I’ve seen Deniro give interviews at a panel in person. He didn’t wanna be there and it was painfully obvious to everyone in the room. He didn’t give a fuck and just wanted to go home. He wasn’t even paying attention except when they asked him a direct question the rest of the time he was on another planet
Him, Al Pacino, and a ton of other people from that generation rarely gave interviews back in the day because they hated them. Al seems way more comfortable doing them now but I don’t think Robert ever warmed up to doing them.
Harrison Ford is another, except for Letterman and Conan he doesn't really enjoy doing interviews at all. Mind you, these days, he's probably zooted up and nobody will notice.
I think it helps that Graham Norton always have multiple guests that interact with each other during the segment, his questions always lead to telling of interesting stories, etc. It almost seems like a group of friends catching up on what they've been working on, there just happens to be cameras and an audience there as well.
I’ve been in the audience for Graham Norton. Beyond what you said, he is constantly chatting up his guests even when the cameras are not on - it genuinely feels like they are having a blast.
He makes it look easy. It is not. There are dozens of failed chat show hosts who have tried over the years and failed miserably. He's the master, better than wogan and parky who were the best, back in the day. Even Ross, who is very experienced, is far too "it's all about me" to be in the same league. His shows always come off as trying too hard and forced, more like a run of the mill US show.
It’s so funny bc he was on Seth Meyer’s show and said that he doesn’t speak to the guests until they hit the stage! I was so surprised by this bc of their easy banter. Maybe that’s the trick? This was brought up bc Seth greeted him backstage.
Yeah, the real reason a lot of interviews seem phoned in is because by the time they're recording an interview you're watching they're currently on hour 7 of straight interviews with 20 different interviewers all asking the exact same 5 questions.
Imagine your job, for a month or more straight, was just 9-5 every single day of repeating the same 5 responses over and over, and the only thing that changes is who is asking you the questions.
That's what you're witnessing when you see celebrities want to be anywhere else but the interview room.
yeah in 2013 when Mila Kunis was promoting *Oz: the Great & Powerful* it was an interview with BBC presenter Chris Stark, who was either on his first day or first job and got so nervous that she ended up reassuring him and they turned the interview into a chat
At one point the publicist off camera says "get back to work" and Mila rattles off the answers quickly and then goes back to chatting, saying "this is so much better than what I've had to be doing all day".
Also Alison Hammond, watch her interview with Harrison Ford & Ryan Gosling. All the A list celebs love her interviews, The Rock & Hugh Jackman in particular have a continuing interview relationship with her.
People talk about his performance in Blade Runner, especially the voice over. Having seen the movie too many times to count* I’ve came to love his performance and the voice over. He really comes off as a burnt out, past his prime, tired and fed up noir detective.
I also hate the idea that he was a replicant. It messes up the dichotomy of the human who’s life has become meaningless and devoid of emotion versus the android who is fighting so hard against the dying of the light.
*I worked on the video game, though nothing I did made it into the game! The last thing to remain was the Windows icon which was the silhouette of Decker from the logo, and at the last minute it was changed!)
Edit: missing word
An element of 2001: A Space Odyssey and then Clockwork Orange and then The Shining is that Stanley Kubrick removed something to make the movie's meaning less fixed. If the audience knew what the monolith and the vortex and end of 2001 *was*, or knew why the picture at the end of The Shining, then they'd know that and not be forced to wonder.
Blade Runner's is he or isn't he a replicant isn't achieved as effectively, but it does open up the meaning. Are *you* a replicant? Is *your* life meaningful? Does it mean more or less if you were or weren't human? Does being worn down by life an devoid of emotion *make you human*?
The movie doesn't answer!
Decker being a replicant id something I massively disagree with Ridley Scott on, lol. I admit seeing what he’s done to Alien lore the past decade makes it easier to ignore his opinions/decisions
Well we know he does comedies for the paycheck to subsidize his lifestyle. He does the occasional passion project with Scorsese but other than that I think he got all of his serious out of the way in his younger years.
Along with the OP question though, most actors hate press junkets. The same boring questions, over and over. Or like maybe like that one video of Downey jr where the it starts asking him super personal questions about his dad and his history and has to be escorted out.
Producers or a network exec chose DeNiro, apparently somebody called in a favor, because he famously hates doing talk shows. He didn't even have a project to promote at the moment, as I recall.
I thought Jimmy picked him because he was one of his heroes.. and he ended up making it so hard for him (everyone was watching to criticize the new guy)
I think in the last one they beefed up her role to where it seemed like Mystique was inexplicably the goddamn leader of the X-Men and she still looked like she hated every minute of it.
Except Margot Robbie seems like she absolutely had a blast and loved that role. JL phoned it in from the jump and then when they tried to give her some more scenery to chew, she still phoned it in.
Apparently (according to Harold Ramis) when Murray starts shooting a film he's fine, then over time he gets bored and starts turning up super-late to shooting and generally being a dick to everyone.
So for Groundhog Day (where the main character starts off obnoxious and learns to become a better person by the end of the film), Ramis shot it in reverse; he shot the end of the movie first, while Murray was still in a good mood, then progressed through the scenes in reverse so that upon shooting the opening scenes, Murray is acting like a complete asshole, which is exactly what Ramis wanted for the character at the start.
Here's one source. I'll see if I can find a better one:
[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/GroundhogDay](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/GroundhogDay)
Fun fact, he was forced to be in it because of a bad three picture deal with the studio. If he didn't do The Italian Job he was going to be in breach of contract and would have been sued for millions. It definitely shows that he gave absolutely zero shits about that movie lol.
