10 Awful Performances In 10 Great Movies

By Matt Volpi /

So many films are nearly perfect. So close to the cream of the crop but unfortunately featuring one or two flaws. Often these flaws come from effects, or dialogue. We're here today to look at those caused by the acting on display. A poor performance from an actor or actress, no matter how small the part, can be unforgivable for tarnishing an otherwise superb piece of cinema. It can make a great film good, or a good film bad, depending on the importance of the character. While it's easy to think of terrible performances in terrible films (Hayden Christensen anyone?), it's much more interesting to look at films that were fantastic despite the failings of some of the acting performances. Here are ten performances that threatened to drag down otherwise great films.

10. Bernard Hill - The Lord Of The Rings

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It can't be disputed that The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is an absolutely spellbinding feat in cinema. Peter Jackson bought the book to life with superb storytelling featuring several winning performances from the likes of Sean Astin and Sir Ian Mckellen. While it's fair to say the script required a few of the actors to over-act just a little bit, such was the drama and context of the tales, there were a few who didn't pull it off. The most glaring of these was Bernard Hill, playing the solemn King Theoden. Hill goes for inspiring with his speeches and heavy one liner's, but instead finds only hammy, with a few of his more dramatic lines delivered with such gusto and misplaced intensity it makes you cringe, while other speeches are delivered with absolutely no emotion, just a slow monotone.