10 Famous Acting Performances That Got Worse As Their Franchise Went On

7. John McClane (Bruce Willis) - Die Hard

Bruce Willis cemented himself as an action icon forever more with his superb performance as John McClane in one of cinema's all-time action classics, Die Hard. His everyman appeal combined with his good looks and sure sense of humour made him a hit with audiences, leading to four sequels to date, with a fifth apparently on the way as well. In fairness, the first three Die Hard movies all gave Willis a fine outlet as a grizzled action hero, though by the time the fourth film, Live Free or Die Hard, came about, Willis' heart didn't really seem in it. Now, given Willis' age and how long had transpired since the third film, it made sense for McClane to be a little more world-weary in part four, but it's his lack of enthusiasm that's the problem. Even though Live Free turned out to be one of the better Die Hard movies, it was as much because of the movie's other performances and Len Wiseman's direction as Willis' work. This reached an apex in the fifth movie (and the only truly awful one of the bunch), A Good Day to Die Hard, in which Willis appeared to realise he was starring in a poorly-written dud, and decided to put no effort in at all, both on set and on the press circuit to promote it. The fire isn't in his eyes in this film, and he simply reels off the one-liners like he doesn't care at all, helping make this a colossal disappointment and a blip on the otherwise solid track record of the series.