People Shared The Worst Movie Roles Good Actors Ever Did, And It's, Uhhh, Controversial

"Millie Bobby Brown is a great actress in TV shows, but I didn't like Godzilla (2019). I wish she would do a better movie project that showcases her talents more."

We asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which great actors took terrible roles. Here's what they had to say:

1. Robert De Niro as Lieutenant Colonel Richard "Dick" Kelly in Dirty Grandpa (2016)

Lionsgate

"I love dumb, immature comedies...but this was painful to watch. De Niro's done some good comedies, but Dirty Grandpa almost feels like a bad parody movie of a bad comedy."

—michaeldavid

2. Jeremy Renner and Gabrielle Union as Ned and Rachael in Neo Ned (2005)

CodeBlack Entertainment / Vivendi Entertainment

Suggested by: logostones

In this romantic drama, Jeremy Renner played a young white supremacist while Gabrielle Union played a woman who believes she is the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler.

3. Al Pacino as himself in Jack and Jill (2011)

Sony Pictures Releasing

"Who knew it was so hard to play yourself and make it funny? He just didn’t fit in the movie. Although it was almost worth it for the Dunkaccino commercial at the end."

—annpricot

4. Adam Sandler as Jack and Jill Sadelstein in Jack and Jill (2011)

Sony Pictures Releasing

"I don’t know what he was thinking making that movie. It was terrible."

—akatb720

5. Meryl Streep as Mary Fisher in She-Devil (1989)

Orion Pictures

"I love Meryl Streep's weird comedies, but things like this and Death Becomes Her feel pretty low class when measured against what she's known for."

—matthewschonmorgan

6. Emma Watson as Sam Button in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Summit Entertainment

"Her American English was crappy, and, well, her performance was okay to my friends, but after hearing her American accent, I lost interest in the movie."

—Fearless (Taylor's Version)

7. Emma Watson as Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"I don’t care what people say, she’s an amazing actor, and I really enjoyed the movie, but IDK...her character could have been made better."

—sparklyglue78

8. Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell in Godzilla (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Aside from the special effects, I find the plot and basically everything else about the movies to be either very strange or sloppy and just not thought through. She's a great young actress in TV shows, and although I don't like the movies she's in, I enjoy her performance in them, and I wish she would do a better movie project that showcases her talents more."

—Disgruntled_Pelican

9. Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark in The Help (2011)

Walt Disney Studios Motion PIctures

"She is an amazing actor, but that movie, ugh. I thought it would actually be about Black nannies in America rather than white people's problems, again."

—summer07

10. Jennifer Lopez as Ricki in Gigli (2003)

Sony Pictures Releasing

"That turkey line Jennifer Lopez did...total cringe." 

—akatb720

11. Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Eddie Redmayne, and every other actor in Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Warner Bros.

"It's the worst movie I have ever seen." 

—selap

12. Sir Patrick Stewart as the poop emoji in The Emoji Movie (2017)

Sony Pictures Releasing

"He played the poop emoji. THE POOP EMOJI."

—eclipsecat14

13. Every actor in Cats (2019)

Universal Pictures

"For me, it was the moment Sir Ian McKellen started lapping up milk. What kind of blackmail did someone have on these people to make them do this movie?"

—kngreyh

"All of Cats. Literally, all of the actors in all of the roles. As a huge fan of the stage show, this was an utter disappointment!!"

—amyh485d18781

14. Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in the Twilight movies

Summit Entertainment

"I appreciate the series for launching her into stardom as she deserves, but holy shit, it's a mess. The first movie alone has her love interest stalk her character, emotionally manipulate her, and isolate her from other people. The rest of the series ends up being a mess of abuse, further emotional manipulation, and inappropriate 'relationships' (i.e. Jacob and Renesmee)."

—P1nkL3m0n4d3

15. Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey in 50 Shades of Grey (2015)

Universal Pictures

"I know doing 50 Shades of Grey allowed Jamie Dornan to be able to do other movies that he really cared about, but man...those movies were so bad. But he is so good. Don't watch FSOG, watch The Fall! He's brilliant!"

—ashleyl31

16. Scarlett Johansson as Francesca Curtis in The Perfect Score (2004)

Paramount Pictures

"I'm not saying the movie was a total flop, because it wasn't per se...but it didn't live up to my expectations for her because I think she's a really good actress."

—reekay1725

17. Penélope Cruz as Valentina Valencia in Zoolander 2 (2016)

Paramount Pictures

"She’s an amazing actress and has done some incredible movies, both in English and Spanish. She even has an Oscar! So, it amazes me that she keeps agreeing to such questionable roles like the stereotypical hot woman trope."

—blovergara

18. Natalie Portman as Isabel in Your Highness (2011)

Universal Pictures

"Natalie Portman felt really out of place in Your Highness. It's a stoner comedy. She won the Best Actress Oscar for Black Swan a month and a half before that movie came out."

—matthewschonmorgan

19. Will Smith as Daryl Ward in Bright (2017)

Netflix

"That film wasn’t good, but Will Smith tried his hardest to make it good."

—awkwardmistakes

20. Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. John Dolittle in Dolittle (2020)

Universal Pictures

"He gave one of the most entertaining performances as Iron Man for 11 years, so it's mind-boggling that he would succeed that role with Dr. Dolittle. That accent was bizarre, and that movie was one of the worst movies of 2020."

—arikagan

21. Melissa McCarthy as Michelle Darnell in The Boss (2016)

Universal Pictures

"I love Melissa McCarthy. She's incredibly talented and versatile, but The Boss is one of the worst films I've ever seen. I couldn't even finish it. Just woeful and also very boring."

—bluedecor

22. Ben Kingsley as Guru Tugginmypudha in The Love Guru (2008)

Paramount Pictures

"I will never understand how they got Ben Kingsley to be in The Love Guru. That movie was disgusting and just plain not funny. He's one of the greatest living actors, so I have no idea if he just thought it would be a quick and fun way to make money or what."

—kandim

23. Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder/Wanderer, aka Wanda in The Host (2013)

Open Road Films

"She's such a phenomenal actress, but that's by far the worst role I've ever seen her in. The movie was cringey and boring and just bad. She's made far better choices since then, thank god."

—katcloud

24. George Clooney as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman & Robin (1997)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"All of his other movies and TV shows were so good. He has even apologized for being in the worst Batman movie."

—dellarock

25. Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews in Divergent (2014)

Lionsgate

"She is an incredible actress, but I was so disappointed to see her in such a role that didn't show her great skills."

—coffeeshop

26. And Tilda Swinton as Dianna in Trainwreck (2015)

Universal Pictures

"Don't get me wrong, I loved the movie, but after seeing Tilda play unique characters in movie after movie, it was jarring to see her as a stereotypical boss bitch with a spray tan and a pencil skirt."

—catherinem44b19516d

Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarify.

Now, I want to know a role an actor played so well that it surprised you. Let us know in the comments!

Watch Once Upon A Time In Londongrad from BuzzFeed Studios, a new true crime docuseries based on the explosive BuzzFeed News investigation, now streaming on Peacock.

Peacock & BuzzFeed