10 Awesome Performances From Usually Terrible Actors

6. Kate Hudson - Almost Famous (2000)

Is Kate Hudson that bad? Probably not, but her 'form' of terrible movies (Bride Wars followed My Best Friend's Girl followed Fool's Gold...) and her insistence on so rarely stretching herself (her stock character has gradually been diminished to, simply, €˜a blonde girl€™) that puts her firmly on this list. And it€™s her phenomenal performance in Almost Famous that solidifies her position. In Cameron Crowe€™s autobiographical rock €˜n€™ roll comedy, Hudson plays €˜band aid€™ (read: groupie) Penny Lane, a confused and vulnerable girl used up by fictional rock group Stillwater. Hudson€™s conflicted and melancholy in her first big role, thinly covering up her insecurities with jocundity and flirtatious energy. The line €œWhy doesn€™t he love me?€ is a trite one, but here, out of Hudson€™s mouth, it€™s heartbreaking. She's been playing a watered-down variation of this role ever since, with none of the films or her performances in them quite as successful. And still, years of rom-coms haven€™t diminished the brilliance of this portrayal.
 
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Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1