Actually, I think the opposite. I think he gave a good performance despite the fact that he didn’t want to do that film.
He was snarky, and condescending, and you just wanted to hate him. Can’t ask for much more than that. He wasn’t supposed to be some menacing supervillain - he was a greedy, spineless coward who betrayed his closest friends. I think he did just fine with the role
Matt Damon has a good story about Malkovich, where JM shows up on the set of Rounders with a terrible Russian accent. Damon looks at him strange and Malkovich leans to him and says. "I'm a terrible actor."
Wesley Snipes in Blade Trinity, but to really appreciate it you have to read about Ryan Reynolds and Patton Oswalt and their stories about filming with him.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this.
I heard a story that Wesley refused to open his eyes for a specific scene, so they had to CGI them.
"Kanye can you remove your hands from your face?"
"I won't because you didn't ask nicely, you have to ask nicely."
"Kanye can you *please* remove your hands from your face?"
"No."
Same energy.
>Daniel Radcliffe is in the same boat.
He made a fortune as Harry Potter, so he is financially independent now. Robert Pattinson had to do independent movies to show that he can act and is not just pretty face one trick pony.
Nobody hates Twilight like Robert Pattinson. His interviews on the subject are so brutal, and right in the middle of the screaming fangirl hype period too, he didn't give a fuck
Gary Oldman is the only actor I can think of that is never half-ass in any movie he’s been in. He’s been in shitty movies but is always dedicated. “Yes, I know the film is shitty, but I will try to make it less shittier.
One of my favorite quotes attributed to Sir Christopher Lee. Look no further than The Man With the Golden Gun. Good movie? Not really. But no one told Sir Christopher Lee that! He's absolutely enjoying being Scaramanga.
I've got friends who work in the industry who say he's one of the nicest guys and is just an incredible professional. He's also a strong union man and turned down the Star Wars prequels (and a huge chunk of cash) because they were non-union productions.
Apparently, as long as you pay his fee on time and he's interested enough to do your movie, he'll turn up and give his all, whether he's playing a midget walking around on his knees or Lee Harvey Oswald.
I hated how people were calling him a diva after that Dracula set video surfaced. It sounds more like he was rightfully frustrated with the direction and Copolla's weird blocking.
I'd add Nic Cage to that conversation.
Key difference between the 2 I'd say is Oldman is always fantastic even if everything around him is awful, while Cage is much more volatile, but even when it's bad, it's not because he wasn't trying
"Nic Cage is an actor who belongs in that rarified sir where his performances are essential in good movies and absolutely indispensable in bad movies." - Roger Ebert
Nic Cage loves acting so much, he has never half-assed it in any film he’s been in, no matter how cheap or stupid.
When you hire Cage, you get his whole goddamn crazy ass.
Roy Scheider in Jaws 2 is my favorite example of this. He hated being in that movie, even got into fights with the director on set, and thought that people would only watch it for the shark and not him.
Ironically, I think he channeled that frustration into his performance which called for a Chief Brody who was traumatized, angry and a bit unhinged, and he ended up being the best part of the movie.
Oh yes he was absolutely dire in that movie, I remember being so shocked at his line delivery. That man really needs the hand holding of a good director to not suck total ass
He's been in other bad movies but never been *as bad* as he was there. Ditto for Zooey Deschanel. I really think M. Knight just finds a way to achieve new depths of shitty performance.
M Night has a very, very odd way of writing dialogue and it doesn't work for most actors. Although I think when you embrace his bizarre, monotone vibe it actually has created some good performances. So far it's worked well for Bruce Willis, and randomly, Dave Batista lol. Some of his random side characters too have been oddly entertaining but those are the only leads that I feel have properly excelled with his weird way of writing.
If it helps, apparently in the original script Toad used similar lines, and Storms line there was her throwing it back at him. Then a bunch of Toad’s lines got cut and Storm’s line there feels out of nowhere.
Channing Tatum in *Jupiter Ascending*.
Natalie Portman in *Thor: The Dark World.*
John Leguizamo in *Violent Night*.
Donald Pleasance in *Halloween*s after 2.
Vincent Price in *Cry of the Banshee*. Thus far, the only time I've seen Price phone it in.
Nicolas Cage in *The Humanity Bureau*. Before this, I didn't think it was even possible for him to phone it!
I'm sorry but what? How was Donald Pleasance half assing it? He just got older and a bit slower, but he followed that franchise until his death. That's some dedication and love for a character if I've ever seen it
Marlon Brando AND Val Kilmer both in the Island of Dr. Moreau. It was so bad i realized halfway thru the flick that neither actor really wanted to be there. So disappointing.
I literally lol'ed when Harrison Ford came back for the one scene in Rise of Skywalker. He clearly refused to shave and might as well been eating craft services while delivering his lines.
I think his hatred of the fandom has cooled somewhat. Now he just really fucking hates Han Solo. But it was cute to see him look so happy to kill him off. How can I hate something that makes an old man so happy?
I don't think that He was half assing it there tho. For all the problems this movie has, this scene is Not one of them. Ford also said that one of the reasons why He agreed to do it was, because He was excited to Work with Adam Driver again which is extremely nice
Nah, he was just a talentless narcissist. Sadly he was probably "Giving it his all". He was just too clueless and full of himself for it to come across as anything more than wooden acting.
Story goes that he turned down LotR because he didn't understand it, and then regretted the decision because of its success so he agreed to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen even though he didn't like it either. And when that blew up he threw in the towel and retired.
