Ever watched a movie and wondered how an actor could've possibly gotten the role?
For whatever reason, the following entertainers are notorious for delivering wooden performances
that land with a resounding thud.
Some thespian needs to tell these guys: "Get thee to an acting class!"
In the nineties, Elizabeth Berkley was splashed across TV screens across the country.
Best known for playing Jessie on the chirpy sitcom Saved by the Bell, the actress turned
in a perfectly fine performance each week.
Well… then there was that one episode where Jessie got addicted to caffeine pills.
"One, two, three, hot sundae, yeah, we'll be great, we'll be awesome!
We'll knock 'em dead, right?
RIght, yeah!"
"You're right, everything will be okay.
I just need one of these."
"Pills?
You mean you really are taking drugs?"
"I need them."
"Jessie, give me those."
"I need them, Zack!"
After Saved By the Bell ended in 1992, Berkley evidently decided she wanted to cast off her
squeaky-clean, cookie-cutter image: She took a role in Paul Verhoeven's theoretically sexy
film Showgirls.
"What kind of classes have you had?"
"I haven't had classes."
"Then what are you doing here?"
That's the question.
Unfortunately, the film was a total flop at the time, and critics mercilessly picked apart
Berkley's acting.
It's not difficult to see why:
"Where are you from?"
"Back east."
"From where back east?"
But Berkley's bad acting may not have been her fault.
While discussing the negative feedback years later, Verhoeven told Rolling Stone:
"Good or not good, I was the one who asked her to exaggerate everything — every move
— because that was the element of style that I thought would work for the movie."
"I hate you."
"I know."
Hayden Christensen surely had no idea he'd become the butt of jokes when he took the
coveted role of Anakin Skywalker.
Perhaps you recall one of the most awkward and notorious moments in Star Wars Episode
II: Attack of the Clones.
Christensen was nominated for three Razzies for his performance as Anakin — and he won
two of them.
But at least he's a good sport about it.
While attending the 40th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration panel in 2017, the star was
asked for his own thoughts on sand, and he happily played along.
"It's not very smooth.
It doesn't really stay in one place.
So…
I'm not such a big fan of it myself."
Finally — a man who has the courage to say what the rest of us are thinking.
Tori Spelling … the actress who could've had it all.
She's the daughter of the late producer Aaron Spelling — which probably had something
to do with the fact that she landed the role of Donna Martin in the original Beverly Hills,
90210.
It clearly had nothing to do with her acting chops … because she doesn't really have
any.
"Well maybe you should have listened to me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Because I told you we should have sold, but no — you had to go and be greedy, Mr. Bigshot."
Discussing her audition for the show, Spelling told Entertainment Weekly:
"I went in under a different name, then I got the part of Donna — which I'm sure had
something to do with my dad."
After the iconic show ended, Spelling had some trouble scoring high-profile roles, sticking
mostly to made-for-TV movies, the occasional flop, and a slew of reality TV shows.
You'd think she'd count her blessings after being asked to star in BH90210 in 2019.
The show brings back some of the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 to play exaggerated versions
of themselves.
Well, a supposed insider told Radar Online:
"Tori didn't want to portray her real life, which is being broke and on the D-list … [she]
wanted to live in a big mansion in Beverly Hills and show the life she envisioned her
character would be leading."
Let's face it: Jaden Smith is one lucky kid.
With a dad like Will Smith, you'd think he'd have ferocious acting chops — but that's
not exactly the case, is it?
Sure, his career started promisingly enough: He starred in 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness
alongside his famous father… and then he took on a remake of The Karate Kid four years
later.
Smith's early stabs at acting were relatively successful — but the positive reviews may
have had something to do with the fact that he was an adorable kid.
Things got shakier as Jaden got older.
For example: When he was 15, he starred alongside his dad in M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth.
"What was I supposed to do?!
What did you want me to do?!"
This box office disaster was relentlessly picked apart by critics — and it earned
the father-son duo Razzie Awards for worst supporting actor and worst actor, respectively.
