Who has the worst filmography to talent ratio?

Ellen Barkin. With a few amazing exceptions, she never got (or sought) the roles she deserved.

Helen Mirren

Mmmmmm, let me think about this for a second. Okay it’s been a second: I pick M. In one year, she made two of the worst movie musicals ever.

Diana Rigg.

Catherine Zeta Jones

They usually don't end up as leads in film.

I'd say someone like Julia Duffy or Joan Van Ark -- hugely talented, yet spend their entire careers without ever really breaking out.

Lorna Luft.

Seconding Lorna Luft

Liza Minnelli and Barbra Striesand

I don't understand the question: Are you asking who has talent and doesn't make good films? Or who has no talent and makes great films? Or does it matter which way it falls?

r10 I meant the first but either one is fine

Nicholas Cage

Meryl has lots of talent but she's been in the business for a million years and she's made like three watchable movies.

Mel Gibson

As a director it might be Jodie Foster.

Julianne Moore is a solid actress but over the last few years her choices are too safe for the most part. She was fun in Maps to the stars because she actually took chances and played something other than the beautiful but forlorn wife /mother.

John Cusack

Keanu Reeves. For every John Wick, there is two or more bombs.

Brad Pitt

Another vote for Meryl. Time has not been especially kind to her body of work, and will continue in that fashion.

Some acclaimed films don't hold up that well (SOPHIE'S CHOICE, FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN) and others are laughably bad/impossible to sit through today (OUT OF AFRICA, IRONWEED). Then there are many even-less-good ones....

I only really liked Kate's acting in Titanic. In everything else I've seen her in, I found her rather hammy.

R21 She was good in Revolutionary Road (with Leo again)

You thought she was hammy in "Beautiful Creatures" (was that the name? The Peter Jackson movie).

Jerry Lewis

Loretta Young was the best example of an Oscar-winning actress who made a huge amount of unwatchable films from the Golden Age Of Hollywood.

Then, Liza and Barbara.

In modern times, Kate Winslet is not a good guess. I would say Cameron Diaz instead.

R23, I haven't seen Heavenly Creatures, but I thought Leo outacted her in Revolutionary Road. And that's saying something because he, too, has sucked ever since Titanic imo.

But 'good acting' is obviously highly subjective, plus I haven't seen all of her movies, and I don't want to hijack this thread.

Definitely Barbra. The camera obviously loved her unusual face and she had a great comic timing but her debut film remains the only genuinely good one she's ever done (and please, don't try to convince me that The Way We Were and What's Up Doc were any good, because they weren't). Unfortunately her ego got the best of her and she'll be forgotten pretty quickly after she croaks thanks to it.

Margot Robbie has little range imo, but she seems to take her craft seriously and makes interesting choices. I think she'll amass an impressive body of work.

"Funny Girl" isn't a good movie. Once she sets off to marry Nick Arnstein, the movie's over (or it should have been).

Babe was so bad in The Way We.....

Meryl has been phoning it in for the past 15 years, In many ways, she's at her best when she attempts a very un-Meryl role like Miranda Priestley, when she creates a character from the scratch without any blueprint to work with (nailing down accents, gestures, etc, of real people)

"What's Up Doc?" isn't any good?

It's the first we've heard of that!

Cameron Diaz and Keanu Reeves are terrible actors with suitable filmographies. I have no idea why they were mentioned

Streep and Blanchett both know how to pick good roles, but not good movies. Being outstanding in a mediocre vehicle might feel OK while you're getting the Oscar nom, but you're not going to be remembered for it.

At least Blanchett's done a lot of good plays on stage. Why hasn't Streep? I loved her in The Taming of the Shrew at the Delacorte, a hundred years ago.

I think Winslet's done better than Streep in terms of filmography.

[Quote] Being outstanding in a mediocre vehicle might feel OK while you're getting the Oscar nom, but you're not going to be remembered for it.

Tell that to Sondheim. I think lots of creative types would rather be the shining star of their projects, rather than share the shine with the project itself or the other talents involved. It's always a Sondheim show, or a Streep movie.

Of course it's always a Sondheim show. He's the key creative. No mere actor ever is. This is why that wonderful cast couldn't make Cats a decent vehicle: the creator was an idiot, as apparently was the director also. (I'm not silly enough to have seen it.)

My point is that Streep doesn't know HOW to pick a vehicle that will be lasting in itself. The general public wouldn't be able to name well over half of the movies Streep has been in, because they sank without trace already, in her lifetime. They are known, if at all, ONLY for being Streep movies.

