1. Lucius Hunt - The Village
It's always hard to surmise just what an actor might be thinking or feeling on a film set just by looking at their performance in the final film. Michael Fassbender, for example, frequently scoffs at his mainstream roles in films such as X-Men: First Class and Prometheus. But one would be hard-pressed to notice his disdain from his performances as they appear in the films themselves: In both cases, it seems at least that Fassbender is fully dedicated to the role. In fact, he is the best part of both those respective films. However, one needs to look no further than The Village to see a troupe of genuinely talented actors, quite clearly and plainly, bored out of their minds. Struggling with some of the hammiest dialogue ever written and a plot so ridiculous it's impossible to think how anyone could take it seriously, almost all of the performances in this film suffer, even honest efforts from Bryce Dallas-Howard and Adrien Brody. Phoenix, as the romantic lead, is himself barely present: a bored, lackluster performance that does not become his abilities or pedigree as an actor in the slightest. Phoenix actually delivered a very enjoyable, genuine, light-hearted performance as Merrill, Mel Gibson's character's brother, in M. Night Shyamalan's previous film Signs. I suppose he saw something in the young director, or enjoyed the experience enough to come back for another round. Apparently, the script for The Village had very high levels of security around it in order to protect the twist ending. Often in these cases, actors will sign on for a role without reading the entire script. Perhaps that's what happened here. But whatever the reason, what's for certain is that this is the most shameful stain on Phoenix's otherwise mostly illustrious career, especially as of late.