Raika:
It's a two-way tie between Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They're not just the worst actors of today. They're the two least talented human beings of all time.

Captcha: Attila the Hun

Probably better at acting than Tim and Eric.

Can I change my vote? I hate Michael Cera, but Tim and Eric are in a special section of my mind that pretends they don't even exist. They are beyond awful. They are what happened when Trey Parker and Matt Stone had twins together somehow, and those twins were strapped in a barbed wire cage and thrown down a flight of stairs 100 miles long.

They are Parker and Stone without comedic timing, restraint, or God help me, taste.

ROUND TWO

Dick Van Dyke
Jean Claude Van Dame (yes-- dame :P)
Keanu Reaves
Steven Seagal (I've raged at my friends so many times about my Seagal hatred)
Dolph Lundgren
Mila Kunis
Sandra Bullock
Vin Diesel
Dane Cook
Orlando Bloom

Bile Filter is maxed out. Time to take a break and watch 'Running out of Time'.

DevilWithaHalo:

I would have happily voted for DiCaprio pre Departed. But lately he's really grown into his own. I'm continually impressed by his chops after he went through puberty. ;)

So playing the same shell character with just a few things added here or there to make the character "different" makes him a good actor. Nice to know.

My worst is Leonardo DiCaprio.

Micheal Cera....who isn't so much an actor as he is just playing himself. his shitty, shitty self.

Say Jean Claude Van Damme and I'll kick you in the face and force you to eat my Belgian waffles

axlryder:

8-Bit_Jack:

HardkorSB:
Vin Diesel?
I mean, the guy can only play 1 character - Vin Diesel.

That is all he needs to play

Also, he can actually act. But no one pays him if he does. Fo realzies

I'm gonna go with... John Cusack, or that guy who hasn't actually acted in any film he's been paid to act in since American Beauty. The dad.
Fuck that guy

Kevin Spacey and John Cusack? Harsh. John Cusack is a weird one though. He's practically never won a significant award, but he's played leading man in a lot of good films. I think it's because, unlike Labeouf or Worthington, he doesn't really get in the movie's way. He has a decent on screen presence and can carry emotional tension well, but doesn't really steal the scenes that he's in. I liked 1408 and Grosse Point Blank (his performances included) way too much to call him a bad actor though.

Kevin Spacey has played in a lot of mediocre movies recently, but I think he's proved his acting chops too many times to really be called bad. Besides, I think it's obvious he can still act when you compares his performances in films like Margin Call, Men Who Stare at Goats and Horrible Bosses, IMO.

Thats the thing: the worst actor working today.
He WAS good. Even Cusack has made good films. But now, they make the WORST actors... Lebouf at least is TRYING. Spacey and cusack have consistently turned out worse performances than "bad" actors, and did it by not giving a fuck. This makes them all the worse in my opinion

8-Bit_Jack:

axlryder:

8-Bit_Jack:

That is all he needs to play

Also, he can actually act. But no one pays him if he does. Fo realzies

I'm gonna go with... John Cusack, or that guy who hasn't actually acted in any film he's been paid to act in since American Beauty. The dad.
Fuck that guy

Kevin Spacey and John Cusack? Harsh. John Cusack is a weird one though. He's practically never won a significant award, but he's played leading man in a lot of good films. I think it's because, unlike Labeouf or Worthington, he doesn't really get in the movie's way. He has a decent on screen presence and can carry emotional tension well, but doesn't really steal the scenes that he's in. I liked 1408 and Grosse Point Blank (his performances included) way too much to call him a bad actor though.

Kevin Spacey has played in a lot of mediocre movies recently, but I think he's proved his acting chops too many times to really be called bad. Besides, I think it's obvious he can still act when you compares his performances in films like Margin Call, Men Who Stare at Goats and Horrible Bosses, IMO.

Thats the thing: the worst actor working today.
He WAS good. Even Cusack has made good films. But now, they make the WORST actors... Lebouf at least is TRYING. Spacey and cusack have consistently turned out worse performances than "bad" actors, and did it by not giving a fuck. This makes them all the worse in my opinion

Right, but Men Who Stare at Goats, Horrible Bosses and Margin Call are all very recent films, and Spacey turned out pretty good performances is those. John Cusack has also recently played in a few good movies, 1408, Hot Tub Time machine, Joe Strummer and I think The Raven is grossly underrated. It's not great, but it's deserves a better average score than what it got. More to the point, even their "bad" performances are really just okay. They're not Kristen Steward or Megan Fox bad. I think the exceptions might be War inc. and Father of Invention, which really were extremely shitty movies, but that's just one film for each of them and I mostly blame the script and screenplay for Father of Invention.

