Yahoo Lifestyle 21 Gifted Actors Who Were Completely Wasted In Their Roles, According To Fans
It's pretty disappointing when you're hyped up for your favorite actor's newest role, only for their talent to be totally wasted onscreen.
Recently, Redditor u/sheerduckinghubris asked, "Who is such a gifted actor who was absolutely wasted in their acting role?"
Here are 21 of the top responses:
1."Zendaya as MJ in the Spider-Man movies. Like, please give the girl something to work with."
2."I think John Boyega got screwed in the Star Wars sequel movies as Finn."
"Literally, everyone thought he was going to be the star from the trailer showing him with a lightsaber. A story arc of a storm trooper becoming a fucking Jedi would have been so epic...and much more interesting than anything they actually did in the movies."
3."Antonio Banderas as Renadlo in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. I thought it was just a guy who looked like him."
4."Gary Oldman as Vladislav Dukhovich in The Hitman's Bodyguard. He is given like one good scene to really portray his character, and it's great, but then he's just a background piece the rest of the movie."
"Complete waste of Gary Oldman right there."
5."Christian Bale as Gorr the God-Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder."
6."Christopher Eccleston as Malekith in Thor: The Dark World. What a complete waste."
"100% this, I was so excited to see that movie, and his opening scene was great... Then...the rest of it happened..."
7."Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who."
"I started watching the show with Eccleston in the lead role, and that's always been my favorite take on the Doctor. Cranky old alien who doesn't really want to get involved with human shenanigans but keeps getting begrudgingly pulled in anyway.
When I heard that Peter Capaldi was being cast, I cheered. Crankiest of the cranky, as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick Of It. If he brought even a fraction of that energy to The Doctor, I'd be thrilled.
But the writing for his run on the show was just dull as dishwater. They gave him so little to work with. I trailed off and stopped following the show, probably about halfway through his run.
Utterly wasted talent. How do you hire an actor with that kind of energy, put him in a role that could absolutely play to his strengths, and give him the blandest writing in the world? Damn shame."
8."Matt Smith can act. It's just that every time he tries to become a bigger name by being in a blockbuster movie, he's gotten stuck with roles where he can't really do his thing or is barely present to do anything [such as Lucien in Morbius]."
"And it's mostly in movies with no hype behind them, or they end up being forgettable."
9."Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in Twilight."
10."John C. Reilly in basically every project he's ever done with Will Ferrell [such as Step Brothers and Anchorman]."
"He's basically a case study in being too good but not taking yourself seriously about it."
11."Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man."
"So many bad creative decisions in those movies, but Andrew Garfield is an amazing actor.
He was my favorite of the three Spider-Men in No Way Home."
12."If they want to bring the '00s X-Men movies back, instead of digging up Hugh Jackman every couple of years, can we please redeem Halle Berry as the awesome Storm she should have been?"
13."Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse in that god-awful X-Men: Apocalypse shitshow."
"Good CHRIST, why?"
14."The inimitable Stanley Tucci was in Pauly Shore's Jury Duty as Frank/Billy."
15."Andrew Scott as C in Spectre."
16."Colman Domingo as Victor Strand in Fear the Walking Dead."
"Honestly, everyone in FTWD after Season 3 was wasted."
17."James Marsters as King Piccolo in that abomination Dragonball Evolution."
18."Jeremy Irons as Mage Profion in the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie."
19."Raul Julia as General M. Bison in Street Fighter."
20."I was really looking forward to seeing Wes Chatham as Enoch in Ahsoka because he was so good in The Expanse, and then he was not only barely in it, he was stuck inside a helmet."
21.And finally: "Alan Tudyk as Hei Hei in Moana."
Barry Brecheisen / WireImage / Via Getty, Walt Disney Animation Studios / Via youtube.com
"I love the clip of him in the VA booth doing chicken noises, then he cracks up and says 'I went to Juilliard.'"
Which other talented actors do you think were totally wasted in certain roles? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.