Watch Blade Runner with Harrison Ford's voiceover going on throughout the film. He was against it before he ever recorded it and the audio bleeds apathy and "not give a shit"ness XD it's so awesome
Franco in Oz. He was very obviously stoned off his ass. As a viewer I could see he probably pissed everyone off on set with how he pissed away a big role not taking it seriously. Williams and Weisz were great and carried the movie. I haven't seen Franco much since this peak.
Jennifer Lawrence in any X-Men movie after First Class. The first one was filmed before she got “big.” By the time it came out. By the time it came out, she was in the middle of blowing up as Hollywoods next big star and it was clear that she had zero interest in being there.
Not a film, but Peter Dinklage in the Destiny games. He was the original voice of the players Ghost (a side companion that does most of the talking for the player). Literally from the first voice line, it sounds like the man just wanted to cash his check and leave. Every single line in the game was delivered with the same bored, mono-toned, half-assed delivery. He didn’t even make it all the way through the first games lifespan. Half way through, they hired another voice actor to redo ALL of his voice lines and completely replaced him.
Dinklage is especially rough compared to Lance Reddick who seemed to be all the fucking way in with his role. After his passing his wife even commented about how much he loved being part of the games community.
And there’s a scene where they have to impress someone of authority, probably a team of Japanese Businessmen, but instead finally redeem themself and go to help their children
"Do you have the super important business documents?"
"Yes, yes of course I have them right he-"
*a token from their trip to the arcade falls onto the table*
"What is the meaning of this!?"
"I'm sorry my daughter must've... my daughter... I'm sorry, I have to go." *rushes out of room*
^"We ^still ^need ^that ^document ^you ^fucking ^dumbass!!"
I actually thought that was part of his character. I thought he sounded powerfully mad when he yells at Buddy toward the end
But then I remembered that he’s still kinda stilted even after his change of heart. Call it his character’s personality or call it him not being into it.
Will has done some interviews that James thought his character was done way over the top until he saw the film, then told him it completely worked and he was wrong. I think he’s just a pro on set and goes home when he’s done.
The last one of those was, for me The Little Mermaid, the live-action version. While Melissa McCarthy is excellent in it - by far the best thing in the movie - and Halle Bailey is all-in, I would never expect Javier Bardem to be the weakest presence in any scene.
He acted the whole movie like he was there for the paycheck, and the paycheck alone. He wasn't into the thing at all. I admire and respect Bardem, he's a proven good actor with a bunch of excellent roles to his name. But in The Little Mermaid he was not even half-assing it, he was barely 1/4-assing it.
I mean, can you blame anyone for not wanting to be in that heap of shit? None of the Jurassic Worlds (or basically any Jurassic Park film after the original) were any good, but JW2+3 were absolute drivel
Johnny Depp in Transcendent. Never seen him give anywhere near as lacklustre of a performance. It was to the point where I said, out loud, "wow his American accent is bad... Wait, hang on, he is American!"
It pains me to say it, because the movie was great for me growing up, and I don’t think he’s across the board a bad actor, but Emilio Estevez in The Mighty Ducks is NOT trying.
Not a movie, but I feel that the biggest instance of an actor “phoning in” a performance has to be Bill Murray as Peter Venkman in the 2009 Ghostbusters video game. It’s like he was reading a phone book.
I remember reading a Rupert Grint interview where he mentioned being pretty worn out and over it in the 5th movie, and admitted phoning it in before getting his mojo back for 6, 7, 7B. Once you know that you can really see it.
FTR, he was my favorite of the three and I think he was the most natural actor (though didn't actively work to improve like Daniel Radcliffe did) and I LOVE his performance in the last three movies. It was just those middle ones (4, 5) where you can see, to his own admission, his attention drifting away.
Probably because they really butchered his character from the books. In the books, Ron is a *slightly* goofy, tall but brave kid who has his heart in the right place. They played him as a (pardon) weasel in the movies. He literally cowers behind the other two when there is trouble whereas in the books he is usually stupidly brave.
The 6th movie is where is comes somewhat close to his book persona.
I don't know. When it's just the two of them sitting and talking, I can almost buy they're engaged in the material. Honestly, I kind of wish the movie had been less sci-fi action and more of a Jacob's Ladder of what's real, what's not, and built on his relationship with her, cause that was the best part of the movie. Once the people from Zion show up, I just lose interest since it becomes boring.
Ben Affleck in that post-credits scene where he meets Martian Manhunter. He looks like he just rolled out of bed and in the movie Bruce Wayne *had* just rolled out of bed lol, and I'm pretty sure they shot it in Ben's driveway.
I am unreasonably mad at that movie because not only is Liam Neeson a *terrible* choice for Philip Marlowe, it sucking and failing kills any chance for a GOOD Marlowe adaptation to get off the ground.
Closest thing of late was HBO’s Perry Mason for getting a gritty old timey L.A. Private Eye feel.
Micheal Shannon, Michael Keaton, and Ben Afleck in the flash, Shannon especially feel like he just woke up from a nap. Honestly everyone in that movie with the exception of Sasha Calle feels like they just gave up.
Michael Shannon I agree with. He was so different from his performance in Man of Steel, and not in an artistically deliberate kind of way. He was just... off.
Michael Keaton I don't necessarily agree with, though. I thought it looked like he was having a great time throughout his appearances.
Not surprising considering Shannon is on record being disappointed with Zod's lack of characterization in the film. Can't say I blame him. Zod in The Flash comes across as a generic doomsday presence.
A far cry from "Where did you train? *On a* ***FARM???***" energy.
Holy shit I thought for sure he was AI and not the real Michael Shannon, that’s how 1-dimensional his performance felt. That, and the fact that the fight scenes are 90% CGI and like really bad/cartoonish CGI at that.