Also, and I should have made this more clear in the OP, I wasn't necessarily just referring to the actor's recent films, more so just trying to avoid people bringing up really old actors. I meant for people to take into account the entire filmography, but I also said the criteria is yours to determine so basing your judgement off more recent films is fair either way.

edit

mrhappy1489:

Robert Downey Jr, is a really good actor and I'm not actually a fanboy (that right is reserved for Sean Bean). While he might not have appeared in Iron Man as the greatest actor (I thought he did a great job), there is a whole filmography of fantastic films to choose from, he played the hell out of Charlie Chaplin. As for the other picks, can't say I disagree, though I don't hate Michael Cera like everyone else seems to, yes he plays roughly the same character, but when it works to it works.

More or less, I don't find him a bad actor, I just find the way he played Iron Man to be insufferable. Also, he lifts up his helmet about as much as Isaac Clarke after he went insane, which doesn't help me feel better about the movies rendition of the character.

Thinking on it, my problem was less with the actor and more with the screen writer / director.

Also, I don't hate Mr. Cera, but he plays whiny so well that I feel like he got some real world practice from somewhere.

Whatever bad movies Nicolas Cage has done do not matter because The Rock redeems everything with its awesomeness, and a very good cast.

Worst Actor: Ben Stiller
Worst Actress: Keira Knightley

Nicholas Cage and the cast from twilight. Cage has the same roles, does not convince you of the part and seems like a crazy person in every movie. Twilight = No talent or emotional range.

Adam Sandler of course. Hasn't been in anything resembling a good film in well over 7 years.

Actually he ties with Rob Schneider. Both are really, really, really, really bad. I don't consider them "B" actors because they still make a ton of money.

Then there's that guy who starred in that film about the overweight mall cop. He's pretty bad as well.

I would put Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in here, but he can actually act in certain roles quite well, and he's a nice guy in real life. He just has the unfortunate tendency to sign up for really bad films. Like Nic Cage, he can act well if he's given the right script and the right role, but he seems to accept any job thrown at him.

HardkorSB:
Vin Diesel?
I mean, the guy can only play 1 character - Vin Diesel.

Eh, it might be worth seeing him in Pitch Black. While he certaintly doesn't expand his horizons much, he's certainly not just Vin Disel in X action movie No.1234.

OT: Shia LeBouf. He's infuriatingly bad as an actor, ontop of being in terrible movies.

[quote="The Night Angel" post="18.373820.14462715"]I have to say that Kristen Stewart. The woman has no talent, she just does the zombie face all the time. Not just in Twilight, in other movies too. I honestly don't know how she got in the business. To be fair though, Bella strikes me as being more than a little stupid in the books, so I suppose she fit that role at least. [/rant]

OMG everyone I discus this with disagrees, she seems like a real buzz kill.

Aprilgold:

The man who plays Tony Stark. The point of Tony Stark was to be such a unlikable prick that when he got into the suit you either hope he crashes and dies or does something amazing to make up for being a prick, not be a prick all the fucking time.

You really can't fault the actor for those points you brought up. Take it up with the direction and script for their portrayal of Stark.

Most of you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. You're either blaming actors for things that you should blame producers and directors for, or you're plain fuckin' wrong.

But I have to agree with everyone who said Dane Cook. He's not just the worst actor who ever lived, he is the worst fuckin' "comedian". He's not funny. AT ALL! When he's not screaming sexist tasteless jokes, he's stealing good ones from real comedians. He ripped off one (maybe more) of Demetri Martin's jokes.

And Vin Diesel may not be a good actor, but he's definitely not the worst. Not even close. Also, he's a huge geek and a fellow gamer. He plays A LOT of video games. He may not look like a geek, but he was heavily into D&D while he was working as a bouncer! Show some respect.

Megan Fox. The woman simply is unable to act to save her life.

