For some actors, it takes years and even decades to get their big break. Starring role in hand, however, and they're immediately catapulted into the glitz, glamour and flashing lights of Hollywood. But, much like the course of true love, maintaining superstar status is no easy feat.
Certainly while no one sets out to make a bad film, there are some big-budget movies featuring a stellar cast that just make us ask - what on earth were they thinking?! Yes, some of our favourite stars have made bizarre career moves; either by accepting a terrible role, or one that's so far from what they usually take that it could
only be motivated by money. Let's take a look at some of the biggest offenders, shall we?
1. Antony Hopkins - Transformers: The Last Knight
Anthony Hopkins has had a long and illustrious career, having starred in The Silence of The Lambs, The Mask of Zorro and Bram Stoker's Dracula. It makes zero sense then, that he took on a role in Michael Bay's fifth Transformers film. I mean, why?!
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vtf0MszgP8]]
2. Natalie Portman - Your Highness
A year prior to Your Highness debuting on our screens, Natalie Portman had won an Oscar for her performance in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. After that, she literally had her pick of all the roles going in Hollywood. It remains a mystery then that she chose to feature in Your Highness - a rather idiotic medieval stoner comedy starring James Franco and Danny McBride.
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FplWxtPzWY8]]
3. Gwyneth Paltrow - Mortdecai
Once upon a time, Gwyneth Paltrow was Hollywood's veritable dream girl - having headlined Sliding Doors, Emma, Shakespeare in Love and Seven. She was engaged to Brad Pitt, wept unceremoniously as she accepted her Oscar, and was generally just a woman about town.
After making a comeback as Pepper Potts in the Avengers, we thought we'd be seeing a lot more of Gwynnie. But no, she then went on to star in Mortdecai in 2015 alongside Johnny Depp, which was just horrible.
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh6nYOhItOM]]
4. Halle Berry - Catwoman
Halle Berry was on top of the world in 2002, after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in the romantic drama, Monster's Ball. It was therefore rather jarring when she took on the role of Catwoman in 2004 - a feature often lauded as one of the worst movies of all time.
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6pJbjbRnAA]]
5. Michael Fassbender - Assassin's Creed
While Michael Fassbender is known for playing complex, nuanced characters, Assassin's Creed was just not good.
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfJVoF5ko1Y]]
6. Nicolas Cage - In everything after 2002
If you've noticed that Nicolas Cage has appeared in some pretty rubbish movies of late, it's all because he's desperately taking any and every role he can get to pay off his debts - after squandering his $150 million fortune on a slew of bizarre purchases, including shrunken pygmy heads. He's since starred in a number of not-so-great films, such as Bangkok Dangerous, Next, Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Knowing, G-Force, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Season of the Witch, and The Wicker Man.
Yes, all of those.
As the old platitude goes, money can't buy wisdom - but I'm sure these actors are perfectly content after cashing the fat checks they earned for these questionable ventures.