"I'm not a coward!"
"Katai!"
You'd think Jaden would have the sense to pull back and perhaps take some acting classes.
Instead, he's busy referring to himself as "the future of music, photography, and filmmaking"
on Twitter.
In the 80s, millions of viewers tuned in each week to catch David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider...
but it's a show that hasn't exactly withstood the test of time.
"What's happened, Michael?"
"Nothing so far but I made contact."
"Marvellous!"
"Let's hope so.
We'll know in a couple hours."
When the series briefly made its way onto Netflix, a certain generation suddenly realized
their childhood hero wasn't a particularly good actor.
"KITT?
KITT, you alright?"
A critic for The Globe and Mail called the show "criminally awful," writing that:
"Mr. Hasselhoff reads dialogue the same way nearsighted patients read optometrists' eye
charts."
And that's to say nothing of his performance in Baywatch.
"No one knew the fire was going to move as fast as it did."
"I know.
I didn't even know there was a fire."
"Then you can't blame yourself."
Starring on Baywatch didn't exactly help Hasselhoff become a better actor— and it sounds like
he knows it, too.
As an executive producer on Baywatch, Hasselhoff once refused to cast Leonardo DiCaprio on
the show.
As he revealed to GQ in 2017:
"[Leo] introduced me to his parents, and I said, ‘I’m responsible for your son being
a huge star.’
They said, ‘You are?’
I said, ‘Yes, because I didn’t cast him on Baywatch!'"
Tellingly, he added:
"When you do a show like Baywatch or Knight Rider, you don't get the respect of coolness
within the industry."
And just like that, our hearts go out to The Hoff.
"Sorry — I promised myself I wasn't going to get so emotional.
I just love ya, buddy."
Known for his dazzling smile and rock-hard abs, Zac Efron rose to fame as a Disney teen
heartthrob in the High School Musical franchise.
Since leaving the House of Mouse, he's taken on more and more serious roles — but perhaps
he needs to stop smiling so much.
Efron claims he had trouble landing the role of Link Larkin in Hairspray.
That's because director Adam Shankman couldn't get him to stop smiling during the audition.
He told Cosmopolitan:
"[I] couldn't do it.
It was impossible […] It took me like four or five tries and he was just shaking his
head and making fun of me the whole time."
Nevertheless, Efron's chipper persona continued to be a problem as he attempted to take on
meatier roles — like serial murderer Ted Bundy in 2019's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly
Evil and Vile.
While Bundy was known to be charismatic, some critics felt Efron took it too far and accused
him of "romanticizing" the role.
With a Razzie Award nomination already under his belt for 2018's ill-fated Baywatch reboot,
this Hollywood hunk should perhaps tone down the charm, and perhaps take an acting class
or two...
"Well, I told you I would learn better if I had a study buddy."
After riding the wave of Good Will Hunting's success alongside bestie Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
found himself starring in a whole lot of middling fare.
Anyone remember Phantoms?
Yeah, neither do we.
But unfortunately, we can't forget 2003's Gigli, in which Affleck starred alongside
his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez.
"Hey let him eat his food, he got food."
"Don't like this food."
"Too bad, eat ya food, stoopid."
"Hey, back off — "
Although Bennifer were madly in love at the time, the movie was a total box-office flop.
"Where are you going?"
"It's turkey time."
She got that right.
Most critics thought the film was a twenty-ton turkey, with Rolling Stone writing:
"The stars display zip chemistry, but seem to find themselves adorable.
They’re so taken with each other they don’t need an audience.
Good thing, because they’re not going to get one, not with this swill."
The winner of multiple Razzie Awards, Affleck is well-aware that his acting has been sharply
criticized and mocked.
In 2008, he told the Independent:
"I don't think that if you can't handle being criticized and you can't take a joke and you
have skin that is too thin that you should be in the entertainment business."
That's... a whole lot of double negatives, but we think we get his point.
