Inspired by McBain's thread Of these celebrated actors, which movie role was their poorest, most forgettable or worst disappointment? Jack Nicholson Robert Deniro Dustin Hoffman Paul Newman Kevin Spacey Christopher Walken Anthony Hopkins Morgan Freeman Johnny Depp Gary Oldman James Earl Jones Denzel Washington Daniel Day Lewis Michael Douglas Liam Neeson Robert Downey Jr. Gene Hackman Tommy Lee Jones Robert Duvall Marlon Brando Bonus question: Which 3 actors listed here deserve to be on this list of "Great" actors the least?
I don't know if I could say it was his worst but I'm going to be controversial and select The Shining. The reason is that it marked the moment when the relatively subtle and controlled Jack of the 1970s turned into the manic, shrieking Jack of the 1980s and onwards. It's an enjoyable turn and he did give some good subsequent performances but for me, he became a bit more cartoony thereafter. Perhaps more realistically, movies like Man Trouble mark his real nadir. Frankly, pick any of his movies from the last 2 decades and with the odd exception, the odds are you'll find nothing but stinkers. But I suppose Rocky and Bullwinkle has to mark the lowest of his low. I'm loath to pick anything, as I've loved The Real Hoff in anything I've ever seen him in. But if I have to pick one, I'd have to pick Family Business, for the sheer disappointment of a Sidney Lumet-directed movie starring Dustin, Sean Connery and Matthew Broderick proving so dull (not to mention the unlikely casting of Connery as father to DH and grandfather to Broderick). Well, the man himself took out an ad in a newspaper to apologise when his movie debut in The Silver Chalice aired on tv. But I've never actually seen it. I'm going to be awkward again and nominate The Colour of Money, as I think he got a sort of 'pity Oscar' for it and really should've won for its predecessor, The Hustler, which is a superior movie. I'm nominating his dodgy Oirish accent in Ordinary Decent Criminal. Probably Last Man Standing (another questionable accent). Joins DeNiro in the Great Actor Who Mostly Slums it These Days file. I personally didn't like Howard's End but I suppose the likes of Instinct, Proof or Beowulf are more deserving contenders. Probably Along Came a Spider. I'm guessing that in years to come The Lone Ranger might dominate for him as might his Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows or Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. As I haven't seen any of them, I'll go for The Astronaut's Wife; I got the impression that he was pushed to do a commercial movie and opted to do the worst one he could find, in the hope that he wouldn't be asked to do another in a hurry. Either the Scarlet Letter or Red Riding Hood. Clearly the colour Red is unlucky for Gaz. Conan the Barbarian. Yes, I said it. It sucks donkey balls. I know he must have had his share of duds, but I think I've avoided them all. One I have no interest in ever seeing is The Preacher's Wife, so I suppose I'll nominate it by default. The Boxer, for its cringeworthy depiction of Belfast. Shining Through. Coincidentally, he was in Shining Through but it wasn't 'a Liam Neeson movie', so I'll plump for The Haunting. The Shaggy Dog (imagine how low his stock was only 2 years before IM) Either Superman IV or Loose Cannons, a desperately unfunny comedy from the late 1980s. Batman Forever Also in The Scarlet Letter. The Island of Doctor Moreau My first two noms are Liam Neeson (struggles with accents and has about 2 facial expressions) and James Earl Jones (great presence and voice, but outside of Darth Vader, I don't think he's had a great role that required him to be anything other than JEJ). The third is much harder to pick but of them all, I'd have to go for Anthony Hopkins, who I think has coasted on reputation for many years. I much prefer Brian Cox or Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal and AH has tended to either go madly OTT or do his constipated underplaying British thing in roles; there's very little in-between. Admittedly, he's great in the right role and deserves to be regarded as A Great but the rest of that list set the bar high. So...