10 Most underwhelming performances by legendary actors in movies 

A good movie consists of a lot of powerful elements that blend together to give its audience the best possible experience. Apart from having a compelling storyline or a relatable set of characters, a movie also relies heavily on the performance of its actors.

While most of the time, actors do a fine job and render the audience speechless with their impeccable performances, there have been times when actors have failed to deliver on their end of the deal. The poor performance executed by the actors could be a result of a lot of things, ranging from inadequacies on the director’s part or the script not being a perfect fit for the actor.

Here’s a list of the 10 most underwhelming performances by legendary actors in movies.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the opinions of the writer. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Marlon Brando in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)

Anyone who hasn’t seen Marlon Brando in a movie before could very well build a perception of the man being a terrible performer if they ever watched this epic failure of a movie, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery. Brando played the role of ‘Tomas de Torquemeda,’ the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition. He looked as though he was sleepwalking through the whole movie, delivering each dialogue with no amount of enthusiasm and a particularly moody expression, as though he was extremely bored. The movie, for all the obvious reasons besides Brando’s abysmal performance, didn’t do quite well and is certainly not remembered or heard of by anyone.

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Adam Sandler in The Ridiculous 6 (2015)

Adam Sandler has time and again proven himself to be an incredible performer and an immaculate actor. Unfortunately, The Ridiculous 6 is annoyingly racist. It tells the story of an outlaw who was raised by native Americans, and upon realising that he has five half-brothers, he and his brothers go out on a mission to find their dad. Sandler’s attempt to master a native accent ends horribly, which for some reason even got dropped at unexpected times. Adam Sandler, being one of the very many actors with impeccable comic timing, tanked this performance and ended up making this a tragedy.

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George Clooney in Batman & Robin (1997)

The very fact that George Clooney’s version of Batman exists in itself is a bummer. Batman and Robin happens to be the fourth installment in the Batman franchise. In this edition, Batman and Robin work side by side to stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City. Clooney delivers an exceptionally mediocre performance in the movie, and he wouldn’t disagree with this particular fact. The only good thing about the movie happens to be Uma Thurman’s portrayal of Poison Ivy, but apart from her, everyone else cast in the movie has acted poorly. Although Clooney can’t be blamed entirely for this disaster, it can be argued that with a better script and director, his performance could have been better.

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Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Pedro Pascal has proved on several occasions that he’s an extremely reliable performer and can be trusted with important roles. His beloved audience was rendered speechless yet again by him, but this time owing to his extremely underwhelming performance. Pascal tried everything in his power to match the light-hearted tone of the script, but in an attempt to do so, he ended up delivering one of the most powerless performances. His performance in this movie could be best described as “cringy.”

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Al Pacino in Heat (1995)

Al Pacino is an American actor who has an enviable career graph with movies like The Godfather, Scarface, and Scent of a Woman, to name a few. He is the same person who was cast to play the character of Michael Corleone in the Godfather trilogy. His seemingly over-the-top performance in the movie Heat came to his audience as a shock. He came off as not quite in sync with the rest of his cast members. The character that he plays is supposed to be under the influence of drugs, but he comes off as somewhat unserious and extremely unhinged. Al’s performance as a crotchety detective is unbearable and unbalances the entire movie.

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Judi Dench in Artemis Fowl (2020)

Dame Judi Dench happens to be one of the most popular icons of British heritage. Her portrayal of the ill-tempered Commander Root in the movie Artemis Fowl happens to be one of her most questionable choices for a role. The movie is about a young criminal prodigy hunting down a secret society of fairies in order to find his father. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the movie does a fantastic job of portraying Judi Dench as a weak performer on screen. The outfit happens to be the least of the issues that could very well be pointed out, the Batman-like voice does a great job at helping the actress in any way whatsoever. The whole movie can be aptly described as ‘unwatchable.’

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Robert De Niro in Dirty Grandpa (2016)

One of the greatest actors to have ever existed, Robert De Niro, has delivered timeless performances every single time. Ranging from Taxi Driver to Raging Bull, he has proven it time and again that he, in fact, is an extremely efficient actor. There’s literally no reason for his fans to ever consider him to be a bad actor, except for the time he gifted them with his performance in the movie Dirty Grandpa. The plot itself is extremely laughable to help Robert’s case in any possible manner. It’s about a corporate lawyer who is forced to drive his dirty grandpa to Florida for Spring Break right before his wedding. It’s an exceptionally thoughtless comedy for even die-hard comedy fans. Robert De Niro delivers a questionably unfunny and unappealing performance, and it’s extremely difficult to sit through even a quarter of the whole movie’s duration.

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Nicolas Cage in The Wicker Man (2006)

Nicolas Cage is without a doubt one of the best actors of the era, he’s well-known for his surreal acting style. Nicolas Cage has created a niche for himself in the movie business. His worst pick for movie would have to be The Wicker Man, which happens to be a remake of the 1973 British folk horror film with the same title. Nicolas cannot be the only one to be blamed for the terrible outcome of the very conception of this movie. The faulty script and the director are equally to be blamed. The character didn’t require Cage’s over-the-top, obnoxious delivery. It was a failure on the director’s part, too, for he couldn’t guide Nicolas properly.

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Samuel L. Jackson in The Spirit (2008)

Samuel L. Jackson happens to be a pretty big name in Hollywood. He has been known to have delivered incredible performances with movies like Avengers and A Time to Kill, to name a few. But much to the disappointment of his beloved audience, his role in the movie The Spirit happens to be unacceptable. His performance seemed extremely over-the-top and more than Samuel L. Jackson himself, it’s the scriptwriters who are to be blamed. The character ‘The Octopus’ has received heavy criticism owing to the actor’s overacting. The character is otherwise unseen in the comic strip but hasn’t been well-received for its conspicuous nature. The film could be of great help to people facing trouble with sleeping.

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Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York (2002)

Cameron Diaz never was quite that enthusiastic about entering the acting business, regardless she has created a name for herself in the industry over the years. She has appeared in some extremely popular and fan-favourite movies of all time, like Vanilla Sky and There’s Something About Mary, to name a few. The Martin Scorsese-directed movie The Gangs of New York left the audience with expectations for an exceptional performance yet again. But to their disappointment, Diaz failed to depict the period role properly, as she had become so used to doing contemporary roles. Her accent became a huge problem for her as well.