Michael Cera can only play one roll and thats the weird nerdy and socially awkward person. Kristen Stewart doesn't have a lot of emotional range and she seems more bored then anything else

Tommy Dog-Fucking Wisaeu. Man does not deserve to live. I doubt I even spelt his name properly. Awful actor.

"YOU ARE TEARING ME APAART LISAAAAA"

Just die, please. Don't google him - don't give him traffic. Don't even utter his name seriously. This guy has no pride, making one of the worst movies on Earth, no mistake, no competition, no plot, no character developemtn, no acting, no seriousness, even though it's a movie about a kid abusing drugs, a girl cheating on her fiance, and a mother trying to cope with breath cancer, The Room is one of the worst movies I can think of - if not the worst - and was written, directed, and produced with one of the shittiest people on Earth.

Honestly, studios, don't hire him. Even The Room's cast admited to being shit.

I can't believe you guys spend ten pages dogging on Shia LeBouf and Sam Worthington and Michael Cera, and there's only one passing reference to Ben Affleck in the whole mess. It's like you guys just discovered movies in 2005 or something.

Us old fogeys can never forget Daredevil, Gigli, Forces of Nature, Jersey Girl, Sum of All Fears or Pearl Harbor though. They are burned into our brains.

Which reminds me, there actually was one guy I wanted to face-punch more than Affleck in that Pearl Harbor: Josh Hartnett. If he had a body of crappy work like Affleck's he would take the cake. He was the "Robert Pattinson" of ten years ago.

Adam Jensen:
But I have to agree with everyone who said Dane Cook. He's not just the worst actor who ever lived, he is the worst fuckin' "comedian". He's not funny. AT ALL! When he's not screaming sexist tasteless jokes, he's stealing good ones from real comedians. He ripped off one (maybe more) of Demetri Martin's jokes.

Obligatory:

PreviouslyPwned:
Would anyone mind if I threw in a nomination for worst writer?

Good, then I nominate Joss Whedon.

Bahahahaha! No.

To say that I find Shia Labeouf irritating would be to seriously understate things. I don't think he's ever utter a single on screen that didn't either have me roll my eyes, or develop the sudden urge to take the quarter mile around where he's standing and teleport it into the Negaverse. Any others lost in this incident will be either be honored as heroes for their sacrifice or condemned to the Ninth Circle of the Inferno for the treachery against good taste, depending on whether or not they're there by choice. Very few people get under my skin on a personal level, but when I say I can't stand him, I literally feel some form of negativity whenever I see him on screen. Yes, I am using the word literally correctly.

He may be a perfectly nice guy outside movies. He might not be. All I know is that I should probably begin construction of some sort of Hate Engine. Plug me into that when watching his scenes and I'll power the entirety of North America and some of Europe all by my lonesome.

I hate to be standard but I don't like the cast of Twilight. Mainly Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson. Kristen Stewart has never been good at showing emotion on her face, I don't know why her understanding of acting seems to be that you need to look semi-pissed off all the time. Adam Sandler isn't that great either, I realize comedy is a subjective thing. What one finds funny, the other does not but Adam Sandler falls into my 'Not funny' category.

Obviously Kristen Stewart. Any other answer pales in comparison to Stewart's complete lack of acting ability. See, acting is trying to convey a character through body language, expressions and dialogue, and when you NEVER FUCKING move your face in any movie you have ever been in, you are not acting. You are being paid to stand around and spout words you read of a sheet someone gave you.

This thread is very unkind.

Actor: Dane Cook. Mediocre stand-up comedians that rely on gags and props (or flailing your fucking arms around to let people know when to laugh) have to at least be able to deliver a line on screen with some concept of comic timing. Cook can't even do that. Even Dane Cook fans don't know when to laugh in Dane Cook movies without a physical cue because he's a comic actor that doesn't know how to be funny.

Actress: Megan Fox. You're in a movie to be hot. They help you out so much in that task that you actually get digital clean up for a feature length movie. How do you fuck that up? How do you drag down every scene you're in, when the only reason you're in the scene is to be hot? How do you act so poorly that you actually appear less attractive and more obnoxious the less clothes you wear and the more you bump and grind with the scenery?

