11 Movies That Ruined Actors’ Career

It’s a harsh reality in Hollywood that one bad role can completely derail an actor’s career. Even the most talented and popular actors, who previously had mind-blowing movies, can suffer from this setback. The audience’s expectations are high, and when they see their favorite actor in a disappointing movie, it can leave a lasting impact. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the famous actors who were unable to recover from one bad role, and how it affected their careers.

Nicolas Cage — The Wicker Man

Nicolas Cage is a very famous actor we haven’t seen in a good movie in a very long time. He has done more than 100 films in his career and even directed the film, Sonny.

He became known worldwide and won his first Oscar for his role in Leaving Las Vegas. Many people still think it was his best role. Critics also like him in Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, and Adaptation.

He got his first Golden Raspberry for his role in The Wicker Man. Cage was really overacting, and it looked ridiculous. It was after this film that viewers and critics started to doubt his talent.

Orlando Bloom — Elizabethtown

The British actor with a memorable look became really popular after The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His fans believe that, in this role, Orlando Bloom showed his best acting skills. He could have become even more successful if it hadn’t been for the role of Drew Baylor in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown. The most respected newspapers and critics talked about how illogical and unconvincing the acting and the plot were.

It seems that Bloom has never recovered from that failure, because he hadn’t been on any big projects aside from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Hobbit. He has even been nominated for the Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor for the 3rd Pirates movie.

Taylor Lautner — Abduction

Taylor Lautner had millions of fans after he played the werewolf Jacob in the iconic Twilight movie. When the filming of the second film started, the creators even wanted to replace the actor with someone more experienced and talented.

Taylor managed to keep the role, even though viewers didn’t really like his character. His participation in the final film of the franchise won Lautner his Golden Raspberry. And in between the 3rd and the 4th films, he did the film Abduction, which was bashed by the critics. It’s not known which of these films was the bigger problem for him, but the fact still stands: he is not being invited to participate in big projects anymore.

Adam Sandler — Jack and Jill

One of the most famous Hollywood comedians used to do stand-up comedy and second-class series. At the beginning of the ’90s, Sandler was often cast in movies, and viewers really liked him. The films Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore are still considered to be the best in his career.

Critics quickly got tired of his repetitive jokes, and he started to win the Golden Raspberry quite regularly. And the comedy Jack and Jill made a huge dent in his reputation and won him a record number of Golden Raspberries.

Hilary Duff — The Haunting of Sharon Tate

Hilary Duff became an idol for teenagers thanks to her role in Lizzie McGuire. She played supporting roles in other romantic comedies and even recorded several albums. Many people liked her music, but her movies weren’t very successful. It seemed that her career was on the rise when she got the role of Sharon Tate, one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood with a tragic fate.

The actress said it was an honor for her to play Tate, but viewers and critics were disappointed by her. In 2020, she got the Golden Raspberry for Worst Actress. Soon after that, she decided to leave Hollywood for some time and devote herself to her family.

Megan Fox — Jennifer’s Body

After the release of Transformers, people started talking about Megan Fox. In 2008, she was chosen as the most attractive woman in the world, according to FHM Online. Many girls wanted to look like her and tried to discover the secret of her beauty. The actress was cast for the main role in Jennifer’s Body, which was supposed to convey feminist ideas.

But the critics didn’t like Fox’s acting, and she was nominated for the Golden Raspberry. Since then, many directors have used her for her appearance, but nobody sees her as an actress. And Megan says this is a constant battle for her.

Michael Fassbender — The Snowman

Michael Fassbender started his movie career at quite a late age. But he still quickly became a very in-demand Hollywood actor because few people can portray such diverse roles in such a convincing way. Critics have liked many of his movies. Macbeth is considered to be one of the best play adaptations and the role of Steve Jobs got him an Academy Award nomination.

He’s also been in several high-grossing movies. But the crime drama The Snowman was a big flop. Afterward, Fassbender realized he was too tired, and he decided to take a break. In 2019, he played Magnet in X-Man for the fourth time, and now, it’s not known whether he’s going to play more complex roles.

Chris O’Donnell — Batman & Robin

Chris O’Donnell appeared in several popular movies of the ’90s and was considered to be one of the main heartthrobs of Hollywood. In 1995, O’Donnell played Dick Grayson in Batman Forever and it seemed that this franchise would bring him even more success.

But Batman & Robin has been called the worst film of all time by many famous critics and newspapers. Since then, Chris O’Donnell has not been able to restore his reputation. He still has roles in TV series, he is in the restaurant business, and he spends a lot of time with his family.

Alicia Silverstone — Batman & Robin

Alicia Silverstone made her debut in movies in 1993 and quickly became a fan favorite. She got really famous after the film Clueless was released with her in the main role. After that, Silverstone appeared in several commercially successful roles, but Batman & Robin made such a bad dent in her career that she hasn’t recovered.

The film was bashed by the critics, and Silverstone got a Golden Raspberry award. Besides, the media also criticized her body shape, so she felt very uncomfortable during filming for many years to come. She still appears in movies, but she hasn’t had any more recent significant roles.

Colin Farrell — Alexander

Irish actor Colin Farrell has had a lot of really good and diverse roles. One of the best is in In Bruge, where he played one of the main characters. He got this role after the biopic Alexander almost destroyed his career. The box office was barely enough to cover the production costs.

Viewers were disappointed with Colin’s acting and his accent, and he was no longer invited to castings. He was really disappointed and even wanted to drop his career, but many years later, Farrell has, once again, sparked the love of his viewers and the interest of directors, and he’s even been able to laugh at his previous failure.

Meg Ryan — Proof of Life

In the ’90s, Meg Ryan was a true queen of romantic comedies. The actress became a big star after the release of When Harry Met Sally... in 1989. This movie was the highest-grossing film that year. Ryan continued to play similar characters in her following projects.

But in the 2000s, Ryan’s career went downhill. While working on Proof of Life, she and Russel Crowe had a fling and it might have destroyed her marriage. There was a huge scandal around the film that destroyed Ryan’s reputation at that time. And the director of Proof of Life, Taylor Hackford, actually blamed the actress for the film’s failure.

If you enjoy watching movies and TV shows as we do, we know you’ll love to check out these articles:

• 10 Facts About Iconic Movies That Can Take Any Hardcore Fan by Surprise
• 13 Movies Whose Costumes Made History and Became Unforgettable
• 15+ Actresses That Were Pregnant in Movies and on TV, and We Had No Idea
• 15 Times the Same Costumes Appeared Twice in Different Movies or TV Series
• What 15+ Actors, Whose Movies We Loved to Watch on VHS, Look Like Now