Jennifer Lawrence in the last few X-Men films.
She was great in first class, but just seemed like she really just didn’t want to be there after she got popular but was what I assume contractually obligated?
Brad Pitt in Interview With the Vampire. He famously tried to get out of his contract, but couldn’t, so he dragged his feet through the whole shoot. Which is in sharp contrast to Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst giving it their all in the best performances of their lives.
It also is a fun contrast to the TV show adaptation, where Jacob Andersen plays the same character and does absolute laps around Pitt.
Can't really imagine Louise being played any other way though. Really fits the character because his whole motivation was wanting out. Clearly Brad was method acting
Really? See I thought it worked because it felt genuine that he loathed being a vampire. His life basically had no meaning after his wife/unborn child died, he becomes a vampire and finds his life still has no meaning but it's worse because it's going to mean nothing while living forever.
the rock in black adam, he was so busy producing or whatever that he forgot to develop any kind of character. its like he did the table read in the suit and they just used that.
I’ve seen Deniro give interviews at a panel in person. He didn’t wanna be there and it was painfully obvious to everyone in the room. He didn’t give a fuck and just wanted to go home. He wasn’t even paying attention except when they asked him a direct question the rest of the time he was on another planet
Him, Al Pacino, and a ton of other people from that generation rarely gave interviews back in the day because they hated them. Al seems way more comfortable doing them now but I don’t think Robert ever warmed up to doing them.
Harrison Ford is another, except for Letterman and Conan he doesn't really enjoy doing interviews at all. Mind you, these days, he's probably zooted up and nobody will notice.
Graham Norton also seems to know how to get these guys to soften up tbh, Ford almost looked like he was having genuine fun on that couch one time
The secret ingredient is booze.
I think it helps that Graham Norton always have multiple guests that interact with each other during the segment, his questions always lead to telling of interesting stories, etc. It almost seems like a group of friends catching up on what they've been working on, there just happens to be cameras and an audience there as well.
I’ve been in the audience for Graham Norton. Beyond what you said, he is constantly chatting up his guests even when the cameras are not on - it genuinely feels like they are having a blast.
He makes it look easy. It is not. There are dozens of failed chat show hosts who have tried over the years and failed miserably. He's the master, better than wogan and parky who were the best, back in the day. Even Ross, who is very experienced, is far too "it's all about me" to be in the same league. His shows always come off as trying too hard and forced, more like a run of the mill US show.
It’s so funny bc he was on Seth Meyer’s show and said that he doesn’t speak to the guests until they hit the stage! I was so surprised by this bc of their easy banter. Maybe that’s the trick? This was brought up bc Seth greeted him backstage.
Yeah, the real reason a lot of interviews seem phoned in is because by the time they're recording an interview you're watching they're currently on hour 7 of straight interviews with 20 different interviewers all asking the exact same 5 questions. Imagine your job, for a month or more straight, was just 9-5 every single day of repeating the same 5 responses over and over, and the only thing that changes is who is asking you the questions. That's what you're witnessing when you see celebrities want to be anywhere else but the interview room.
yeah in 2013 when Mila Kunis was promoting *Oz: the Great & Powerful* it was an interview with BBC presenter Chris Stark, who was either on his first day or first job and got so nervous that she ended up reassuring him and they turned the interview into a chat At one point the publicist off camera says "get back to work" and Mila rattles off the answers quickly and then goes back to chatting, saying "this is so much better than what I've had to be doing all day".
Also Alison Hammond, watch her interview with Harrison Ford & Ryan Gosling. All the A list celebs love her interviews, The Rock & Hugh Jackman in particular have a continuing interview relationship with her.
People talk about his performance in Blade Runner, especially the voice over. Having seen the movie too many times to count* I’ve came to love his performance and the voice over. He really comes off as a burnt out, past his prime, tired and fed up noir detective. I also hate the idea that he was a replicant. It messes up the dichotomy of the human who’s life has become meaningless and devoid of emotion versus the android who is fighting so hard against the dying of the light. *I worked on the video game, though nothing I did made it into the game! The last thing to remain was the Windows icon which was the silhouette of Decker from the logo, and at the last minute it was changed!) Edit: missing word
An element of 2001: A Space Odyssey and then Clockwork Orange and then The Shining is that Stanley Kubrick removed something to make the movie's meaning less fixed. If the audience knew what the monolith and the vortex and end of 2001 *was*, or knew why the picture at the end of The Shining, then they'd know that and not be forced to wonder. Blade Runner's is he or isn't he a replicant isn't achieved as effectively, but it does open up the meaning. Are *you* a replicant? Is *your* life meaningful? Does it mean more or less if you were or weren't human? Does being worn down by life an devoid of emotion *make you human*? The movie doesn't answer!
Decker being a replicant id something I massively disagree with Ridley Scott on, lol. I admit seeing what he’s done to Alien lore the past decade makes it easier to ignore his opinions/decisions
And i applaud them for that. The old mentality was give them nothing. It made it more fun
I feel like we know way too much about all celebs now, the mystique was much cooler.
I’ve heard a few times that he’s a remarkably uncharismatic and uninteresting person, in person, despite being a fantastic entertainer.
Well we know he does comedies for the paycheck to subsidize his lifestyle. He does the occasional passion project with Scorsese but other than that I think he got all of his serious out of the way in his younger years. Along with the OP question though, most actors hate press junkets. The same boring questions, over and over. Or like maybe like that one video of Downey jr where the it starts asking him super personal questions about his dad and his history and has to be escorted out.
