10 Famous Acting Performances That Got Worse As Their Franchise Went On

Iconic cinematic performances that began to slip with each passing installment.

It's hard enough making a great series of movies on the basis of scripting and directing, but what about when an actor gets lazy and just starts phoning in their performances in later movies? It's easily done: actors might get complacent and believe that they can go through the motions in their sleep after receiving tons of critical acclaim in their first outing, though in these 10 instances, the actors' performances noticeably dipped below the expected standard, bringing the movie down a notch with them in most cases. Imposing villains reverted to unintentionally hilarious hamminess, long-standing action heroes just clearly couldn't be bothered anymore, and one superhero adopted a widely-parodied vocal register that was just impossible to take seriously (gee, who could that be?): these are just a few examples of some iconic cinematic performances that began to slip with each passing installment. In fairness, in many cases a terrible script is also to blame, though it's still clear as day that these actors, many of them acclaimed and even Oscar-winners, couldn't bring themselves to dive a little deeper into a role that has earned them so much money and fame over the years. Did we miss any other franchise performances that got worse as they progressed? Or do you disagree with any entries on this list? Let us know in the comments!
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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.