Coming up with this list was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be: there are plenty of terrible actors out there, so I thought how hard could putting this list together? However, as I delved deeper into the list, I quickly realized that most of these so-called “actors” deserved about as much as respect as Justin Bieber deserves a Grammy. And just to clarify, Bieber doesn’t deserve a Grammy. The worst and most baffling part of compiling this list was that a majority of the “talents” who populated it were already respected for some oddball reason that I cannot personally fathom, whilst others who deserve respect are virtually unknown.
But after wading through my bountiful resources and drudging through the endless garbage, 10 talentless actors emerged from the darkness. Terrible actors who have - in their time – made us cry, made us laugh, and occasionally made us vomit; as we squall explosive reactions that no “good actor” could ever elicit from us. You may cringe when they appear on screen, but deep down you know that you sort of have to respect them.
10. Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart was not going to be on this list originally, but there is just something about her: consensus says she is one of the worst actors working right now, but she’s also one of the most well-known and popular actors as well. How could you be that bad and still be loved by so many? Granted, she’s also probably hated by just as many, but when you step back and look at the movie franchise that has made her a star, Twilight, you realize that no actor could possibly say the lines of dialogue that she has to say and still be called a “good actor.”
You’ve got to respect Kristen Stewart because she isn’t actually that bad of an actor: she was just trapped in the impenetrable vacuum that is the Twilight franchise. Now that she’s done with that, she can finally branch out and remind us of that promising young actor that once starred in Panic Room. Go on Kristen, show us those skills that caught the eye of one of the greatest directors of our generation, David Fincher; show all the haters that you are a capable talent and give them reason to, uh, sort of respect you.
And really, how can you not respect anybody who goes out into public, with a straight face, to promote the train wreck that is Twilight?
We are currently seeking Film contributors on WhatCulture. To find out more about the perks of being a Film contributor, click here.
22 Comments
Hmmmm, Nicolas Cage has talent, it is just lost in a sea of back taxes and cigarette smoke.
Nicolas Cage is talentless? Well the Academy begs to differ. Nic Cage does what he wants. Sometimes it’s brilliant and he wins an Oscar, at other times it’s hilarious and he still entertains. Nic doesn’t even care.
I love the inclusion of Tommy Wiseau, The Room is the epitome of a fantasticly bad movie and although I can’t take him seriously, I have to respect that he’s taken the audience reaction in stride and is embracing his success as the best bad actor/writer/directer out there
I think you’ve slightly misunderstood the title of your own article. You’ve just argued that a bunch of people are talented in diverse ways and not as respected as they should be, rather than talk about actually talentless people who are worthy of respect.
It would be a dull list, but I’m afraid you’d be down to listing porn stars and soap opera stars who have made a pretty penny for themselves despite having nothing to recommend them but good looks.
Yeah, I feel exactly the same way.
If someone excels in a unique fashion and has created a style of something that doesn’t have as wide of an appeal but is recognized by it’s fans as being something great, the word ‘talentless’ shouldn’t really come into play.
Also, you put Rob Schneider and Jackie Chan on the same page. It just looks weird.
Ben Afleck – are you kidding me!? He’s a supremely talented scriptwriter, director and actor. His performances in Argo and Good Will Hunting are absolutely scintillating. Have to disagree on the Mark Whalberg count as well, he delivers knockout performances in Boogie Nights and The Departed.
Agree. WTF is this list? Pointless. Didn’t even have Anna Faris.
Kristen Stewart should be on the top of the list! She has made movies during the Twilight franchise as well and they are just unbearable to watch.
You should take away Ben, Mark and Nicolas and throw in Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale, Selena Gomez, Adam Sandler…
Ashley Tisdale and Adam Sandler are in no way untalented.
I totally agree with Kristen Stewart. She is probably the worst actress right now with one facial expression in all of her films and probably one of the most fake celebrity right now. No wonder her delivery of roles simply sucks. But I disagree with Nicholas Cage. I think Nick is a good actor.
Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck and Nic Cage are all fantastic actors. Yes they’ve made bad film decisions at times, but that doesn’t deny their obvious talent… I actually think Kristen Stewart is a lot better than she is given credit for as well, she’s great in Adventureland, even if that’s because she’s not playing a particularly happy character.
You can never get me to respect Mark Wahlberg. Ever!
Even after his performances in Boogie Nights, The Departed and The Fighter? Yeah The Happening was a stupid idea, but it was Shyamalan, if it had turned out half as good as The 6th Sense he’d have been laughing.
I would say Kevin James. He is not particularly funny and lacks a leading man physique or looks. The reason that I respect him is that he has managed to make a career…movie career…based almost solely on his weight. It takes both a great ability to laugh at himself and accept people constantly focusing on that aspect of him as well as finding a way to break into a business that usually demands that people have a “Hollywood” appearance. There are a few other actors and actresses where the focus on them is due to some physical quality more than talent. This is especially true of small people (Warwick Davis) and brutishly muscular actors (Jason Mamoa, Ralf Moeller) who are only typecast to play intimidating people. They should be given credit for making a living on their unique physical attributes.
This article is ridiculous. You can’t equate some bad performances with ‘talentless’. Somebody’s only talentless if every single one of their performances is bad. It’s exactly the same oddball performance style that makes Nic Cage so laughable in the Wicker Man remake that makes him such a great fit for directors like the Coens, Herzog or Lynch. Surely the two great performances he gives in one film in Adaptation are enough to forgive one bad one in the Wicker Man. You mention the dreadfulness of Season of the Witch, but neglect to point to two excellent and bizarre in a very good way performances Cage delivered around the same time in Kick Ass and Bad Lieutenant.
Meanwhile, condemning Stewart for Twilight is pointless as the material is so bad even well respected actors like Michael Sheen don’t come out of it well and calling Affleck talentless while saying a film which he didn’t just direct but also is the lead actor in is the film of the year is a bit odd.
I’m sure they are all laughing all the way to the bank no matter what you think
This was probably the greatest article I have ever read. All these comments were written by fools. Tommy Wiseau! Tom Green! Rob Schneider!
I believe Chan is more talented than everybody on this list. All of his Hollywood movies have him playing roles that are one dimensional. Many of his films lately have required him to be more than what made him famous. The guy can act, sing, dance, direct, and beat the crap out of you all in one movie. I respect Chan, but everyone else can go away and I wouldn’t miss them.
Seriously? This is the worst list ever. I don’t like Ben Affleck, but he’s not talentless. Mark Wahlberg? Jackie Chan? Emilio Estevez? Nick Cage? You are way, way off base. All of these actors are actually very good. Come on!
Just to point something out: It’s going to be awfully hard for Affleck to win the Oscar for Best Director when he hasn’t been nominated for it.
What a boulderdash article. As many have pointed out.
dudde you are not so normal,NICK CAGE IS ON YOUUR LIST,come on he is really exellent actor,one of the best.go and shoot yourself.