Top Ten Most Overrated Actors/Actresses of All Time

Big Hollywood ^ | 11/20/11 | Ben Shapiro

[This Just In]

Top Ten Most Overrated Actors/Actresses of All Time by Ben Shapiro

It’s been almost two years since I posted at Big Hollywood regarding the Top 10 Most Overrated Directors of All Time. I’ve had a chance to reflect and think about the crimes I committed in that post. And, to paraphrase Mr. Eko from the greatest TV show of all time, “Lost,” I ask no forgiveness because I have committed no sin … except leaving Spike Lee and Tim Burton off the list, that is.

So, because you all enjoyed that list so much, and because I apparently have a death wish, it’s time for another: The Top 10 Most Overrated Actors/Actresses of All Time.

Unlike last time, I will claim that these are objective facts, not subjective opinions, so that all my critics may have full liberty to attack me (To those same critics who claimed last time that I phrased my opinions in an “objective” manner, this is called being facetious. That means I’m kidding. Also, seriously? That was your criticism?).

[I still care]

I’ll agree with you - that’s one of my beefs also. It almost ruins animated films nowadays, because you can’t use your imagination to create a new character.

Disney would cast talented unknowns as voices. Much smarter.

[This Just In]

Well, the casting director and director usually choose the actors.

[I still care]

I have to disagree with a few names on your list. Bette Davis was breathtaking in all about Eve, and I love watching Burton work.

I’ll give you Ali McGraw for sure. Every time I saw her “act”, I wondered, who the heck is she sleeping with that she got that part?

[Melas]

I didn’t get very far until I decided the author was clueless. Dustin Hoffman overrated? The Graduate, Rain Man, Marathon Man? Sorry, the guy is good at what he does.

Hepburn? He’s never seen Lion in Winter.

Hell, he even slams Bill Murry for being great in comedy but nothing else. That’s a lot like criticizing Mohamed Ali because his dunk needs work.

Nicholson? This Shapiro kid is just mad.

[Badabing Badablonde]

Kathy Bates
Diana Scarwid
Andie McDowell
Nicole Kidman
Katie Holmes
Drew Barrymore
Natalie Portman
I could go on.....

[gemoftheocean]

What you may not realize re: the famous actors doing animation voices, is that the animators of the film OFTEN look at the expressions an actor makes when he/she is recording the role — this gives the animator a realistic range of expressions to go on. For instance, Nathan Lane’s face is very comically expressive when he’s doing his schtick. A boon to any animator. Talent isn’t doled out equally!

[Melas]

Don’t kid yourself. These actors are sought out for voice roles, because it enhances the bottom line. If the studios truly believed that the films would do just as well with lesser known and cheaper actors, they’d run with that all the way to the bank.

[This Just In]

Shapiro explains his criteria, and by his means of measuring the actors/actresses ability, I agree with his list.

I’ve viewed all the films you’ve mentioned. All of these actors in their roles are basically one dimensional. Olivier’s scenes in Marathon Man outshines Hoffman’s performance completely.

[Comrade Brother Abu Bubba]

6. David Carradine - Remember C.H.U.D. worst movie ever made
5. Oprah Winfrey - The Phantom of the Oprah
4. Brooke Shields
3. Sela Ward
2. Tom Cruise - a close runner up
1. Lee Majors

DeNiro (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) and Penn are actually talented actors

[BillyBoy]

>> 10. Julia Roberts <<

Can't stand her offscreen, but what I've seen of her onscreen she did a decent job in a couple moves I liked such as Charlotte's Web (the live action version), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Conspircy Theory. I agree she's probably a bit overrated but she really hasn't been in any huge movies, A-list movies lately and hasn't won anything since Erin Brockovic so I can't say I'd put her in the top 10.

>> 9. Brad Pitt <<

Pretty much the same thing, I'd say he'd a tad bit overrated since he's always hyped as the perfect leading man, but I've liked quite a few of his films (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Babel, Fight Club, etc.) and at least he can act.

>> 8. Will Ferrell <<

AGREED. The VAST majority of his movies have been mind numblingly AWFUL but he keeps getting cast in A-list "comedy" parts and Hollywood begs him to be in their movies. Even on SNL, this guy was overrated. It practically became "The Will Ferrell Show" as he'd get more screen time than anyone else, but the only sketch of his I found really funny was his dead-on parody of James Lipton. He's got Jim Carrey's mugging without the talent.

