• 6 months ago
Let's just say the aughts had some misses! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at actors who weren’t exactly igniting Oscar talk for their performances in the 2000s. While a couple of these actors have some good - even great - work to their name, you wouldn’t guess that based on this decade’s output.
Transcript
00:00I'm gonna make you proud, daddy. I'm gonna make you so proud.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at actors who weren't exactly igniting Oscar talk for their performances in the 2000s.
00:11While a couple of these actors have some good, even great work to their name, you wouldn't guess that based on this decade's output.
00:17I did not hit her. I did not. Oh, hi Mark.
00:23Number 10, Ben Affleck. Affleck's career underwent the ultimate resurgence in the 2010s.
00:28That said, before he could climb back to the top, Affleck had to pull himself up from the bottom.
00:32While the scripts did Affleck a few favors, his acting rarely elevated the material.
00:36When Affleck wasn't overacting in theatrical soap operas like Pearl Harbor, he was phoning it in as Daredevil.
00:42What are you— Blind? Yeah.
00:45I am so sorry. That's okay.
00:52Friend of yours? You know, I've never seen him before.
00:56Gigli alone turned Affleck into a punchline along with Jennifer Lopez,
00:59leaving audiences to ponder how two actors with zero chemistry could become the It couple in real life.
01:05On the heels of more half-assed performances in Jersey Girl and Surviving Christmas,
01:09Affleck started turning things around with Hollywoodland in his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone.
01:14We want to hire you to augment the investigation of Amanda. Is that right?
01:19Yet, even Affleck cringes reflecting on this decade's low points.
01:23Following her stint as a synchronized swimmer and model,
01:27Estella Warren tried transitioning to acting at the dawn of the new century.
01:30Warren didn't stray far from her roots, playing a model in her film debut Perfume.
01:34There's nothing to work out. I don't understand what you're not quite getting about— No.
01:38Her acting muscles weren't flexed much further in Driven or Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes.
01:43While there wasn't much to those roles beyond the love interest,
01:45it's telling that Mark Wahlberg had more romantic history with Helena Bonham Carter as a chimpanzee than Warren's character.
01:51We'd also argue that Jerry O'Connell had more chemistry with a kangaroo in Kangaroo Jack.
01:55I'm kidding.
02:00It won't bring down the swelling.
02:04Warren rounded out the 2000s, appearing in several low-budget flicks.
02:07The next decade didn't show greater prospects, as Warren became better known for her legal troubles.
02:12It's a minor thing, but it's my minor thing.
02:16Number 8. Carmen Electra
02:18The opening of Scary Movie was funny enough,
02:20but when that's your most credible role, your resume might as well be written on toilet paper.
02:24And not the soft kind, either.
02:26Who is this?
02:27Tell me your name and I'll tell you mine.
02:29I don't think so.
02:31What's that noise?
02:33Oops. I farted. I didn't think you would hear me.
02:36No. That popping noise.
02:38Carmen Electra went on to appear in various other parody movies,
02:42and most regrettably, Meet the Spartans.
02:44Believe it or not, none of those brought Electra's worst performances of the decade.
02:48That distinction goes to 2005's Dirty Love,
02:51playing a woman who takes cultural appropriation to such offensive levels
02:54that she's one step away from performing in Blackface.
02:58I can't even believe you fell for that sh**.
03:00Very funny, Michelle.
03:02Even when Electra played herself in movies like Monster Island,
03:04we're certain that anyone else on set,
03:06from the Teamsters to the craft services people,
03:08could have given a more convincing performance.
03:11Hey, I was just, um...
03:17Just, just gonna go powder my nose.
03:22Once upon a time, there was an unfunny comedian named Daniel Lawrence Whitney.
03:26Despite being from Nebraska,
03:28Whitney thought he might be able to spice up his act
03:30by adopting a stereotypical Southern persona.
03:32Boy, that wouldn't have been good right there.
03:36Enter Larry the Cable Guy,
03:38the only character Whitney knows how to play.
03:40Even then, Whitney doesn't play the character especially well,
03:43relying on an over-the-top accent and catchphrases
03:46to deceive people into thinking what he's saying is humorous.
03:49Here's what you need to be thinking about.
03:51You need to be thinking about a cool little catchphrase to say when we get him.
03:55What do you mean?
03:56You gotta have a cool catchphrase.
03:58I mean, it's in the rule book.
04:00Throughout the 2000s,
04:01it seemed like Hollywood was trying to make this blue-collar comic the next Ernest,
04:05with vehicles like Larry the Cable Guy Health Inspector,
04:07Delta Farce, and Witless Protection.
04:19Unfortunately, Larry the Cable Guy is no Ernest,
04:22Daniel Lawrence Whitney is no Jim Varney,
04:24and Mater is no Slinky Dog.
04:28Mariah Carey closed out the decade
04:30with a solid supporting turn as a social worker in Precious.
04:37Ain't nothing to really talk about.
04:40You're in a safe place. Just talk.
04:43What's going on?
04:44What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about home?
04:47Alas, her acting career is still defined by her first leading role.
04:51As if the title wasn't already a giveaway,
04:53Glitter is the epitome of a vanity project,
04:55with an artificial performance at the center.
04:58It's also a cautionary tale for every pop star who assumes
05:01just because they have a golden voice, acting will come inherently.
05:05What are you doing? That guy wanted to sign us, you crazy?
05:08Some might argue that critics were too harsh toward Carey,
05:10especially given the mental health struggle she was facing at the time.
05:13Whether or not a line was crossed,
05:15we still can't call this a passable performance,
05:17and Carey herself has acknowledged that she was in over her head.
