Summit Entertainment
“Bryce Dallas Howard as a replacement for Rachelle Lefevre in the Twilight Saga. Are the movies trash? Yes. But Rachelle’s Victoria was dark, menacing, and interesting. Bryce was ethereal, manipulative, and a bit dull.”
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Russell Crowe as Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder. It was awful.”
—myrdraal2001
3. Tyler Perry in Alex Cross (2012)
Summit Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection
“I laughed so hard every time he was on screen that the person trying to make me watch it just turned it off 😂😂😂.”
—jduckett220
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4. Liv Tyler in The Lord of the Rings movies
New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection
“She can’t act, and seeing her throws you out of the movie because you can only see her, not the character. She’s the worst thing about those movies.”
5. Elijah Wood in the Lord of the Rings movies
Courtesy Everett Collection
“My forever eternal disappointment and fury for the casting of Elijah Wood as Frodo. It made me want to scream and cry when I saw it in the theaters. If it had been a book, I’d have thrown it across the room — much like he apparently did to the source material after he got the script. He never read LotR, and it shows; he was nauseatingly terrible. Shudder.”
—lirtalan
6. Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I think Kevin Costner as Robin Hood was an awful choice. He doesn’t even attempt a British accent!”
—krisr6
7. Dakota Johnson in Persuasion (2022)
Nick Wall / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Dakota Johnson as Anne Elliot in Persuasion. I don’t really blame her, though; I blame the screenwriters and the director for adapting a character they clearly hated for an audience they think is too unintelligent to understand that the world used to be different.”
—five_star
8. Tobey Maguire in the Spider-Man movies
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’m going to get slated for this, but Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. He’s so meh, and it really put me off seeing any Spider-Man films for many, many years.”
—puss_pastry
“In the third movie, I never had any idea what expression Maguire was going for. Is he sad? Happy? Possessed? Evil? Not-evil? It was all just the same expression, and it was super bizarre. I know that movie wasn’t supposed to be a cinematic masterpiece, but it seemed like he was stoned during the entire film or something.”
9. Julia Roberts in Michael Collins (1996)
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Maybe not the worst of all time, but Julia Roberts in Michael Collins was super jarring. Her Irish accent was willy-nilly, and when it was on, it was still pretty terrible. Plus, she just looked out of place, like they dropped a supermodel into the middle of the Irish Civil War; you shove a big name and face like hers into a historical period piece like that, you’re just asking for trouble. Should have went with an Irish actress.”
10. Mark Wahlberg in The Truth About Charlie (2002)
Universal Pictures
“Mark Wahlberg in the Cary Grant role in the remake of Charade (The Truth About Charlie). The whole thing was a train wreck and a disgrace to everyone involved, save maybe Thandiwe Newton, but none of it was worse than Markie Mark in the male lead.”
11. Maria Bello in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Maria Bello in the third Mummy movie, replacing Rachel Weisz. It would’ve been better to say Evelyn died than to recast her.”
—Anonymous
“The ‘joke’ about not being the same woman made me cringe. Should have waited for Rachel Weisz or yes, had Evelyn dead or just really busy with a library somewhere so it was a guy’s trip. I watched the movie at the cinema and haven’t been able to rewatch it.”
12. Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
STX Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
“She had no feelings and zero chemistry with the other main character played by Dane DeHaan — who I’ve also never seen in another movie. Worst casting ever.”
—u/mimipie06
“I’m still f**king mad about the casting choices in this movie except for Ethan Hawke. They needed actors who look about 20 years older who know how to deliver dialogue. They didn’t look old enough to get a driver’s license, let alone a pilot’s license.”
13. Mark Wahlberg in The Happening (2008)
20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I’m not sure any casting choice could have made that movie not suck, but I couldn’t believe for even a second that Wahlberg was just a dorky science teacher trying to survive.”
—u/crnelson10
14. Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Sony Pictures
“Who the @#&$ cast Topher Grace as Venom?! Seriously the kid’s from That ’70s Show. He’s not scary at all. Especially when he was screaming in agony, I was just thinking to myself…’This is bad.'”