>> 7. Viggo Mortensen <<

I've only seen him in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I can't say the guy is "overrated" if I never see him getting other major roles.

>> 6. Robert DeNiro <<

Are you kidding? Lately DeNiro's been typecast in gangster movies (odd considering his age), but he is rightly considered one of the most impressive actors in Hollywood. He's been in TONS of great movies and before his recent selection of work he's done some incredibly diverse range of characthers and done a great job in all of them... Bang the Drum Slowly, The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Awakenings, Backdraft, Cape Fear, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Marvin's Room, Jackie Brown, Wag the Dog, Great Expectations, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Hide and Seek... that's your idea of overrated? Do you think he played a gangster in Awakenings or something? Most actors would kill for that kind of resume.

>> 5. Zoe Saldana <<

Eh, she's fairly new to the scene as an A-list actor, so I haven't seen many of her movies. I though she was really good as Uhura in the 2009 Star Trek and totally reinvented the character for modern times. The script for Avatar was completely lame but her performance inthe film was pretty good.

>> 4. Matt Damon <<

As much as I love to make fun of this liberal douchebag offscreen for his simple-minded arguments, he CAN act onscreen. He and Ben Afflack deserve credit for their work in "Good Willing Hunting" which capulated him to A-list. He's been fairly good in other roles, too.

>> 3. Halle Barry <<

Yeah, probably overrated. Can't think of any Halle Barry performance that was particularly good (saw one scene from the Oscar winning "Monster Ball" and her romance with Billy Bob Throton in the movie struck me as ridiculous), and even in good movies like X-Men I didn't like her acting, so I suppose I'll have to agree. But on the flip side I haven't seen alot of her movies.

>> 2. Cameron Diaz <<

Cute and perky. I can see why she became known in Hollywood after her debut in The Mask. Her acting talents aren't that good, but by the same token it's not like they're casting her in weighty melodramas or complex historical movies that are out of her range. She rightfully gets the ditzy blond roles and nobody takes her seriously.

>> 1. Sean Penn <<

Used to think he couldn't act until I saw "I Am Sam". He was very convincing in the part, much like Dustin Hoffman in Rainman. But yeah, given his overall track record he's probably overpaid for his casting.

Here are my suggested for "MOST OVERRATED ACTORS" (in no particular order):

Steve Martin (hasn't made anything REALLY funny since 1987, but keeps getting A-list roles. Constantly ruins good movies by starring in remakes of them)

George Clooney (only movie I EVER liked him in was 'O Brother Where Art Thou?') Even conservatives buy some of the George Clooney kool-aid and have been touting this douchebag's latest political film.

Shia Labeouf (how the hell did this weird-named guy manage to come out of nowhere and suddenly get cast in every major Hollywood blockbuster over the last few years? Especially given that he didn't help dreck like Indiana Jones 4 and Transformers 2)

Keanu Reeves (exactly the same in every role you put him in. Never-the-less, Hollywood gives this guy every A-list part from shakespeare, to Dracula, to the Matrix, to The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Kirsten Dunst (she was memorible as the creepy child vampire in "Interview with a Vampire". It's been downhill since then. Rather plain looking and completely boring as an adult address, but still gets cast in everything)

Christian Bale (He's now the lead in every action movie because his performace as throat-cancer Batman was more "realistic" than Michael Keaton. Sure. Whatever, Bale fanboys)

Heath Ledger (Ditto, Batman hyped this guy as the greatest villian of all time, even the filmmakers milked it after he died and everyone assumed "the Joker killed him" -- nobody even watched the final movie he was ACTUALLY in. And aside from Batman... Bareback mountain and Mel Gibson's son in The Patriot. Yeah, that's a great film career)

Johnny Depp (really great or really terrible performance, depending on what role you cast him in. He has a limited range. Unfortunately Hollywood and especially Tim Burton cast in EVERY big budget hit movie they have)

Bryce Dallas Howard (another wooden and lifeless actress that brings absolutely nothing to the parts she plays. But she also gets cast in scores of A-list movies...The Village, Lady in the Water, Spider-Man 3,Terminator Salvation, Hereafter,The Help... but don't you dare suggest it's because she's Ron Howard's daughter!)

