10 Worst TV Performances Of 2016
3. John Travolta - Robert Shapiro (American Crime Story)
In recent years John Travolta has become something of joke within Hollywood. He's been in a string of awful films like From Paris With Love, Savages and even Gummy Bear The Movie 3D. Ever since he mispronounced Idina Menzel's name as "Adele Dazeem" at the 2014 Academy Awards, he's been regarded as someone to laugh at rather than with. Oh, and the whole Scientology thing really doesn't help.
News that he'd be playing O. J. Simpson's defence attorney in American Crime Story, then, was met with scepticism. And despite the show itself receiving critical praise, there's been a permanent divide over Travolta's performance.
Some see it as a return to form for the veteran actor, while others think it's goofy and erratic, impossible to regard with any actual seriousness. And it's true: Travolta is not an unassuming-looking man. Given his position in modern Hollywood, he's incredibly difficult to take sincerely, and his acting often comes across as more puzzling than anything else. It's like watching an actor try to act, and that's never a good thing.