An actor's performance is only as good as the direction. Give an awful director an Oscar Award Winning actor and they'll find a way to make their performance ungodly terrible. Who here can think of some examples?
Martin Landau and Jack Palance-- both Oscar Winners-- are pretty bad in WITHOUT WARNING.
A Christmas Carol (1999)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216621/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216621/)
Moby Dick (1998)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120756/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120756/)
How to get terrible performances from Patrick Stewart.
Tom Hardy in CAPONE.
Harrison Ford in Force 10 From Navarone :buggedout:
Christian Slater in Alone In The Dark.
Joss Ackland in Lethal Weapon 2.
Marlon Brando in The Island of Dr. Moreau
LAURENCE OLIVIER in THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL
http://youtu.be/1T5OgFCc0aE (http://youtu.be/1T5OgFCc0aE)
John Travolta in Gotti. :buggedout:
JOHN TRAVOLTA in HAIRSPRAY. :bluesad:
I dunno...everyone in the TOWERING INFERN0 (1974).
In Rock Hudson's only horror movie Embryo, Director Ralph Nelson does absolutely nothing to reel him in. There's going over the top and then there's THAT.
Gary Oldman in Tiptoes - I think his acting was probably perfectly fine, but shuffling about on his knees was definitely a questionable performance.
It was dull enough that I remember nothing of the plot or acting.
John Malkovich on autopilot in Warm Bodies
Mike Myers isn't exactly a great actor, but he's usually fun, charming, and enjoyable. Except in Cat in the Cat were he's creepy and annoying.
Clint Eastwood just looks kind of lost and confused in Paint Your Wagon, like he's uncomofrtable being there.
Richard Burton in EXORCIST II.
By that time he was more than in his cups, he was in the bottom of the bottle. Not his fault that the movie was a derailed train from the get go.
He was a good actor (check out WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?), but like all of us at times, fell on hard times.
http://youtu.be/Mk8QkYgz8QM (http://youtu.be/Mk8QkYgz8QM)
I don't know how you folks may feel like about EXORCIST II, but it makes me want to dig up my dead grandmother and ask her "WHY???" Or dig up my dead mother and slap her dead skull and scream at her- "WHY DID YOU BRING ME INTO THIS WORLD?!?!"
Maybe not that bad, but close to it.
I see at least two posts here rating John Travolta a great actor.
To them I say: Battlefield Earth.
Bruce Willys in LOOPER. Not only his character makes no sense, but the fact that he's supposed to be an older Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes it even more ridiculous. Bruce looks more bored than ever, like he just doesn't give a damn about it.