I also noticed Nic Cage being mentioned just about every post, and what I would say to that is even though he gets paid to be crazy these days and doesn't do a lot of good movies anymore, he's been in enough good movies and received enough recognition for good roles that he doesn't deserve to be named in a thread like this. Same with Eddie Murphy. He's accused of playing the same character over and over and that's a valid criticism, especially since he let that last abomination of a comedy out. That said, in the 80's he had some damn good roles that make people like me wish he never forgot what funny was.

Has anyone said Jennifer Love Hewwit? She's AWFUL; Ghost Whisperer needs to be canceled. Also the guy who plays Ron Weasley in Harry Potter... he makes me mad for some reason.

axlryder:
ITT, we discuss who we believe the worst actor currently working in the business is. This is primarily focusing on notable Hollywood actors, so avoid citing B-movie actors (Tommy Wiseau) or actors that most people wouldn't know. The criteria for awfulness is yours to decide, though acting ability is mostly what I had in mind when creating this thread. Just be sure to state why you think they're the worst of the worst. If you want to include one male and one female feel free to do so.

I would have included directors in the title as well, but I get the feeling that Uwe Boll would be a shoo-in for top honors. Regardless, you can throw some directing names out there if you so desire.

My vote goes to Sam Worthington.

i forgot what i was going to say.

shia labeouf can be a good actor sometimes.
but since he seems to pick up so many shitty roles he might be one of them.

and, of course Macaulay Culkin. if he should ever be relevant

Almost every sports star or musician turned actor. Sure there is a slight overlap between the professions but many of them can't act for shit and rely on their audience consisting of screaming fangirls to hide the fact that they are playing a role that anyone off the street could outpreform them in.

axlryder:

8-Bit_Jack:

axlryder:

Kevin Spacey and John Cusack? Harsh. John Cusack is a weird one though. He's practically never won a significant award, but he's played leading man in a lot of good films. I think it's because, unlike Labeouf or Worthington, he doesn't really get in the movie's way. He has a decent on screen presence and can carry emotional tension well, but doesn't really steal the scenes that he's in. I liked 1408 and Grosse Point Blank (his performances included) way too much to call him a bad actor though.

Kevin Spacey has played in a lot of mediocre movies recently, but I think he's proved his acting chops too many times to really be called bad. Besides, I think it's obvious he can still act when you compares his performances in films like Margin Call, Men Who Stare at Goats and Horrible Bosses, IMO.

Thats the thing: the worst actor working today.
He WAS good. Even Cusack has made good films. But now, they make the WORST actors... Lebouf at least is TRYING. Spacey and cusack have consistently turned out worse performances than "bad" actors, and did it by not giving a fuck. This makes them all the worse in my opinion

Right, but Men Who Stare at Goats, Horrible Bosses and Margin Call are all very recent films, and Spacey turned out pretty good performances is those. John Cusack has also recently played in a few good movies, 1408, Hot Tub Time machine, Joe Strummer and I think The Raven is grossly underrated. It's not great, but it's deserves a better average score than what it got. More to the point, even their "bad" performances are really just okay. They're not Kristen Steward or Megan Fox bad. I think the exceptions might be War inc. and Father of Invention, which really were extremely shitty movies, but that's just one film for each of them and I mostly blame the script and screenplay for Father of Invention.

Also, and I should have made this more clear in the OP, I wasn't necessarily just referring to the actor's recent films, more so just trying to avoid people bringing up really old actors. I meant for people to take into account the entire filmography, but I also said the criteria is yours to determine so basing your judgement off more recent films is fair either way.

I didn't get to see MWSTG, Horrible bosses looked, sounded, and has been widely reported to be awful. Never even heard of the other. So maybe Spacey's turned around

But every Cusack movie you've listed was just terrible.
I am taking their tracklist into account, that's WHY they rate worse for me than Vampire Woodgirl and sweaty, well-used whore. Stewart and fox have never made a good film, nor performed well. Spacey and Cusack HAVE made good films, and done well in them, and have since made awful movies with worse performances than other, newer actors and actresses. So, today, they are WORSE than the others, because they will DISAPPOINT. Go into any film with Megan Fox. You can't be disappointed, because you know it will suck. You can only be disappointed she didn't get her tits out (Jennifer's Body made money because of this possibility), and not by the film or performance itself

Nicholas Cage
Michael Cera close second.