Honorable mention: Rachel Weisz ("You can't have THE MUMMY without Rachel Weisz!" I didn't notice any difference when they changed actresses)

[I still care]

The breathtakingly expressive Ali McGraw. She sure gives Kristin Stewart a run for her money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb4Rfj1wp0Q&feature=relmfu

[This Just In]

The question isn’t whether or not the actors and actresses are talented. If you’ll recall, Shapiro’s listing individuals who are OVERRATED.

Lee Majors was never overrated because he never really rated at all. Otherwise, that’s a good list.

[Melas]

Olivier outshined everyone in everything he ever did. That’s not a fair criticism. It looks like hell by today’s standards, but his Richard III still stands out in my mind as the first film I ever saw where I understood what all the adults were talking about when it came to talent. Until that time I thought Mike Connors was talented because Mannix was cool.

[This Just In]

Lest ye forget, the list consist of the most overrated actors and actresses. The writer isn’t suggesting these people are not talented.

DeNiro plays DeNiro with a couple of exceptions. I’ve viewed most of his performances you’ve listed. No one plays gangster like DeNiro, and all of his roles are memorable, but he is overrated.

Johnny Depp is actually the exception. Quite a range.

[This Just In]

“Until that time I thought Mike Connors was talented because Mannix was cool.”

Funniest Post of the Night Award

[AwesomePossum]

Please show me where anybody from Hollywierd is worthy of anything, except being so out of touch it defies logic!

Charlton Heston..........

8:}

[This Just In]

Great choice.

[Crucial]

Although likeable, I'd say Will Smith is really, really overrated.

Kirsten Dunst is a dunce at acting.

Willem Defoe is just painful to watch.

Ian Holm overracts in everything.

Elijah Wood is terrible.

Nick Nolte really doesn't play anyone but Nick Nolte.

I can't begin to express how bad is Natalie Portman's acting.

Johnny Depp may be one of the most overrated of all time.

Alec Baldwin is severely overrated.

Wanda Sykes bites.

Whoopi Goldberg is as much of a joke as her name.

[This Just In]

The I Forgot to Mention list:

Jeanine Garofalo
Charlie Sheen
Michael Douglas

[BillyBoy]

>> DeNiro plays DeNiro with a couple of exceptions. I’ve viewed most of his performances you’ve listed. <<

So in your opinion: Bruce Pearson, Travis Bickle, Vito Coreleon, Rupert Pumpkin, Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale, Maximilian "Max" Cady , Leonard Lowe, Dr. Richard Wells, Fr. Bobby, Rodrigo Mendoza, Jake LaMotta, Wally , Lt. Moe Tilden, Louis Gara, Conrad Brean, Arthur Lustig, Monsignor Desmond Spellacy, Fearless Leader from Rocky & Bullwinkle, Chief Leslie William 'Billy' Sunday, The Archbishop of Lima, and David Callaway are all pretty much the same person? Seriously? No personality differences?

I've have to say you're pretty much in the minority if you think DeNiro played a slow-witten backwoods redneck ballplayer, an naive italian immigrant who rises to power and takes out his foes, an inept wannabe comedian turned creepy stalker, a brutal out of control boxer, a cartoon cold war communist sterotype, a man who's been in a coma since he was a child, etc., as the exact same person.

Having witnessed each of those characters, pretty much the ONLY trait they had in common was they were played by Robert DeNiro.

Now, had they cast the aforementioned Keanu Reeves (on my list of "most overrated") in those parts, you would have basically gotten the same performance no matter what part he's in. A lot "whoa, man" moments from Reeves.

As for Johnny Depp, he genuinely makes an effort to play parts differently, but there's some types of roles he just has no idea what to do with. Martin Short played The Mad Hatter. After Depp got into bizarre makeup for the part, he tried using about the 2 or 3 different British accents he can do and ended up giving us The Random Hatter. It was odd but certainly wasn't the deranged character from Alice in Wonderland, and it was clear he was trying something different from take to take because he didn't know what do with the character. And when Tim Burton cast him as "Willy Wonka", Depp clearly had never read the book and no idea what kind of person he was supposed to be except from the script that added in a new "struggles with daddy issues" storyline. So he played "Wonka" as some kind of creepy satanic pedophile (basically a hybrid of Michael Jackson & Marilyn Manson) that enjoys torturing children. Nothing like the eccentric wise older gentleman from the book, by the way.