Gone With the Wind is not a Vivien Leigh or Clark Gable movie. The Godfather is not a Brando or de Niro or Pacino movie. Apocalypse Now is not a Martin Sheen movie. All those actors will be remembered for being IN those movies, and they contributed to their success, but they wanted to be in them because the vehicle was great to begin with.

At least Kate Winslet had the sense to marry Sam Mendes, which was a start in the right direction.

[Quote] They are known, if at all, ONLY for being Streep movies.

And you think that's a mistake. We get it.

Am I seriously the first person to mention Nicolas Cage?

Yes, R38, because the rest of us think he's absolutely terrible.

Nope, R38, Mr. Coppola has been mentioned above already (by R12, to be precise). You're worse than Hitler and The Wicker Man remake.

What's Up Doc is one of my own personal all-time faves for a million reasons besides Barbra. I guess I will have to have an Uber scoot R27 over to 459 Durella Street stat.

Paging Linda Fiorentino.....

Michelle Williams is a strong actress but it seems like she is never in anything fun or unexpected. I know critics love her films but I avoid them for this reason. Always the sad eyed, broken spirit pixie woman in every film. She might be more interesting to watch if she left her comfort zone more often.

Can I ask you something, R41: did you watch What's Up Doc when you were a kid, because people who have nostalgic memories of certain films aren't really able to judge them objectively (that's the same reason I have a soft spot for crappy comedies I grew up with, like White Chicks and The Sweetest Thing). I've seen it for the first time only recently and had a really hard time sitting through the whole thing. That movie is for 1930s screwball comedies what that piece of shit The Artist is for silent films and The Good German is for film-noir: just a lazy and unimaginative "homage". I remember one critic desribing it as "a film scholar's idea of what a screwball comedy should look like" and I couldn't agree with that assessment more.

I stand by what I said: Funny Girl is the only decent film Babula has ever done and I'm not surprised it's also the only one of her movies that's been entered into the National Film Registry. I guess we won't be seeing What's Up Doc or Yentl there anytime soon.

Melissa McCarthy. She showed herself off brilliantly in CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? but I am always surprised to see her doing buddy flicks or silly comedies. Once in a while, maybe, but she is so much better than that.

Melissa has to pay the bills!

Melissa's no-talent husband derailed her once promising career.

r47 Who is her husband?

I’m sure she never had high expectations for her career considering she played a secondary character on Gilmore Girls for most of it.

R36 how many amazing, iconic movies has Streep been offered? She did the best she could with what she was offered, given her age, during her career.

She was offered Howard's End.

Susan Sarandon.

Richard Burton did a lot of crap

So did Peter O'Toole

DeNiro and Pacino have waded through a lot of "I need the money!" roles

I'm still confused. What's this thread asking for again?

R48 Ben Falcone, who directed her in shite like Tammy, The Boss, Life of the Party and others. But those films were all co-written by McCarthy so I guess she needs to take some of the blame for her rather misguided film career too.

r54 OMG, you’re right. He is ruining her career. Gosh, I hate to see successful women hand over the reins of their career to incompetent husbands. If you’re hellbent on playing the part of the dutiful and submissive wife, at least get a guy with intelligence or talent.

Boyd Gaines - The man with four Tony awards has acted in such stellar vehicles as [italic]Porky's[/italic], [italic]Heartbreak Ridge[/italic] and [italic]the Sure Thing[/italic]. He was in a L&O episode that aired this morning, so I looked him up on imdb just today.

I love Melissa McCarthy's turn in CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME. I think even her old fans didn't know she had all that in her. You do realize she replaced Julianne Moore in that role? No disrespect, but I think Melissa brought something exponentially warmer, funnier, and sadder to the role than Julianne could have.

Remember though, Melissa built her brand on those "silly comedies." (I never watched her sitcom, but saw her for the first time in BRIDESMAIDS, where she almost stole the movie.) Some, like SPY, are incredibly funny and entertaining, and there's a place for them. Others are dead on arrival. She excels at outrageous physical comedy when not many other women do, frankly (watch her hosting appearances on SNL, which are occasionally brilliant). In a perfect world, she could move between the OTT comedies and heavier dramatic roles.

My fingers are crossed that it's still possible for her to do something major.

[quote] Boyd Gaines - The man with four Tony awards has acted in such stellar vehicles as Porky's, Heartbreak Ridge and the Sure Thing. He was in a L&O episode that aired this morning, so I looked him up on imdb just today.

The DL mainly cares because he was on [italic]One Day at a Time[/italic].

Rebecca Ferguson is charismatic and a good actor, but her filmography is shit. Same for Rosamund Pike.

