9 Actors You Can't Believe Are Still Getting Work

jack-and-jill With such a tremendous pool of talent out there, it seems outrageous that we should have to put up with untalented or poorly cast actors in our movies. After all, while there's a few thousand waiters and waitresses in Los Angeles waiting for their big break as we speak, it's hardly possible that there isn't someone better out there. That's why it's particularly frustrating when high profile stars manage to keep getting work when they clearly don't deserve it. You see it all the time: studio types place their trust in a certain set of actors, and no matter how many disappointing and underperforming the films they put out are, it's like the talent behind them can do no wrong. It's not even that all of these people are necessarily bad actors (although a lot of them are), it's just that they've been given so many chances to make a hit film and they can't do it. I'd like to see new and deserving actors get their chance at the spotlight, but if there's one thing Hollywood likes, it's consistency. Even if it's at the expense of quality...

9. Charlie Sheen

charlie sheen scary movie 5 I realize that the Sheen name can take you pretty far in this business, but at this point I don't know what he could conceivably do that would get him kicked out of the industry. Murder? Elephant pornography? He'd probably still end up with a reality show. Everyone knows that he's difficult to work with, mentally unstable, on and off drugs, and a loose cannon in pretty much every way you can think of. Even after all the insanely negative press around his sacking from Two and Half Men, he still managed to snag a cushy run on a cable show. Hollywood has this concept of celebrity insurance -- if you're so much trouble that you seem like too big a risk for the people that are actually putting up the money, you won't get the part. I think that with Charlie Sheen, it's an instance of the survival instinct of producers warring with the very primal desire of audiences to watch famous people self-destruct. Last Decent Movie: Being John Malkovich, 1999.
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Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.