Top 10 WORST Characters in GREAT Movies

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for characters whose movies are too good for them.

#10: Grandpa Joe

“Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971)
Supposedly unable to work, Grandpa Joe spends his days bedridden while his grandson Charlie helps support him. Yet, when Charlie has scored one of the Golden Tickets, Grandpa Joe gets out of bed to join him on the chocolate factory tour. While Grandpa getting out of bed could be seen as a miracle where an elderly man gets his youthful spirit back, this scene still leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. He’s also a terrible influence on Charlie, encouraging him to try Fizzy Lifting Drinks without Wonka’s permission, which almost leads to a grisly end for both of them. Additionally, he almost costs Charlie the factory when he tries to convince his grandson to betray the promise made to Wonka about the Everlasting Gobstopper.

#9: Leo Getz

“Lethal Weapon” franchise (1987-)
Introduced in “Lethal Weapon 2,” Leo Getz is a federal witness placed under the protection of Riggs and Murtaugh, and he eventually becomes a recurring comic relief character in the series. He always feels the need to tag along with Riggs and Murtaugh when they work on their cases, but he never takes the hint when he’s not wanted. On paper, a fast talking, wise guy character played by Joe Pesci sounds perfect for an action franchise such as “Lethal Weapon.” However, a little bit of Leo goes a long way.

#8: Donald Gennaro

“Jurassic Park” (1993)
With every scene he was in, this greedy lawyer took the wonder of Jurassic Park and put a damper on it with his financial obsessions. When the visitors of Jurassic Park first gazed upon the dinosaurs, Gennaro could only think about making money off of them. Gennaro was such a dirtbag that Hammond called him a “blood sucking lawyer,” despite the fact that the attorney was the only person on his side. As bad as Dennis Nedry was, at least he had comedic charm courtesy of Wayne Knight. Gennaro was a one-note character who abandoned kids while trying to save his own skin, and the only memorable thing about him was how he went out.

#7: Ginny Weasley

“Harry Potter” franchise (2001–11)
J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books are so rich in detail and character that the filmmakers obviously had to cut a lot when adapting the source material. Unfortunately, Ginny Weasley’s character was one of the casualties of this decision. In the books, Ginny Weasley was dynamic, intelligent, and witty, while in the movies, she was kinda just there. Bonnie Wright, the actress who played Ginny Weasley, has publicly expressed some disappointment about how little of the character ended up in the movies. She hoped that the “Harry Potter” series HBO is producing would do a better job exploring Ginny, particularly her relationship with Harry.

#6: Cameron Vale

“Scanners” (1981)
The protagonist of this David Cronenberg sci-fi horror, Cameron Vale was a scanner that was used by a scientist to take on other scanners, who are people with incredible psychic powers. In playing Cameron Vale, the performance from Stephen Lack was, pardon the pun, a bit lacking. Though it could be argued that it was the character’s lack of personality and not the actor’s skills that made Vale less interesting to watch, the fact that there appeared to be so little depth and emotion to him was distracting - especially given that this was the main character of the movie. Fortunately, “Scanners” had a lot of great things going for it, including impressive special effects, and a fantastic villainous performance from Michael Ironside.

#5: Norm

“There’s Something About Mary” (1998)
In this comedy, Norm pretends to be a sophisticated British architect who is physically disabled, when in reality, he’s just an American pizza delivery man with no disability. In trying to win the affection of Mary, he manipulates her and other would-be suitors any shameless way he can. Now, many characters in Farrelly brothers comedies can get pretty sleazy, but there’s nothing fun with Norm’s sleaziness. He’s just a third wheel whose inclusion doesn’t feel necessary in this movie. Pat Healy, played by Matt Dillon, was a much more likeable scoundrel.

#4: Emma Frost

“X-Men: First Class” (2011)
“First Class” is considered one of the better “X-Men” movies, but no thanks to the inclusion of Emma Frost. Like with Ginny Weasley, fans felt that the character wasn’t fully developed and actress January Jones wasn’t given enough to do with the overly objectified supervillainess. Though not terrible, the CGI used when Frost went into diamond form didn’t really help show off her menacing nature. Frost didn’t return for the sequel “Days of Future Past,” even though it was hinted at the end of “First Class” that she would be joining Magneto as a henchman. Instead, her demise is mentioned unceremoniously, which is usually the sign of a character being poorly received.

#3: Jenny Everdeane

“Gangs of New York” (2002)
In this film, Cameron Diaz plays a pickpocket who eventually becomes a love interest of Amsterdam, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. While such a character sounds potentially interesting in theory, it was more distracting in practice. Meanwhile, some audiences felt that Diaz wasn’t a great fit for this Scorsese period piece, due to her acting and her less-than-convincing Irish accent. It was as if Cameron Diaz were put in the picture because they thought her star appeal would bring in a bigger box office. Compared to Oscar winners Daniel Day Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, Diaz’s performance was just flat.

#2: Willie Scott

“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)
This Missouri native accompanies Indiana Jones in this “Raiders” prequel where he takes on a Thuggee cult in India in search of the mystical Sankara Stones. Spoiled and pampered, Willie is a wet blanket with little sense of adventure. All she seemingly does is complain about her surroundings, and she’s too much of an airhead to be helpful most of the time. The movie tries to make her comic relief, but she often comes off as obnoxious. Throughout the movie, Willie makes us miss Marion from the first film, who was strong, brave, and resourceful.

#1: Mr. Yunioshi

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is a classic Truman Capote adaptation that is also one of Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic movies. However, whatever charm the film has is undoubtedly undercut by Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of Holly Golightly’s landlord, Mr. Yunioshi. In playing Mr. Yunioshi, Rooney adopted several insulting stereotypes, including putting on prosthetics and speaking in an exaggerated Japanese accent. As the years have gone by, audiences have come to criticize this racially insensitive representation by a white actor, and director Blake Edwards has expressed remorse for how the character was portrayed.



Have we unfairly gone after a character in this list that you like? Let us know in the comments.