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Top 10 Worst Actors of the 21St Century

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Even some of the biggest names and the most talented folks have their own faults and shortcomings. They tend to overdo it, seeking much bigger fame than they could take on. This top 10 list focuses on a large number of wrongdoers who’ve failed to take home the bacon. A list of top 10 worst actors of the 21st Century would not be the same without the following actors.

 

1. Miley Cyrus:

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus is the daughter of one of the most famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Her birth name is Destiny Hope, which was given to her by her parents who yearned for her to succeed in life. Her childhood name was Smiley, as she was always cheerful in nature. Smiley was eventually shortened to Miley.

In 2005, Miley landed a lead role in the new Disney series, Hannah Montana, after originally being rejected for being too small and too young. On the show, she played an average teen who lived a double life as a famous pop singer.

Hannah Montana became one of the most watched shows for kids between ages 6 and 14. Its success continued in song with the release of the Hannah Montana soundtrack album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and eventually became a triple platinum.

In spite of her initial success, she was widely mauled for her first serious acting role. Critics panned her performance in a romantic drama, The Last Song, her first bid at serious acting. One critic even went as far as to compare Cyrus to Britney Spears’ disreputable and ill-famed movie Crossroads.

 

2. Britney Spears:

Britney Spears

Number 1 brings us to number 2: Britney Spears.

A “Pop Phenomenon” does not begin to describe Britney Spears. The name is synonymous with legend, fame and beauty around the world. So well-known is Britney Spears now that it is difficult to envision a world without her.

Ever since she was 7, she would perform in front of the TV for her guests who would arrive at her home. Instead of playing with the other kids at recess in schools, she would gather her friends and hold Star Search competitions. At 8, she unsuccessfully bid for the Disney Channel’s New Mickey Mouse Club. She big again at age 11 and was chosen for the cast, alongside rising stars like Justin Timberlake and Keri Russell.

Britney rose to fame in December of 1998 when she landed a contract with Jive Records. Her first single, Baby One More Time, topped the charts. She took on a lot of criticism for wearing a skimpy Catholic schoolgirl uniform. She fired back, insisting she was innocent Southern girl.

Over the years, she’s won numerous awards, including a Grammy, 6 MTV Video awards and 9 Billboard Music Awards. She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the bestselling music phenomena worldwide.

With great fame comes controversy. Britney has had a tumultuous life. She’s been married, had kids and got divorced. Then she went insane, brought on by post-partum, but now things seem to be back to normal.

This controversial figure comes in at number two for her unsuccessful acting career. Her film Crossroads (2002) received mostly negative reviews and had a 14% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Elizabeth Weitzman noted that the film had no cohesive direction and failed to provide an intelligent dialogue or a comprehensible plot.

 

3. John Travolta:

John Travolta

Travolta is a multi-Golden Globe award winner who somewhat deserves to be on this list. He started his acting career in the 19870s and also was nominated for an Academy award for his work on Pulp Fiction and Saturday Night Fever.

His movie Battlefield Earth was a total disaster, bagging 9 Razzies and a whopping 2 stars from me. He also received a 2% rotten rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus was that the film was “ugly, campy and poorly acted .”

He was also nominated for the Worst Actor Award for the movie Perfect, which was neither a commercial nor critical success. The movie was underappreciated and criticized for being a tight performance.

Despite his shortcomings, John Travolta is one of the most gifted actors in the movie industry. He can play almost any role, but due to poor choices and bad mixtures, he got himself into pitiable productions. His sour image still has not recovered since Battlefield Earth.

 

4. Cameron Diaz:

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz has had many strong performances, including Vanilla Sky, Gangs of New York, The Mask and her voiceover in Shrek.

She rose to fame in the 1990s and has received the Golden Globe nominations for her performances in the movies There’s Something About Mary, Being John Malkovitch, Vanilla Sky and Gangs of New York.

In 2010, Diaz was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the richest Hispanic female celebrity, ranking at 60 of the 100 wealthiest.

