12 Times Terrible Acting Ruined Potentially Great Movies

11. Gran Torino

Gran Torino Clint Eastwood
Warner Bros.

Clint Eastwood does a bang-up job as both director and star of this drama about a widowed Korean War veteran (Eastwood) battling crime in his neighbourhood, but he gives basically the only good performance in the entire movie.

With the film featuring a supporting cast consisting primarily of Hmong American characters, Eastwood made the somewhat admirable decision to cast actual Hmong actors in the roles. Except calling them actors is pretty damn generous, with many of the cast members in fact having zero prior acting experience, and it really shows.

The vast majority of the Hmong cast members give hilariously stilted line readings, none more so than Bee Vang, who plays the teenager who Eastwood's Walt Kowalski forms an uneasy bond with. The scene where Walt locks the kid in his basement is a thigh-slapping masterclass in how not to act.

Bad casting combined with Eastwood's famous disdain for multiple takes ensures an otherwise serious and well-crafted movie is frequently dragged down by atrocious performances. Oof.

Advertisement
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.