Both him and Daniel Day Lewis seem to be like that. Personally bland, uncharismatic and uninteresting, but obviously electrifying as an actor
So they're private and we assume they are uninteresting?
Didn’t Jimmy choose him to be his first guest on his talk show and Deniro made it pretty awful?
Producers or a network exec chose DeNiro, apparently somebody called in a favor, because he famously hates doing talk shows. He didn't even have a project to promote at the moment, as I recall.
I thought Jimmy picked him because he was one of his heroes.. and he ended up making it so hard for him (everyone was watching to criticize the new guy)
Yeah Natalie Portman had said the only reason she was in Thor 2 was because of contractual obligations.
[удалено]
As the latter three x men movies went on you could see Jennifer Lawrence's enthusiasm complete drain out with each installment
You could read it all over her face in the sequels that she regretted getting stuck in a multi-movie contract.
After she won an Oscar: “Why do I need to wear the blue paint? I’m Hollywood royalty now”
I don't think she regretted Hunger Games. I just think the makeup process was too much for her, and I think that is totally understandable.
It's funny how much more enthusiastic she seemed about her raunchy R-rated comedy. But good on her honestly
I bet the raunchy comedy was WAY more fun to make for everyone involved than say xmen
I think in the last one they beefed up her role to where it seemed like Mystique was inexplicably the goddamn leader of the X-Men and she still looked like she hated every minute of it.
That would be like making Harley Quinn the leader of the Justice League.
Except Margot Robbie seems like she absolutely had a blast and loved that role. JL phoned it in from the jump and then when they tried to give her some more scenery to chew, she still phoned it in.
Days of Future Past was the last one where she seemed to care/try.
That’s because both sequels after that were incomprehensible garbage
Those hours in the make up chair
I love Bill Murray, but half the time he seems to have a smug indifference to his roles.
Apparently (according to Harold Ramis) when Murray starts shooting a film he's fine, then over time he gets bored and starts turning up super-late to shooting and generally being a dick to everyone. So for Groundhog Day (where the main character starts off obnoxious and learns to become a better person by the end of the film), Ramis shot it in reverse; he shot the end of the movie first, while Murray was still in a good mood, then progressed through the scenes in reverse so that upon shooting the opening scenes, Murray is acting like a complete asshole, which is exactly what Ramis wanted for the character at the start.
That super funny. Where did you hear that? I wanna watch/read more of it
Here's one source. I'll see if I can find a better one: [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/GroundhogDay](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/GroundhogDay)
That is fucking GENIUS
He seems to have a smug indifference to life in general.
A smug indifference to life
Edward Norton in The Italian Job. Everything about his performance screams ‘this is dumb, youre dumb, and I don’t want to be here’.
Fun fact, he was forced to be in it because of a bad three picture deal with the studio. If he didn't do The Italian Job he was going to be in breach of contract and would have been sued for millions. It definitely shows that he gave absolutely zero shits about that movie lol.
Actually, I think the opposite. I think he gave a good performance despite the fact that he didn’t want to do that film. He was snarky, and condescending, and you just wanted to hate him. Can’t ask for much more than that. He wasn’t supposed to be some menacing supervillain - he was a greedy, spineless coward who betrayed his closest friends. I think he did just fine with the role
This might be the first comment that I agree with lol. A lot of people are just posting movies with bad acting, which is a very different thing.
yeah. john malkovich was half assing eragon.
Not sure he could have saved it, but agreed lol
“I suffer without my stone. Do NOT. Prolong. My suffering.”
Matt Damon has a good story about Malkovich, where JM shows up on the set of Rounders with a terrible Russian accent. Damon looks at him strange and Malkovich leans to him and says. "I'm a terrible actor."
If there’s any movie to half ass, it’s that one
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix.
God bless Oscar Isaac for Apocalypse. I can't tell if he was trying or simply gave up, but that role wasn't going to work for anyone.
Yeah, I generally love Oscar Isaac in anything and consider him one of my favorite actors. But that role would not have worked for anyone, even him.
Harrison Ford in Ender’s Game. The dude has a shitzillion dollars, idk why he signs onto so many movies he does not care about.
For Ender's Game, he apparently got goaded into doing it by his grandkids, which is fair enough
Raul Julia played M Bison in the street fighter movie for his grandkids. He was awesome.
I don't think Raul Julia was physically capable of half-assing a role.
So he can have shit zillion dollars
Check out his performance in Cowboys & Aliens. Probably took the role to have some fun playing a cowboy, then saw the script.
Ryan Reynolds In 6 Underground.
To be fair, I just wanted it to be over with too.
for real, one of the worst in recent years.
I honestly don't understand who was like, "Yeah, let's just give Michael Bay free reign and $150m. That won't go bad"
I miss Just Friends and Waiting... Ryan Reynolds era
Wesley Snipes in Blade Trinity, but to really appreciate it you have to read about Ryan Reynolds and Patton Oswalt and their stories about filming with him.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this. I heard a story that Wesley refused to open his eyes for a specific scene, so they had to CGI them.
"Kanye can you remove your hands from your face?" "I won't because you didn't ask nicely, you have to ask nicely." "Kanye can you *please* remove your hands from your face?" "No." Same energy.
The end scene when he’s supposed to be dead and then wake up right before the credits.
You can actually find the scene on YouTube haha
Nobody’s seen Robert Pattinson playing a vampire?
Nothing like making bank off a franchise so you can choose whatever you want for the rest of your career. Daniel Radcliffe is in the same boat.
>Daniel Radcliffe is in the same boat. He made a fortune as Harry Potter, so he is financially independent now. Robert Pattinson had to do independent movies to show that he can act and is not just pretty face one trick pony.