We'd be remiss not to mention Tommy Wiseau, the actor-director mastermind behind 2003's
The Room.
"I did not hit her.
I did not.
Oh hi Mark."
"Oh hey Johnny what's up."
"I have a problem with Lisa.
She said that I hit her."
The cult classic is so appallingly bad, James Franco went on to direct and star in The Disaster
Artist, a 2017 comedy about the making of the movie.
"What line?
What is the line?"
"'I did not hit her.
It's not true.'"
In the years following its release, The Room has become a bonafide cultural phenomenon.
In fact, it's now widely regarded as the "Citizen Kane of bad movies," and for good reason:
"You're lying, I didn't hit you.
You're tearing me apart Lisa!"
Wiseau's real-life persona and cash flow are somewhat shrouded in mystery.
Following the release of Franco's parody, he told The Hollywood Reporter:
"I’ve been in the fashion industry from way before.
Actually, I used to build buildings, that’s where the money came from [for The Room].
Sometimes people are teasing me about where the money came from."
Well, thanks to the success of The Room, Wiseau has been milking his 15 minutes of fame for
well over a decade now.
As of 2019, his next big endeavor is supposedly a horror film called Big Shark.
Based on the trailer, the film is about… a big shark.
While countless fans have raved over Keanu Reeves' kindness, that doesn't mean they necessarily
think he's a versatile actor.
Reeves' acting has certainly worked in films like the Matrix series and Speed… perhaps
because these fast-paced action flicks don't leave a lot of room for emotion.
"Everybody hold on!"
Over the years, he's been the butt of countless jokes about his acting skills or lack thereof.
Critics have occasionally slammed him too — like when Entertainment Weekly claimed,
"Reeves speaks his lines robotically, in a 'manly' low bark, and his face rarely moves
(it’s that placid Keanu mask)."
Of course, Reeves still tries to get as much work as possible — even if he mainly lands
roles in smaller films and action flicks these days.
Asked if he's alright with not booking as many Hollywood gigs as he used to, he told
IndieWire in 2014:
"No, it sucks, but it’s just the way it is."
In the 90s, Adam Sandler was beloved for his slap-stick parodies and wacky impersonations
on Saturday Night Live.
And fans absolutely adored his performances in comedy classics like Billy Madison and
Happy Gilmore.
But times change.
No stranger to the Razzie Awards, the comedian set a jaw-dropping record by winning all ten
of his nominations in 2012.
Another impressive feat?
His 2015 Western parody The Ridiculous 6 boasts a shocking zero percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
That score might be generous.
"Lip balm?"
"I reckon I'm good."
You may be wondering: Does the actor care about all the negative reviews?
Evidently not.
He told the Independent in 2013:
"I didn't get into movies to please the critics.
I got into it to make people laugh and have fun with my friends."
That's great and all… but it'd be nice if he occasionally aspired to please moviegoers,
too.
We know how it sounds: Quentin Tarantino in need of acting classes?
Hear us out on this one.
Sure, the critically-acclaimed director has a knack for screenwriting, and he creates
utterly spellbinding characters… but at the end of the day, he's rather lacking in
the acting department, isn't he?
Reportedly, the Pulp Fiction mastermind dropped out of high school in the hopes of becoming
an actor … and he discovered his behind-the-scenes talents while taking acting lessons.
As he told NPR, he started writing scripts because he needed scenes to perform in class.
And then he had an epiphany:
"I just realized that I love movies too much to simply appear in them.
I wanted the movies to be my movies."
Despite winning two Oscars and other countless awards, Tarantino apparently can't shake the
acting bug, and he still makes the occasional cameo in his films.
One Uproxx writer once devoted an entire piece to Tarantino's supposed "overacting."
That article makes a point of mentioning his Australian accent in Django: Unchained — which
they describe as "hilariously horrible."
"You ain't got nothing to say I want to hear."
We'll let you make up your own mind on that one.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite stars are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.