10 Actors Who Gave Their WORST Performance In Great Movies
7. Michael Shannon—The Shape Of Water
There are bound to be a few controversial picks on this list, as
is always the case when anyone accuses a well-respected actor of turning in a
turkey of a performance onscreen. This being the case, we figured we may as
well open with one of our hotter takes—Namely, that veteran character actor and
seasoned villain Michael Shannon’s Colonel Richard Strickland is the weakest
link in Guillermo del Toro’s otherwise effective creature feature/ bizarre
romance mash-up.
The film swept at the Oscars in 2018 and deserved to do so, offering a simplistic but charming story of love triumphing over bigotry and prejudice as well as a lush visual feast for fans of the gothic helmer’s vintage B-movie aesthetic. However where stars Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, and Octavia Spencer offered typically stellar work in their respective roles, Shannon struggled to transform the cruel, uncaring Colonel into anything more than a somewhat cliché figure.
A stoic fifties baddie, he’s a walking embodiment of intolerance in every form, be it misogyny, racism, animal cruelty, or homophobia, and Shannon’s one-note evil doesn’t add any nuance or complexity to the villain.