Top 10 Movies So Bad Actors QUIT
Hindsight is 20/20! For this list, we’ll be looking at acting careers that were notably ended by one bad project.
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 movies so bad
00:11 actors straight up quit.
00:20 For this list we'll be looking at acting careers that were notably ended by one bad
00:24 project.
00:25 These critical and commercial failures may have irreparably tarnished an actor's reputation
00:30 or simply made them realize that they could be doing something else with their lives.
00:35 What do you think of these and other career-ending flops?
00:38 Open up in the comments!
00:41 Hey Mojoholics, for a chance to win cash prizes, play our live daily trivia challenges every
00:47 day at 3pm and 8pm Eastern only at WatchMojo.com/play.
00:53 Number 10.
00:55 Battle Dogs – Ariana Richards An asylum production with super soldiers fighting
01:00 werewolves sounds like the bottom of the cinematic barrel.
01:12 For die-hard sci-fi fans though, Ariana Richards' not-so-big comeback was a selling point.
01:18 Richards claimed fame as a child actress through several sci-fi blockbusters.
01:22 Rather than pursue her superstardom following Jurassic Park, however, she began focusing
01:27 on her passion for painting.
01:40 Richards acted off and on for years, most notably reprising her Jurassic Park and Tremors
01:45 roles in sequels.
01:47 But after a long hiatus, she called it quits with Battle Dogs.
01:51 At least as she has found great success as a professional artist.
01:55 Richards even remains an icon for her earlier creature features.
01:58 Though Battle Dogs suggests how showbiz can be more trouble than it's worth.
02:11 Number 9.
02:13 Swept Away – Madonna As one of the biggest pop stars ever, Madonna
02:17 was bound for screen stardom.
02:28 It seemed her already prominent acting career would achieve new prestige with her marriage
02:33 to renowned British filmmaker Guy Ritchie.
02:36 Sure enough, their first collaboration would be a remake of the Italian art film Swept
02:40 Away, in which an insufferable socialite and a lowly deckhand are marooned on an island.
02:51 Unfortunately hot off her drowned world tour, Madonna washed up.
02:56 Swept Away was a box office disaster, receiving scathing reviews and sweeping the golden raspberries.
03:02 It's still widely considered Ritchie's worst movie.
03:05 It was certainly Madonna's last in front of the camera.
03:08 Though she maintains ties to the film industry, Swept Away convinced her to "take a bow"
03:13 from acting.
03:22 Number 8.
03:23 A Thousand Words – Eddie Murphy The downfall of Eddie Murphy is almost as legendary
03:29 as his revolutionary heyday.
03:39 The 2000s were a financially uneven, critically bankrupt decade for the comedian's film
03:45 career.
03:46 But 2012's A Thousand Words marked the final word in this rut.
03:50 The obnoxious mix of goofy family fantasy and PG-13 shock value alienated everyone.
03:56 The movie bombed at the box office, largely thanks to word of mouth.
04:09 Devastated by his 14th Razzie nomination, Murphy decided to take a year off.
04:14 Well, that year turned into four.
04:16 His attempt at a dramatic comeback with Mr. Church sure didn't work.
04:21 Backed with the beloved Rudy Ray Moore biopic Dolomite Is My Name, Murphy is back in action.
04:26 After A Thousand Words, though, even fans didn't mind the quiet streak.
04:37 Number 7.
04:38 Year One – Harold Ramis Filmmaker and actor Harold Ramis' comedy
04:43 classics can always take us back to the 1980s.
04:46 Year One, however, doesn't just literally set comedy back to the Stone Age.
04:56 This prehistoric romp's sense of story and humor amounts to clubbing audiences over the
05:01 head with lazy religious and anthropological references.
05:05 Ramis himself made a shameless cameo as Adam, the first man.
05:19 The writer-director-producer clearly had some sort of vision.
05:22 Sadly, with this bomb following several critical and box office disappointments, Ramis stepped
05:27 away from the camera entirely.
05:29 It wasn't completely his choice.
05:31 His health rapidly declined from 2010 to his passing in 2014.
05:36 Ramis' career should still be remembered fondly.
05:39 It's just a shame that it couldn't end with something more evolved than Year One.
05:49 Number 6.
05:50 Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace – Jake Lloyd
06:00 The Star Wars prequel trilogy started as one of the most polarizing projects in Hollywood
06:05 history.
06:06 Many kids loved The Phantom Menace, but it didn't form any nostalgic memories for one.
06:11 Jake Lloyd had the honor of playing a young Anakin Skywalker destined to become Darth
06:15 Vader.