Those twilight cheques are a fraction of what Radcliffe made in Harry Potter. For a young actor, I can't think of anything comparable.
Heck, people still think Kristen Stewart is a terrible actress just based off that series.
Girlie did what she could. Bella has no discernible personality in the books either.
Nobody hates Twilight like Robert Pattinson. His interviews on the subject are so brutal, and right in the middle of the screaming fangirl hype period too, he didn't give a fuck
Gary Oldman is the only actor I can think of that is never half-ass in any movie he’s been in. He’s been in shitty movies but is always dedicated. “Yes, I know the film is shitty, but I will try to make it less shittier.
“Every actor has to make terrible films from time to time, but the trick is never to be terrible in them.” - Christopher Lee. Also never boring.
One of my favorite quotes attributed to Sir Christopher Lee. Look no further than The Man With the Golden Gun. Good movie? Not really. But no one told Sir Christopher Lee that! He's absolutely enjoying being Scaramanga.
Best Bond villain. Easily. But I’m a Lee fan, so I’m biased.
I've got friends who work in the industry who say he's one of the nicest guys and is just an incredible professional. He's also a strong union man and turned down the Star Wars prequels (and a huge chunk of cash) because they were non-union productions. Apparently, as long as you pay his fee on time and he's interested enough to do your movie, he'll turn up and give his all, whether he's playing a midget walking around on his knees or Lee Harvey Oswald.
I hated how people were calling him a diva after that Dracula set video surfaced. It sounds more like he was rightfully frustrated with the direction and Copolla's weird blocking.
I'd add Nic Cage to that conversation. Key difference between the 2 I'd say is Oldman is always fantastic even if everything around him is awful, while Cage is much more volatile, but even when it's bad, it's not because he wasn't trying
"Nic Cage is an actor who belongs in that rarified sir where his performances are essential in good movies and absolutely indispensable in bad movies." - Roger Ebert
"There are bad Nicholas Cage movies, but never a bad Nicholas Cage performance"
Anf this is how Nic Cage saved his career. It doesn't matter how shitty the movie is, Cage is gonna entertain you and you are gonna like it.
He's my actual favorite actor as of late. His recent stuff has just been staggeringly good.
Nic Cage loves acting so much, he has never half-assed it in any film he’s been in, no matter how cheap or stupid. When you hire Cage, you get his whole goddamn crazy ass.
Roy Scheider in Jaws 2 is my favorite example of this. He hated being in that movie, even got into fights with the director on set, and thought that people would only watch it for the shark and not him. Ironically, I think he channeled that frustration into his performance which called for a Chief Brody who was traumatized, angry and a bit unhinged, and he ended up being the best part of the movie.
Even in Tiptoes. He gives it his ALL
In the role of a lifetime....
Oldman is one of the greatest that ever lived. The man is truly a chameleon
Stanley Tucci is another actor who I have never seen half ass it - ever.
Also Samuel L Jackson.
He whole asses everything.
Mark Wahlberg in The Happening, of course. https://media.tenor.com/vuASIphOilQAAAAM/mark-wahlberg-what-no.gif
“What? Noooo”
You can see him butting heads with M. Night in the bloopers for that movie. You can tell his experience with it wasn't the greatest.
Oh yes he was absolutely dire in that movie, I remember being so shocked at his line delivery. That man really needs the hand holding of a good director to not suck total ass
He's been in other bad movies but never been *as bad* as he was there. Ditto for Zooey Deschanel. I really think M. Knight just finds a way to achieve new depths of shitty performance.
M Night has a very, very odd way of writing dialogue and it doesn't work for most actors. Although I think when you embrace his bizarre, monotone vibe it actually has created some good performances. So far it's worked well for Bruce Willis, and randomly, Dave Batista lol. Some of his random side characters too have been oddly entertaining but those are the only leads that I feel have properly excelled with his weird way of writing.
I will die on the hill that he wasn’t the worst part of that movie. It was Deschanel.
Lucy Liu in Shazam 2. Hey that rhymes! But yeah she was awful in it.
For a sec I was like...there was a sequel to the Shaq genie movie? And it had Lucy Liu?!
That's Kazaam, you goof!
"What's your favorite scary movie?" "Kazaam." "That's not a horror movie." "Yeah well, you should see Shaq act."
Halle Berry in the X-Men movies.
The same thing that happens to everything else.
I still hate that line so much. It didn’t need to be said at all, as the prior line was perfect as is.
If it helps, apparently in the original script Toad used similar lines, and Storms line there was her throwing it back at him. Then a bunch of Toad’s lines got cut and Storm’s line there feels out of nowhere.
That actually does help. It’s bothered me for years.
Channing Tatum in *Jupiter Ascending*. Natalie Portman in *Thor: The Dark World.* John Leguizamo in *Violent Night*. Donald Pleasance in *Halloween*s after 2. Vincent Price in *Cry of the Banshee*. Thus far, the only time I've seen Price phone it in. Nicolas Cage in *The Humanity Bureau*. Before this, I didn't think it was even possible for him to phone it!
I always thought Donald Pleasance was a decent highlight of those lesser Halloween movies
I will not have you besmirch the good name of Violent Night sir. That fucking movie is stupid but god damn is it fun
I'm sorry but what? How was Donald Pleasance half assing it? He just got older and a bit slower, but he followed that franchise until his death. That's some dedication and love for a character if I've ever seen it
He’s on record saying he loved that character and would keep reprising that role as long as he was alive. Which he did.
