Joseph Gordon-Levitt: 5 Awesome Roles And 5 That Sucked

By Padraig Cotter /

4. Dr. Don - Shadowboxer

Director Lee Daniels likes a good trashy melodrama and they don€™t come much trashier than Shadowboxer. In the film Levitt plays a doctor who helps a pregnant woman on the run, and he€™s epically miscast from the moment he arrives. The character needed to be much older and sleazy, but Levitt€™s baby face and off kilter charm is such a bad fit that he€™s downright distracting. His romantic pairing with his overweight, drug addicted nurse is in there because €“ like everything else in Shadowboxer - it€™s weird just for the sake of it. He also has no romantic chemistry with his co-star, making their "hot" scenes together awkward to sit through. Levitt is clearly having a blast making the film so he€™s not phoning it in; he just doesn€™t suit the character at all. The movie can€™t decide if the audience should laugh at how out of place he is, or just accept him in the role. They won't be able to do either.