06:16 That honor didn't hold up under disappointed critics and fans focusing an unfair amount
06:21 of hostility on the movie's child star.
06:35 Never mind the hostilities he faced when he returned to school.
06:39 Overwhelmed by fame and infamy in the wake of The Phantom Menace, Lloyd vanished from
06:43 the industry.
06:44 He has not had an easy life since.
06:46 But there's one person who can credibly claim that the Star Wars prequels ruined their
06:51 childhood.
07:01 Number 5.
07:02 The Thirteenth Warrior – Omar Sharif
07:10 The sterling international reputation of Omar Sharif seemed invincible, even as major work
07:15 slowed down.
07:16 In 1999, what was supposed to be his big comeback to Hollywood ended up being one of his great
07:21 regrets.
07:22 The Thirteenth Warrior chronicles a Viking settlement accompanied by an Arab-Muslim traveler
07:27 played by Antonio Banderas.
07:30 Sharif merely plays supporting to this miscast lead.
07:33 The movie was not only critically panned, but became one of the biggest box office bombs
07:38 ever.
07:42 Sharif was so openly embarrassed by the failure that he flat out retired.
07:47 Thankfully he made a Cesar-winning return with the French film Monsieur Ibrahim, then
07:52 worked steadily until his passing in 2015.
07:56 For a while though, it looked like the Thirteenth Warrior had slain his distinguished career.
08:05 Number 4.
08:07 Trog – Joan Crawford As one of the most reliable screen stars of
08:12 old Hollywood, Joan Crawford consistently bounced back from career slumps.
08:26 But after she became typecast in mediocre B-thrillers, there was no busting the slump
08:31 that was Trog.
08:32 The horror of an anthropologist discovering a revived caveman was nothing compared to
08:37 the horror of the movie's failure.
08:39 At least the famously dedicated lead actress was considered convincing as a dedicated,
08:44 terrified scientist.
08:49 All the same, Crawford never appeared in a movie again.
08:53 She held her tongue in public during her final years, but it's understood that she considered
08:57 Trog to be the last straw.
08:59 With so many classics to her name, she probably wouldn't take much comfort in her last
09:03 film becoming a camp classic.
09:13 Number 3.
09:14 Two-Faced Woman – Greta Garbo With consistent praise and inconsistent popularity,
09:21 Greta Garbo knew well how two-faced the public can be.
09:25 Two-Faced Woman didn't even have the praise audiences felt that the farce failed to rise
09:37 above its ridiculous premise of a woman who seduces her estranged husband by pretending
09:42 to be her own sister.
09:44 It wasn't Garbo's first flop, but it was guaranteed to be her last.
09:55 She shockingly retired at the age of 36, despite plans to return after World War II.
10:00 It's debatable how much the backlash over Two-Faced Woman played into this decision,
10:05 but it couldn't have helped.
10:06 Garbo still maintains a legacy as one of the defining dramatic actresses of her era.
10:11 Her comedy work, however, was an unfortunate closer to a groundbreaking career.
10:20 Number 2.
10:21 Welcome to Mooseport – Gene Hackman For four decades, Gene Hackman was recognized
10:26 as one of America's finest actors.
10:29 His popularity never declined, but Welcome to Mooseport was a real non-starter campaign.
10:39 Hackman played a former US President who runs for mayor of a small town against a respected
10:44 business owner.
10:45 His promise to be an ingenious satire of American politics wound up being a dull mess.
10:58 Audience turnout was even more abysmal.
11:00 Hackman's big ideas seemed to no longer be in qualified hands.
11:04 This had to play some role in the stress test that convinced him to switch to a more controllable
11:09 career.
11:10 Hackman fully retired with dignity after another nine years as a successful novelist.
11:14 Still, Welcome to Mooseport remains a cold farewell for a towering screen icon.
11:39 Number 1.
11:42 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – Sean Connery
11:46 Besides originating James Bond for the big screen, Sean Connery's legendary charisma
11:51 made him a major leading man in the 2000s.
12:05 But he himself fell out of love with the film industry after The League of Extraordinary
12:09 Gentlemen.
12:10 Based on a subversive comic series, the movie was immediately panned as a generic and silly
12:15 low point in superhero cinema.
12:23 Connery's heated rivalry with director Stephen Norrington was also notorious.
12:28 LXG may have shown a profit, but that wasn't enough for Connery.
12:32 Openly observing a decline in the quality of Hollywood, he decided to retire.
12:36 Ironically, he returned in 2012 to voice act in the catastrophic Sir Billy.
12:42 With Connery's legacy being otherwise stellar, at least he went out on his own terms.
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