10 Actors Who Keep Taking Bad Roles

10 Actors Who Keep Taking Bad Roles

Welcome to MsMojo, and today, we’ll be looking at 10 high-profile actors who rarely ever accept good roles these days, despite their talent.

Sydney Sweeney

You might recognise Sydney Sweeney from the series “Euphoria” or “The White Lotus,” which earned her widespread acclaim. Since “Euphoria,” she’s been a huge name in Hollywood, but the quality of her roles has steeply declined. For instance, in 2024, she was in the critically reviled “Madame Web.” It was so poorly received, she even threw shade towards it on “SNL.” She also featured in the highly controversial “Great Jeans” commercial in 2025, which was famously criticized for appearing like eugenics propaganda. She’s had hits like “Anyone but You,” but when Sweeney got the script for “Echo Valley,” she probably should’ve said, “Anything but this.”

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp starred in many acclaimed movies during the 90s and 2000s. Since then, though, he’s been attached to hardly any interesting projects. His biggest role in the 2020s has arguably been Johnny Puff, a puffin from the “Puffins” franchise. Depp also voiced Sherlock Gnomes in the “Gnomeo & Juliet” sequel. On the live-action front, he starred in 2014’s “Transcendence,” a film so confusing that even Depp seemingly struggled to understand it. In interviews, he described it as “kind of a sci-fi thing.” Of course, Depp returned for the fifth “Pirates” movie in 2017, which few critics enjoyed. Based on what was said at the infamous Depp v. Heard trial, we didn’t think he’d be up for playing Captain Jack Sparrow again anytime soon but who knows...

Eddie Murphy

Few will refute the claim that Eddie Murphy is a national treasure. He’s easily one of America’s greatest comedians, with many beloved roles from the 80s to the 2000s. Since then, he’s starred in “Tower Heist,” “A Thousand Words,” and several other films you instantly forgot about. Murphy gave his best performance in years in 2019’s “Dolemite Is My Name.” This set him up for a comeback in the 2020s, but it’s been mostly underwhelming. Between the fourth “Beverly Hills Cop” movie and “Coming 2 America,” Murphy seems content with rehashing his old roles in nostalgia throwbacks. We want to see him grow as an artist, though. Give us something fresh… just not “You People” or “Candy Cane Lane.”

Jennifer Lopez

Lopez is a woman of many talents, known for her singing, dancing, and, of course, acting. The latter talent is something she hasn't had the opportunity to flex for years. In the 90s, she had a handful of praised roles like the titular singer in “Selena” or Karen in “Out of Sight.” In 2003, she released “Gigli,” which marked a decline in her acting career. It’s not like she has to worry about maintaining her acting career since she’s such a highly praised musician. Between “Hustlers” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” though, we know that she can do better than “Atlas” and “Shotgun Wedding.”

Tyler Perry

Did you know that Tyler Perry’s character Madea has an expansive cinematic universe, composed of movies, TV shows, and plays? The comic character is based on Perry’s aunt and has had a highly divisive reception. Director Spike Lee has criticized it for reinforcing stereotypes. Somehow, he’s acquired a net worth of around a billion dollars, yet the majority of his movies are critically slammed. Among the only universally praised films he’s been in are “Gone Girl” and “Star Trek.” He’s barely in the latter. So, we’re not even sure that counts. It’s no surprise he’s been nominated for over 20 Golden Raspberry Awards.

Jennifer Aniston

You likely know Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green. Since her career-defining sitcom’s conclusion, she’s become one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. This is probably due to her “Friends” fame because her movie roles generally haven’t been on the same level. While a lot of her comedies are commercially successful, like “Bruce Almighty,” they’re not exactly critically adored. The majority have mediocre reviews at best, and she’s even been nominated for multiple Golden Raspberry Awards, but hasn’t won any. While she’s made a small-screen comeback with her award-winning work on “The Morning Show,” we wish Aniston were offered better film roles.

John Travolta

For every high like “Grease” or “Pulp Fiction,” John Travolta’s career has seen more than a few lows like “Staying Alive” and “Battlefield Earth.” Outside of playing Robert Shapiro in “American Crime Story,” most of his recent acting credits are in embarrassingly bad action movies, like “High Rollers” or “Cash Out.” This makes him one of Hollywood’s most washed-up actors. If you take a look at his IMDb page, his “Capital One” commercials are higher rated than many of the films he’s been in. This is hilarious, as all he’s doing there is playing Santa Claus with a “Saturday Night Fever” twist.

Angelina Jolie

In 2000, Jolie won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in “Girl, Interrupted.” She was also highly praised for her role in 2008’s “Changeling.” Ever since, most of her performances have been in poor-quality movies, except maybe the “Kung Fu Panda” series. For example, she was Thena in the “Eternals,” an early sign that the MCU was in trouble. She was also the titular character in both “Maleficent” movies. The only thing critics consistently praised about those was Jolie’s role, but reviews were generally mixed. Jolie was also Lara Croft in the 2000s movies, which, while fun, were not particularly mindblowing. While her movies are usually lousy, she’s almost always the best part about them.

Adam Sandler

Few actors have as consistently bad an output as Adam Sandler. He rose to fame for doing relatively lighthearted movies in the 90s, which were all more or less the same film. They all focus on a washed-up character who ends up becoming comically successful while finding a girlfriend. Hilariously, Sandler’s been in some of the worst-rated movies ever, like “Going Overboard,” “Jack and Jill,” and the absolutely disgusting “That’s My Boy”. His career hasn’t been all bad, though. He displayed remarkable talent in “Punch-Drunk Love.” His role in “Uncut Gems” received universal acclaim and is considered one of his finest movies. His work in “Jay Kelly” has also generated positive buzz, but why can’t Sandler do more movies like this?

Nicolas Cage

Few actors are as instantly recognizable as Nicolas Cage. He’s earned a cult following, particularly among bad film enthusiasts. Cage pretty much accepts every single role he’s offered. This is because he was millions of dollars in debt and desperately needed cash. This meant that for a period, he was starring in tons of movies, sometimes up to seven in a year. Cage does occasionally strike gold, like his 2022 movie “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” He even struck Oscar gold with “Leaving Las Vegas” back in the day. Still, it’s a lot more bad than good. Many of his fans would argue that not a single one of his performances isn’t enjoyable, despite how terrible the film is.

Were there any actors we forgot to include? Leave their names down in the comments!