Not every actor has starred in as many top-tier movies as Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Harrison Ford. In fact, there are some actors who only have one truly great movie on their resumes.
Such is the case for the actors on this list who, while talented (with the possible exception of the first on our list), haven’t been able to enjoy the acclaim offered to some of their peers.
Do you agree with our picks? Have we been unfairly critical? Are there other actors who deserve a place on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
Steven Seagal
Under Siege
And the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture goes to…Steven Seagal! These are words you’re never likely to hear at the Oscars, not only because Seagal regularly stars in bad action movies but because he’s not that great an actor. Some would say that he’s not that good a fighter either but we would never say that ourselves for fear of getting our faces slapped by the martial arts star.
Seagal’s earlier movies offered passable entertainment but none of them are good as the action greats. His later movies, mostly straight-to-DVD efforts, are abysmal. Still, he has starred in a couple of decent movies in his career.
One of these is the 1996 thriller Executive Decision, an enjoyable but forgettable movie in which Seagal (mercifully) bows out of the picture early. The other is Under Siege, a genuinely good Die Hard clone in which Seagal gives a surprisingly decent (but nowhere near Oscar-worthy) performance as an ex-navy seal turned cook who fights a group of terrorists on a battleship.
Alexandra Daddario
The Squid & The Whale
Alexandra Daddario has starred in a lot of movies but in terms of greatness, only her debut movie, The Squid and the Whale, in which she is credited as Pretty Girl, can be considered truly great. The actress doesn’t have a major role in the movie but it did pave the way for the career that followed.
Sadly, her career includes a lot of terrible movies, with Baywatch, Night Hunter, and Songbird being among the worst.
With a resume as long as hers, you can expect a few decent movies – Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, We Have Always Lived In the Castle – but only her debut feature can be considered exceptional.
Alicia Silverstone
Clueless
With a career as long as Alicia Silverstone’s, you would expect more than one brilliant movie, right? Sadly, with the exception of Clueless, in which she gives an hilarious performance as spoiled rich girl Cher, the majority of her movies have been mediocre.
When we tell you Batman & Robin is one of Silverstone’s career highlights, you will have an understanding of how bad some of her movies are.
The Babysitter, Excess Baggage, and Scorched were among the bad movies released shortly after her breakout turn in Clueless, and in recent years, roles in the tepid rom-com Sisters of the Groom and abysmal shark movie The Requin have done her no favours at all.
Jessica Alba
Sin City
In 2005’s terrible comic book flick Fantastic Four, Jessica Alba starred as a superhero with the ability to turn invisible. We suspect she wishes she was invisible in Good Luck Chuck, The Love Guru, and Valentine’s Day too, as these are just some of the terrible movies she has starred in during her career.
2005 wasn’t a completely bad year for the talented actress, however. This was the year in which she starred as Nancy in the visually stunning comic book adaptation, Sin City.
She gives a soulful performance as the lasso-swinging stripper and she continued to shine in that role in the slightly underwhelming sequel in 2014.
Stephen Baldwin
The Usual Suspects
With the right movies, Stephen Baldwin could have been as famous as his older brother Alec. Sadly, he probably should have fired his agent as his resume mostly consists of bad choices.
Bio-Dome, The Flintstones in Rock Vegas, Half Baked, and Shark in Venice are just some of the movies that have helped derail this talented actor’s career.
Not every movie Baldwin has starred in is bottom-of-the-barrel stuff, however. He gave early performances in Casualties of War and Last Exit to Brooklyn, though as he’s not on screen for long, you can be forgiven if you had forgotten he was even in those movies.
But in terms of a great movie in which he took on a starring role, we have to point our finger at The Usual Suspects. He gave a riveting turn as foul-mouthed criminal Michael McManus and he’s one of the reasons why the movie earned a lot of acclaim. The same cannot be said about his role in Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice!
Tyler Perry
Gone Girl
Tyler Perry is a decent actor, as evidenced by 2018’s Vice, a good but not great political movie that tells the story of Vice President to George Bush, Dick Cheney.
Perry turned in a good performance as former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, something that he has constantly failed to do in the awful Madea movies where he dresses up in drag.
Perry’s best movie is Gone Girl, the 2014 thriller for which he received critical praise for his role as lawyer Tanner Bolt. With suspenseful storytelling and a sharp script, this movie is a must-see if you haven’t yet seen it.
The same cannot be said about Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming which co-stars another actor in drag, Brendan O’Carroll, as the insufferable Agnes Brown.
George Lazenby
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
George Lazenby only starred in one James Bond movie – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – and luckily for him, it’s one of the best in the franchise.
His performance is either good or bad, depending on who you ask, but regardless of his acting talents, the action-packed spy thriller is an exhilarating watch.
After his breakout acting turn as 007, his subsequent movies failed to match the same quality. You probably haven’t heard of most of them as they haven’t been widely shown.
Not that this should bother you as, with the exception of the 1979 movie Saint Jack, they are mainly cheaply made B-movies with few redeeming qualities.
Marlon Wayans
Requiem For a Dream
Marlon Wayans is best known for his comedic performances in such movies as Scary Movie, A Haunted House, and Fifty Shades of Black. While he is a talented and funny actor, the movies he has chosen have largely been awful, including those we have just mentioned.
It’s a pity he wastes his time starring in lazily written comedies as his one good movie, Requiem For a Dream, gave him the opportunity to show the world how good of an actor he really is.
In this movie, Wayans dials down his usual wackiness to give a tender portrayal of a struggling drug addict. It’s a powerful performance in a powerful film that has far more to offer the world than the likes of Norbit and Dance Flick, two other lame comedies Wayans has starred in.
David Spade
Light Sleeper
David Spader only has a small role in Paul Schraeder’s powerful 1992 movie as the unflatteringly named ‘Theological Cokehead’ but at least he has one movie on his resume that is worth a discerning movie lover’s time.
This was a rare opportunity for Spade to give a dramatic performance with a role far removed from the comedy characters he has starred as in the years before and since.
Spade is a funny performer so it’s only fair that he should stick to comedy movies. But as the comedies he has starred in have been largely awful – Black Sheep, The Benchwarmers, The Do-Over – perhaps he should consider a return to more dramatic roles.
Kevin James
Hitch
Kevin James is a likeable performer but the movies he has starred in have largely been forgettable. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Grown Ups, and Zookeeper are some of his worst but there are lots of others we could have mentioned here.
The actor hasn’t always starred in bad comedies, however. 2018’s Becky, where he played against type as a bad guy tormenting a father and daughter, showed what a capable actor he could be with the right script and role.
His best movie though is Hitch, in which he takes a supporting role as an unlucky-in-love guy who hires the help of Will Smith’s date doctor. It’s a genuinely good rom-com in a genre where decent movies are few and far between.
Do you agree with our list? Are there any actors we have missed? Let us know in the comments below.