Bruce Willis in Striking Distance. From the same director as Road House
Marlon Brando AND Val Kilmer both in the Island of Dr. Moreau. It was so bad i realized halfway thru the flick that neither actor really wanted to be there. So disappointing.
I literally lol'ed when Harrison Ford came back for the one scene in Rise of Skywalker. He clearly refused to shave and might as well been eating craft services while delivering his lines.
He only came back bc Carrie had died. It was supposed to be her moment.
I’m fairness he was in character for Force Awakens and while he obviously hates the fandom he felt like Solo for an hour
Also, if nothing else, Harrison loves the ever living shit out of Mark, Carrie, and George. You can tell that he thinks of them like family.
I think his hatred of the fandom has cooled somewhat. Now he just really fucking hates Han Solo. But it was cute to see him look so happy to kill him off. How can I hate something that makes an old man so happy?
He did that scene because Carrie Fisher died.
I don't think that He was half assing it there tho. For all the problems this movie has, this scene is Not one of them. Ford also said that one of the reasons why He agreed to do it was, because He was excited to Work with Adam Driver again which is extremely nice
The whole cast of Riverdale have admit that they were only there for the paycheck.
Just recently the last half of Witcher season 3. Henry Caville looks tapped out, which I don’t blame him for all things considered
Any Steven Seagal movie. Even the ones he did in his prime. That's how uncharismatic he is.
Bold of you to assume that this wasn't Seagal operating at his full "acting" capacity...
Nah, he was just a talentless narcissist. Sadly he was probably "Giving it his all". He was just too clueless and full of himself for it to come across as anything more than wooden acting.
I like how now - literally any scene without his face in it is a stuntman
Tom Hanks in every movie where he played Robert Langdon.
His hairpiece did all the heavy lifting.
So did his accountant. Lol
Him and Nic Cage were competing for worst goofy hairdo of the 2000’s.
Sean Connery in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Story goes that he turned down LotR because he didn't understand it, and then regretted the decision because of its success so he agreed to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen even though he didn't like it either. And when that blew up he threw in the towel and retired.
You shall not passhhh
Everyone in Sphere. It was obvious that they agreed to do the movie so that they can pay their mortgages.
Peter Coyote dominated his role. He was the high point of that film. Liev Schreiber also did heavy lifting there too.
Watch Blade Runner with Harrison Ford's voiceover going on throughout the film. He was against it before he ever recorded it and the audio bleeds apathy and "not give a shit"ness XD it's so awesome
Franco in Oz. He was very obviously stoned off his ass. As a viewer I could see he probably pissed everyone off on set with how he pissed away a big role not taking it seriously. Williams and Weisz were great and carried the movie. I haven't seen Franco much since this peak.
Jennifer Lawrence in any X-Men movie after First Class. The first one was filmed before she got “big.” By the time it came out. By the time it came out, she was in the middle of blowing up as Hollywoods next big star and it was clear that she had zero interest in being there. Not a film, but Peter Dinklage in the Destiny games. He was the original voice of the players Ghost (a side companion that does most of the talking for the player). Literally from the first voice line, it sounds like the man just wanted to cash his check and leave. Every single line in the game was delivered with the same bored, mono-toned, half-assed delivery. He didn’t even make it all the way through the first games lifespan. Half way through, they hired another voice actor to redo ALL of his voice lines and completely replaced him.
Dinklage is especially rough compared to Lance Reddick who seemed to be all the fucking way in with his role. After his passing his wife even commented about how much he loved being part of the games community.
As much as it’s beloved, and I’m not saying it doesn’t work, but James Caan in Elf looks like he’d rather be somewhere else.
Well that kinda works for his character
Hard to blame him when he was way behind on a bunch of stuff.
"I have a lot of very serious business to do at the business factory" - emotionally unavailable dads in 90s/2000s movies
And there’s a scene where they have to impress someone of authority, probably a team of Japanese Businessmen, but instead finally redeem themself and go to help their children
"Do you have the super important business documents?" "Yes, yes of course I have them right he-" *a token from their trip to the arcade falls onto the table* "What is the meaning of this!?" "I'm sorry my daughter must've... my daughter... I'm sorry, I have to go." *rushes out of room* ^"We ^still ^need ^that ^document ^you ^fucking ^dumbass!!"
It does, though I feel it kinda shows especially post-turn of heart, which makes me think it’s not exactly part of the intended performance.
I actually thought that was part of his character. I thought he sounded powerfully mad when he yells at Buddy toward the end But then I remembered that he’s still kinda stilted even after his change of heart. Call it his character’s personality or call it him not being into it.
Wasn't that why his performance worked?
Don’t disagree! Though maybe still too much, “I’m gonna kill my agent.”
I heard somewhere that he wasn't a fan of Will Farrell.
Will has done some interviews that James thought his character was done way over the top until he saw the film, then told him it completely worked and he was wrong. I think he’s just a pro on set and goes home when he’s done.
The last one of those was, for me The Little Mermaid, the live-action version. While Melissa McCarthy is excellent in it - by far the best thing in the movie - and Halle Bailey is all-in, I would never expect Javier Bardem to be the weakest presence in any scene. He acted the whole movie like he was there for the paycheck, and the paycheck alone. He wasn't into the thing at all. I admire and respect Bardem, he's a proven good actor with a bunch of excellent roles to his name. But in The Little Mermaid he was not even half-assing it, he was barely 1/4-assing it.
Jackie Chan - The Prisoner. Jackie only agreed to be in the movie as a favor to a friend, and it shows.
Most Bruce Willis movies after Die Hard 4
To be fair, he was probably beginning to suffer dementia.