The movie The Box landed her on this list. She was dishonoured at the Lazzies Award with the “There’s Always Waitressing Award”. Her horrible southern accent and her deer caught in headlights facial expression she wore in the entire film were criticized.

 

5. Justin Timberlake:

Justin Timberlake

Acting is just the one thing that Timberlake, the former member of NSYNC, cannot do.

At 31, he’s gained six Grammys, a couple of Emmys and two solo albums. I’m still smitten and proud of his accomplishments in music. I never expected to see him as the mega hit he is today. Despite singing, dancing and owning on “Saturday Night Life,” Mr. JT has a successful clothingline, William Rast; a burgeoning restaurant franchise in Southern Hospitality in New York City, a record label, Tennman Records.

His acting skills need a bit of a touch up. His films Friends with Benefits, The Social Network and Bad Teacher, were not his best films. He was not able to stand out with the crowd, especially in Bad Teacher, where he paired up with another actor on this list Cameron Diaz. Only time will tell if this singer will become a good actor.

 

6. Sandra Bullock:

Sandra Bullock

The day before she took an Oscar for “The Blind Side” she won an award for the dubious title of worst female performance in “All About Steve” at the Razzie Awards. Bullock showed up to collect the award and gave out DVDs to members. She thanked them for ruining her career.

Bullock is a successful actress for the most part. She rose to fame in the 1990s with many successful films, such as Speed, Hope Floats, While You Were Sleeping. She is listed in the 2012 version of the Guinness Book of World Records the highest paid actress.

 

7. Tara Reid:

Tara Reid

Tara Reid is an American actress who acted om TV shows such as Saved By the Bell: The New Class, Days of our Lives and Scrubs. Her debut on the big screen came in at A Return to Salem Lot. She has since then played manu supporting roles with the exception of her role as Victoria Lathum in the American Pie franchise.

I haven’t seen much of Reid outside of American Pie franchise. It’s unknown whether she will see any big screen successes in the future outside of the American Pie. She may not be good enough for big leading roles.

 

8. Jessica Alba:

Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba’s fame came when she persuaded her mom to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills where the grand prize was free acting classes. She won the grand prize and was able to take her first acting lessons.

In 1993, she landed a role in the comedic film Camp Nowhere. She was initially hired for two weeks, but her role turned into a two month job when another actress left her role. Alba is picked as the replacement because her hair matched that of the original actress.

Alba is sexy and beautiful and seems to be a sweet person in real life, but she’s been isn some horrible movies, one after another. Her most memorable acting was as the dancing cowgirl stripper in Sin City. Critics stipulate that Alba has limited abilities as an actress, playing mostly sweet good-girl type of roles. From The Love Guru to Good Luck Charlie to Meet Bill, she has not garnered one success out of these movies.

 

9. Jennifer Lopez:

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez has had some success as an actress. She was loved by everyone in Out of Sight, Selena and Maid in Manhattan.

But, there are movies such as Shall We Dance and Gigli, which are an embarrassment.

Movies are not the only things that garnered media attention. Her failed relationships with Ojani Noa, Sean Combs, Ben Affleck and Marc Anthony stirred much controversy in Lopez’s life.

Perhaps Lopez should just focus on her singing. She has topped US Billboard 200 with J to that L-O! The Remixes and received the highest first-week sales in the U.S. for a Spanish Album with the release of Como Ama una Mujer (2007).

 

10. Colin Farrell:

Colin Farrel

Colin Farrell is a curious and aspiring actor. At times, he’s a quality actor unafraid to choose eccentric and airtight projects . Unfortunately, the actor, an Irishman, is more is a victim of miscasting, falling short of portraying larger-than-life characters (Alexander), action heroes (Miami Vice), and tough guys (Pride And Glory) with some genuineness. His attempt at playing Alexander the Great was criticized as he portrayed a Greek/Macedonian leader, but spoke with an Irish accent.

 

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