05:20Okay.
05:24Where Carey at least gave one good performance,
05:26Jessica Simpson repeatedly reminded us
05:28why not every pop star is cut out to be a movie star.
05:31Between playing herself in The Master of Disguise
05:33and The Love Guru, Simpson gave three unnatural performances.
05:37Mariska Hargitay, Jessica Simpson.
05:49Did you get into the VIP room okay?
05:51One officially put Daisy Dukes out of style,
05:54another made Dane Cook look like an acceptable actor,
05:57and the third headlined a film that only played in eight Texas theaters.
06:00That's still a wider release than Simpson's acting swan song received.
06:08Private Valentine, Blonde and Dangerous,
06:10a.k.a. Major Movie Star,
06:12was sent straight to DVD in the U.S.
06:14It was released theatrically in a few other countries,
06:16but as Conan O'Brien pointed out,
06:18English wasn't the primary language in any of them.
06:20Miss Valentine, are you alright?
06:22No.
06:24My boyfriend's gay!
06:27Number four, Tom Green.
06:29With his supporting roles in Road Trip and Charlie's Angels,
06:32Tom Green proved that his acting capabilities
06:34didn't extend beyond what we saw on TV.
06:45Of course, there are some things you can't do on TV,
06:47but Green had few restrictions in Freddy Got Fingered,
06:50taking a shtick to new frontiers of obnoxiousness,
06:53disgust, and anti-humor.
06:57Now if you'll excuse me, I still have some work to do.
07:05Although some have defended the film as a twisted experiment,
07:07Green seemed to take pride in how negative the reception was,
07:10bringing a red carpet to the Razzies,
07:12where Freddy Got Fingered was fascinatingly bad,
07:14Green's subsequent performances in Stealing Harvard
07:17and Bob the Butler were forgettably bad.
07:19The children are in bed, ma'am.
07:21Thank you, Bob. Music to my ears.
07:23Is there anything else I can do for you?
07:25No, thank you. I'll see you in the morning.
07:27By the decade's end, Green had faded into obscurity,
07:30leaving future generations to ask
07:31why their parents found this guy funny.
07:37Oh, sorry.
07:38We seem to have gotten our script mixed up
07:40with one from South Park.
07:41Honestly, though, do we need to say anything else?
07:48A cameo in an Adam Sandler comedy
07:49is about as far as any Rob Schneider performance should go.
07:52For whatever reason,
07:53Hollywood kept trying to pass him off
07:55as a lead throughout the 2000s,
07:56casting Schneider as an animal, a hot chick,
07:59a carrot, and a gigolo.
08:01Hey, little friend, I guess I owe you a big...
08:05Okay, one of those was also taken from South Park,
08:08but we bet you can't remember which one.
08:10Schneider not only made some of the decade's
08:12dumbest and most offensive comedies,
08:14but also some of the blandest
08:15with his lack of star power
08:16poisoning every project from within.
08:19Jessica, honey, is everything all right?
08:22Yes, mother.
08:23It's just a spider.
08:28In the realm of cinema,
08:29Paris Hilton is best known for a certain tape
08:31that started circulating in 2004.
08:33As far as real movies go,
08:35the industry tried capitalizing
08:37on the hotel heiress' notoriety
08:38in films like 2005's House of Wax.
08:41Does he know how proud I am of you?
08:42It's just an internship at InStyle magazine.
08:45Although this was stunt casting at its most shameless,
08:47Hilton's performance in that film
08:49was more distracting than jaw-droppingly awful.
08:51She saved that for The Hottie and the Nottie,
08:54in which Hilton basically played herself,
08:56or at least how she views herself.
08:58And if things were different,
09:00who knows?
09:02Hilton doesn't even have the self-awareness
09:04to turn in an enjoyably bad performance.
09:06Whenever the cameras are rolling,
09:07Hilton acts as if she's the center of the universe.
09:09In reality, she's a black hole
09:11who sucks out any talent in her orbit.
09:13Hey, sweetheart, over here.
09:15Hi.
09:16Who's your date?
09:17His name is Patek.
09:18Before we continue,
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09:36Tommy Wiseau is to bad actors
09:38what Daniel Day-Lewis is to seasoned thespians.
09:40He doesn't accept many roles,
09:42the room being Wiseau's only performance
09:44from this decade.
09:45Hi, babe.
09:49I have something for you.
09:51What is it?
09:52Just a little something.
09:54Whenever he returns to the screen, though,
09:56it's a spectacle to behold.
09:57Surprisingly, Wiseau is the one actor on this list
10:00who has yet to be nominated for a Razzie.
10:02Perhaps that's because Wiseau transcends
10:04traditionally bad acting.
10:06Hi.
10:07Can I help you?
10:08Yeah, can I have a dozen red roses, please?
10:10Oh, hi, Johnny. I didn't know it was you.
10:13Here you go.
10:14That's me.
10:15Seeing Wiseau perform
10:17is like having a close encounter with an alien
10:19trying to convince us that he's human,
10:21but has no idea how the species is supposed to speak,
10:24behave, or process basic emotions.
10:26Wiseau is a hoot to observe,
10:28but to say he's anything less than the worst of the worst
10:30would be a disservice to his genius.
10:32You are lying. I never hit you.
10:34You are tearing me apart, Lisa!
10:37Who do you expect to see on the inevitable
10:39top ten worst actors of the 2010s?
10:41Let us know in the comments.
10:43I think I'm gonna be sick.
10:44Me too.
10:45Why?
10:46Did you enjoy this video?
10:48Check out these other clips from WatchMojo
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10:52to be notified about our latest videos.

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