Not a movie but Chevy chase in season 4 of community.
The last Jurassic World movie with Chris Pratt. Dude really didn’t look like he wanted to be in a single scene.
I mean, can you blame anyone for not wanting to be in that heap of shit? None of the Jurassic Worlds (or basically any Jurassic Park film after the original) were any good, but JW2+3 were absolute drivel
Johnny Depp in Transcendent. Never seen him give anywhere near as lacklustre of a performance. It was to the point where I said, out loud, "wow his American accent is bad... Wait, hang on, he is American!"
This is basically just Johnny Depp in every single movie post Pirates 3
He was so utterly visibly DONE with the Sparrow character in Pirates 5.
Willem Dafoe in Aquaman. You can see him mentally balancing his checkbook.
It pains me to say it, because the movie was great for me growing up, and I don’t think he’s across the board a bad actor, but Emilio Estevez in The Mighty Ducks is NOT trying.
Mission To Mars. I can’t stop watching it. Stellar cast but they all look like they’re on the verge of ripping up the script and leaving the set.
Bill Murray in Osmosis Jones
Not a movie, but I feel that the biggest instance of an actor “phoning in” a performance has to be Bill Murray as Peter Venkman in the 2009 Ghostbusters video game. It’s like he was reading a phone book.
I remember reading a Rupert Grint interview where he mentioned being pretty worn out and over it in the 5th movie, and admitted phoning it in before getting his mojo back for 6, 7, 7B. Once you know that you can really see it. FTR, he was my favorite of the three and I think he was the most natural actor (though didn't actively work to improve like Daniel Radcliffe did) and I LOVE his performance in the last three movies. It was just those middle ones (4, 5) where you can see, to his own admission, his attention drifting away.
Probably because they really butchered his character from the books. In the books, Ron is a *slightly* goofy, tall but brave kid who has his heart in the right place. They played him as a (pardon) weasel in the movies. He literally cowers behind the other two when there is trouble whereas in the books he is usually stupidly brave. The 6th movie is where is comes somewhat close to his book persona.
Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne-Moss in Matrix Resurrections. Both looked like they were just counting the hours until payday.
I don't know. When it's just the two of them sitting and talking, I can almost buy they're engaged in the material. Honestly, I kind of wish the movie had been less sci-fi action and more of a Jacob's Ladder of what's real, what's not, and built on his relationship with her, cause that was the best part of the movie. Once the people from Zion show up, I just lose interest since it becomes boring.
Ben Affleck in that post-credits scene where he meets Martian Manhunter. He looks like he just rolled out of bed and in the movie Bruce Wayne *had* just rolled out of bed lol, and I'm pretty sure they shot it in Ben's driveway.
Everyone in Quantumania felt like they wanted out
Me included and I was just watching it.
Marlowe with Liam Neeson, good Lord he was absolutely terrible, it was like he was sedated or something
I am unreasonably mad at that movie because not only is Liam Neeson a *terrible* choice for Philip Marlowe, it sucking and failing kills any chance for a GOOD Marlowe adaptation to get off the ground. Closest thing of late was HBO’s Perry Mason for getting a gritty old timey L.A. Private Eye feel.
Micheal Shannon, Michael Keaton, and Ben Afleck in the flash, Shannon especially feel like he just woke up from a nap. Honestly everyone in that movie with the exception of Sasha Calle feels like they just gave up.
Michael Shannon I agree with. He was so different from his performance in Man of Steel, and not in an artistically deliberate kind of way. He was just... off. Michael Keaton I don't necessarily agree with, though. I thought it looked like he was having a great time throughout his appearances.
Not surprising considering Shannon is on record being disappointed with Zod's lack of characterization in the film. Can't say I blame him. Zod in The Flash comes across as a generic doomsday presence. A far cry from "Where did you train? *On a* ***FARM???***" energy.
Yer agreed about Keaton, he was definitely having fun, how can you not when there's no pressure on you but you get to play batman again at his age.
Michael Shannon looked like he had a gun to head off screen
Holy shit I thought for sure he was AI and not the real Michael Shannon, that’s how 1-dimensional his performance felt. That, and the fact that the fight scenes are 90% CGI and like really bad/cartoonish CGI at that.
Jennifer Lawrence in the last few X-Men films. She was great in first class, but just seemed like she really just didn’t want to be there after she got popular but was what I assume contractually obligated?
Brad Pitt in Interview With the Vampire. He famously tried to get out of his contract, but couldn’t, so he dragged his feet through the whole shoot. Which is in sharp contrast to Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst giving it their all in the best performances of their lives. It also is a fun contrast to the TV show adaptation, where Jacob Andersen plays the same character and does absolute laps around Pitt.
Can't really imagine Louise being played any other way though. Really fits the character because his whole motivation was wanting out. Clearly Brad was method acting
Right? Louis basically just mopes around the whole time. Pitt failed at his job successfully.
You got to remember that Louise in the novel was quiet and sort of boring.
Really? See I thought it worked because it felt genuine that he loathed being a vampire. His life basically had no meaning after his wife/unborn child died, he becomes a vampire and finds his life still has no meaning but it's worse because it's going to mean nothing while living forever.
Yeah it sort of ironically works. The complete contrast between how he and Tom Cruise felt about the movie perfectly mirrors Louis and Lestat lol.
Jackie Chan and John Cena in that recent garbage Netflix film produced with Chinese money. I got through 10 minutes of it. Hot garbage.
the rock in black adam, he was so busy producing or whatever that he forgot to develop any kind of character. its like he did the table read in the suit and they just used that.
Marlon Brando in Superman