11 Big Name Actors Who Ruined Good Horror Movies

10. Ewan McGregor -- Doctor Sleep (2019)

First thing's first: Doctor Sleep is a good film. It's just not an amazing horror movie. It's also not The Shining, and that is part of the problem.

Mike Flanagan's most significant entry in the Stephen King revival, Doctor Sleep saw the director secure King's approval and deliver a film designed to satisfy fans of both the books and Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic -- which is no mean feat.

Unfortunately, for him, for us, for everyone, Ewan McGregor was fundamentally miscast as Danny Torrance. Sure, he's about the right age, he's an accomplished actor, and lines rarely sound forced when coming out of his mouth, but he never really sells the part. McGregor neither makes a believable alcoholic -- not in the way Jack Nicholson did -- nor a convincing American. Given he's not known for his dexterity with accents, the blame for this lies squarely on the casting director.

Add to this that the sense of fear portrayed by McGregor, particularly in contrast to his fellow castmates, is always a little padded, a little muted, and there's a pervasive feeling of the underwhelming, which is the very opposite of what any self-respecting horror movie should be aiming for.