lot of people would disagrees with your assessment of Reese Witherspoon being "very talented." as an actor. She is successful - which doesn't necessarily mean talented. Her acting talent appears to be very limited. However, I believe she is an astute businesswoman who has been able to create product that is in demand because of current social trends - meaning the "MeToo" movement. But this too may pass in a post-COVID-19 world. People's tastes in entertainment will change as a result of what we are going through - and someone will bypass her. Success in Hollywood is short-lived.

R399 I'm sure being married to the right person helps too.

Ryan O'Neil

^ O'Neal

In leading roles, Hollywood doesn't cast for talent. Hollywood casts for pretty and for sexy. The biggest talent a performer can have in Hollywood is to be photogenic. It leads to some awful performances.

I've always thought that 75% of most all actor's talent is in the director they work with. I've seen actors who are considered the best of the best give horrible, amateurish performances, and it was mainly due to the director accepting the awful performance rather than making them do it over and over and over again until they got it right, often times having to show them himself how to do a scene.

Hitchcock was so right, "actors should be treated like cattle".

Taylor Schilling and Laura Prepon

R405, are you watching Kelly and Ryan now?

Matthew McConaughey!!!

Matthew McConaughey can be good in somethings (Mud), but awful in others (car commercials).

For me, McConaughey is like Bradley Cooper - they're good because we're told and sold relentlessly by the Hollywood PR machine that they are good.

Tyler Hoechlin in the mini series Another Life. He was honestly so bad that I wanted to punch him. He's never been a great actor but normally he's at least passable. Not in Another Life. I promised myself to never watch anything he appears in ever again. I can only assume he's normally give strict direction by the director and the production team but judging by the laissez-faire attitude of most of the cast it didn't happen here.

The series itself got awful reviews which is why I'm ever so slightly surprised to just find out the show was renewed for a second season. Wow, just wow. The virus stopped the production, though.

He's a nice guy, but Klinton Spilsbury owns this thread.

R410 so you won't be watching the new Superman show??

Male: Orlando Bloom

Female: Piper Perabo (wonder if she sucked Harvey off. If so, it didn't do her any good).

R405 What are you talking about? They were great on OITNB. At least Taylor was

R412, there's no way he's going to be as bad as Superman as he was in Another Life since the production won't allow it. In any case no, I won't be watching it because all CW superhero shows are bad to mediocre.

[Quote] because all CW superhero shows are bad to mediocre.

Good thing you're not on reddit 😄

R416, why, are they super fans over there? I liked Arrow's first season, and the first few seasons of The Flash but unfortunately it all turned into crap. Legends was shit from the start and Supergirl wasn't for me. I really do like Titans so it's not like making intelligent superhero drama is impossible.

R417 pretty much. If you say anything bad about their acting you get downvoted to hell. There's so many of them that legitimately think they should be playing the same characters in the movies.

And Titans isn't on the CW so I should hope it would be than the Arrowverse shows.

R418, Titans is not on the CW but it shares some of the producers with the CW DC shows.

Robert Culp was really good in Running Mates 2000. He played our Faye's long suffering Senator husband.

Surely Culp isn't famous or important enough to be WORST of all time lol

Darren Criss - Without Ryan Murphy he has no career.