—u/glokazun
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15. Denise Richards in The World Is Not Enough (1999)
United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Denise Richards trying to play a nuclear physicist in The World Is Not Enough — she was about as convincing of a nuclear physicist as a dog chewing on an atom-shaped chew toy.”
16. Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
“His attempt at a British accent is hilarious.”
—u/brewshakes
17. Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York (2002)
Miramax
“She’s not bad, but can’t match DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis.”
“Honestly, Daniel Day Lewis was on another level in that movie. I remember watching it as a kid, and even then, I felt like I was watching Leo, Cameron Diaz, and a dude that time travelled from the turn of the century. Leo and Diaz basically play themselves while Daniel Day Lewis disappears in his role.”
—u/faislamour
18. Kristen Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I just watched this movie like last week; her every emotion looked the same. The thing is, I like Kristen in the new Charlie’s Angels (2019). I guess she just needs to find the right roles.”
“After I saw some of her darker, edgier, more indie roles, I realized she’s amazing when she’s given room to be subtle. Her energy is very reserved but it’s powerful. Personal Shopper (2016) is a strange movie that’s one of my recent favorites for example — highly recommend it.”
19. Jesse Eisenberg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Warner Bros.
“There is just no danger to the guy — he just looks perpetually like a 19-year-old college student still living at his mom’s house, so I’m not gonna buy him as some evil mastermind. Thanks.”
“I actually liked his performance, but it doesn’t fit as Lex Luthor. I would have been happier if they said it was another character because I did quite enjoy his acting.”
—u/SS117_
20. Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III (1990)
Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Sofia Coppola is a really talented filmmaker — as an actor, she just was not prepared for a role that big, in a movie that big. It’s her father’s fault for casting her at the last minute, and he admits it. Yes, everyone had their claws out ready to rip her performance, but even revisiting the movie, it’s cringe-inducing. She just wasn’t ready for all of that, and now that awkward performance is frozen in amber for generations to see.”
—u/dystopika
21. Robert De Niro in The Irishman (2019)
Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Robert De Niro as the young Frank Sheehan in The Irishman. There isn’t enough makeup and CGI in the world to make that work.”
“Yeah, that was so dumb. No amount of CGI could make De Niro walk and act like a young guy. The whole ‘de-aging’ gimmick I think works for maybe a flashback scene or a cameo, but shooting a whole movie with it robs a younger actor of a role that they probably could have pulled off way better.”
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22. Russell Crowe in Les Misérables (2012)
Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert in Les Misérables. He just can’t sing nearly as well as the other cast members — especially for a movie that is a musical.”
—u/Fogel87767
“His acting itself was just fine. The issue is that his singing was jarringly behind a lot of the other actors, especially since his main counterpart was Hugh Jackman, who has been a successful musical actor on stage. It’s fine having actors that may not be the best singers, but probably not a good idea to continually put those actors in direct comparison to those that are because it highlights the major difference in ability, pulling you out of the immersion. Javert is Valjean’s foil, so there’s going to be constant and direct comparison between those two. You need to have the two actors on par with each other.”
—u/megers67
23. George Clooney in Batman and Robin (1997)
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“As Batman, he’s terrible. Awful. However, I don’t think he made a bad Bruce Wayne. I feel the same way about Ben Affleck. Bad Batman, good Bruce Wayne. They both got trapped in awful scripts, but they are good actors deep down — just stuck in the tar pits of awful movies.”
24. Gwyneth Paltrow in the Iron Man movies
Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony Stark’s personal assistant-turned-CEO was god awful. Having been an admin for 30 years, the way she played that character would be an embarrassment to the profession.”
“I binged MCU during the pandemic and ended up loving all of it, but every Pepper scene just threw me off. Pepper Potts is genuine, and Paltrow is probably the most aloof actor I’ve ever seen.”
25. And finally: Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher (2012 and 2016)
Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
“The most horrendous miscast ever. One of my favourite book series, I was so looking forward to the film until they announced who was playing Jack. Actually felt gutted.”
—leanne6
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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