Rebecca Ferguson is the opposite - totally bland but lucked out and got cast in a few decent movies.

John Travolta can act, but his filmography is all over the place, and his worst films are bad beyond belief.

I thought Rebecca Ferguson was a singer.

Barbra is a very good choice.

She, obviously, has a lot of talent and is exceptional in the right vehicle, but she -- VERY -- rarely finds it.

To think of the time she wasted doing shit films like For Pete's Sake and The Mirror Has Two Faces, etc., when she could have done Gypsy when she was the right age.

When Steisand was the right age to do GYPSY, she was taking pictures like this... The woman has never been realistic.

Hands down Nicole Kidman. The same whispery deeply uninteresting performance across dozens of films.

Streisand did some bombs but she was also in iconic movies like Funny Girl

[quote]Streisand did some bombs but she was also in iconic movies like Funny Girl

Honey, it's never a good sign of a well-planned movie career when the movie everyone remembers was your FIRST one. And it over 50 years ago!

R44, while yes I did love it as a kid, it holds up fairly well IMHO because the cast is solid throughout, and well, AFI's #61 of American Comedies, The WGA screenplay winner for comedy (1973), a RottenTomatoes Audience score of a 90 with a critics score of 89 - I'm apparently not alone in my fondness.

What are YOUR favorite films out of curiosity?

In R64's Babs looks like she's in the middle of a huge fart!

R68 See, I immediately knew that was the case, because there's no way you'd have such warm and fuzzy feelings about that film if you just watched it on TV last night for the first time; the humour in What's Up Doc is just so fucking juvenile it hurt my feelings. And the critical praise and awards mean absolutely nothing to me in general, because let's not forget that Marvel films all have "certified fresh" rating on Rottentomatoes and that Jonah Hill is a two-time Oscar nominee.

r70 is not A r70. R70 is THEE r70.

R64 s pic of Barbra is stunning. I know she always wanted to appeal to pop/rock listeners but that wasn't really going to happen, even with a few hits. If she ever had doubts about how she looks, this pic should have satisfied her. She's hot.

R6 I get the impression that JVA didn't do herself any favors being so high maintenance, and not knowing when to quit with the plastic surgery.

Ok, one person hates "What's Up, Doc," which a lot of people do like, so he's going to post again and again about what a bad movie it is, boring us all to tears. Too late, he already has.

Delilah- Judith

ME! After that horrid movie about that crazy actress everyone though I was her and the work dried up. Those horrid little homosexual boys ruined my reputation!

Julianne Moore is incredibly overrated.

So many shitty films. I can't even remember her last good performance.

Jodie Foster has been in about 3 great movies but she isn't particularly great anyway

Some people are missing the point. The thread is about actors who are talented but do a lot of crappy movies, not actors you personally dislike

Kate Winslet has only had one Supporting Oscar nomination in the last 11 years! LOL

I love Paul Rudd. But he has done some horrible movies. Watched Wanderlust last night. What a turd. Loved him in Mute and The Catcher was a Spy. When he plays the boring nice guy. Please, No.

R57 I agree with you on everything. She is Fantastic in "Can You...." and I have her series "Mike and Molly" on dvd. Watching her is an acting class sometimes.

I think Brendan Fraser is a wonderful actor, and I think he’s almost always the best part of any movie he’s in. But his filmography is full of more bombs than successes - even though I personally love most of those bombs. I hope this middle age comeback he’s been having gives him a real chance at some good character work.

Jennifer Lopez

R61 Have you ever looked up the movies he turned down? He turned down stuff like Days of Heaven, American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Green Mile, and Splash!

Warren Beatty is another actor who turned down a lot of good movies, but did absolute garbage, but he has a far better overall filmography than Travolta.

R83 Kate Beckinsale claimed that she know of an actor who tried to warn people about Weinstein, so Weinstein crushed his career. It was speculated that Brendan Fraser was the actor in question.

Karen Black was a wonderful actress with a unique and special quality about her, but after Trilogy of Terror (which is ironically one of her most iconic roles) she was never taken seriously again and was mostly relegated to cheesy, direct-to-video junk and B-movies for the rest of her career. That was a shame. She went to the grave underrated and underappreciated in my opinion.

When did Karen become a $cieno?

Christopher Walken has made some terrible dreck. Same with Travolta and Bruce Willis.

R59 I think Rosamond Pike is actually a bit overrated and generally find her a bit too restrained. I thought Gone Girl (Pikes most famous role ) might have been far more interesting if they had cast an American actress who captured a certain sort of cheery all American perkiness with a nasty sharp edge underneath. Pike was just a chilly European style bitch.