The 10 least interesting actors of the 21st century
It’s astounding how many actors consistently pick out roles that are simply uninteresting. More so, there are countless stars out there who simply seem more interested in appearing in box-office hits rather than films that will challenge them. While in some cases, many truly talented actors keep letting their skills go to waste for reasons unknown, there are also those who have very little range, which leads them to select repetitive and uninspired parts for a quick, consistent cheque.
Some actors simply don’t consider themselves cinephiles, which is a very strange phenomenon, but one that you can usually recognise in an actor’s film choices. You can tell when they are not remotely ready to risk starring in movies that might divide critics and perform poorly, because they’ll routinely go for franchises and blockbusters, straying far from indie or more experimental productions.
The most interesting ones are those who aren’t afraid to push themselves, like Nicole Kidman, who has starred in as many provocative and challenging roles as she has in the more commercial ones, and it’s clear that she has a genuine interest in the art form. Then you look at actors like Ryan Reynolds and wonder if he genuinely likes cinema or if he just prefers the money.
We’re not saying that all blockbusters and franchises aren’t ‘real’ cinema, but there’s certainly a case to be made for actors who stop expanding their horizons or don’t pick unconventional or particularly memorable roles, especially those who have a history of taking up the challenging mantle and blossoming. Actors who don’t break the mould or choose safety over showcasing their range of talent are simply uninteresting, and we have picked ten such names for you to agree with or debate.
The 10 least interesting actors of the 21st century
Julia Roberts
For me, Julia Roberts is in the same category as George Clooney, in that her 21st-century career has been predominantly uninspiring. To her credit, though, her diversions into TV with Homecoming and Gaslit have seen the ‘90s icon challenge herself in a new medium, and that’s admirable. Her movie career, on the other hand, has been dreadfully boring ever since Erin Brockovich in 2000, and the iconic status that used to be a given is now anything but.
Now, admittedly, Roberts’ output in the 2000s and 2010s has been diminished for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is motherhood. It reportedly takes a lot to convince her to get involved in any project, as she is financially set for life, so she doesn’t need to work. However, this only makes me wonder what exactly it was about drap, insipid movies like Mother’s Day, Mirror, Mirror, Valentine’s Day, and Eat Pray Love that convinced one of Hollywood’s most iconic stars to say, “I must make this.”
In fairness, Roberts may have already begun clawing her way back to movies that compel audiences and show them what she’s capable of. Her next two films include a Luca Guadagnino thriller about a college professor trying to keep a lid on her secret past when a colleague is accused of impropriety, and a Sam Esmail thriller described as something akin to Mr Robot meets The Silence of the Lambs. Maybe these give cause for cautious optimism?
Taylor Kitsch
Taylor Kitsch first rose to fame as Tim Riggins in the beloved Friday Night Lights TV show, before Hollywood strapped a rock to him circa 2009. This was when he starred as the card-throwing mutant Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, sci-fi pulp hero John Carter in the appropriately named John Carter, and military man Alex Hopper in Battleship. These last two pictures, in particular, were supposed to anoint a new A-list movie icon, but when both underperformed at the box office, Kitsch never got near a lead role in a blockbuster again.
Over the years, the humbled star turned his attention to supporting roles in the likes of Lone Survivor, American Assassin, and 21 Bridges, as well as TV shows such as True Detective, The Terminal List, and Netflix’s gruesome western American Primaeval. Some of these projects have been good, and most have been fairly popular. However, I ask you this: is Kitsch good in any of them? Has anyone ever watched a movie or show because Kitsch is in it? I’d argue, no, they haven’t.
Kitsch isn’t a bad actor, per se, but there’s just nothing overly interesting about him on-screen. He won’t sink a project, but he also will never be the guy responsible for making it soar, even when he attempted to reinvent himself by starring in Waco as infamous cult leader David Koresh. In some ways, he reminds me of Keanu Reeves, except he has none of the John Wick icon’s unique presence and intrinsic likability.
Daisy Edgar-Jones
Earning acclaim with her role in the hit television series Normal People as the quiet Marianne alongside Paul Mescal’s emotionally-troubled Connell, Daisy Edgar-Jones has since picked out an array of uninteresting movies like Where the Crawdads Sing. The forgettable movie wasn’t exactly the best direction for Edgar-Jones to go in, and while her role in the Hulu original horror movie Fresh seemed as though she was switching things up a little, Edgar-Jones has since moved on to blockbusters with Twisters.
While the movie was a box-office success, Twisters does little to prove Edgar-Jones as a particularly compelling talent. It feels as though the actor is wasting her potential on movies that won’t leave an impact on the audience, instead opting for roles that might make her a bigger star. With Normal People, it looked like Edgar-Jones was going to go far, and now it feels like she’s already fading into the trap of forgettable acting choices.
George Clooney
George Clooney is an exceedingly famous, good-looking man who will be a Hollywood icon until his dying day. This salt-and-pepper-haired looker made audiences swoon as Dr Doug Ross on ER for years in the ‘90s, before starring in great movies like Out of Sight, Three Kings, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? to close out the 20th century. I’d argue he kept this run going until 2007 with the likes of Ocean’s Eleven and Michael Clayton, his last great film.
Since then, though, has Clooney really starred in anything that will stand the test of time? I’d hear an argument for Gravity, although that’s much more Sandra Bullock’s movie than his. Aside from that, the man has a tendency to direct and star in arthouse-adjacent films that don’t even get particularly good reviews, as well as cookie-cutter fare like Ticket to Paradise and Wolfs.
To me, Clooney has been living off his ‘90s fame for the better part of two decades now, and every time a new movie is announced, I simply let out a shrug. His films often feel like they should be interesting, or that they should be acclaimed, but they’re just…not. In my book, he’s not been a compelling actor for a very, very long time, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Kevin Hart
A quick glance through Kevin Hart’s filmography since he had his first bona fide hit with Ride Along in 2014 reveals an awful lot of questionable choices. An argument could be made that he’s only made one good movie (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), and aside from that, it’s misfire after misfire. In recent years, he appears to have stopped trying, too, with his output almost solely falling into the Netflix “mockbuster” category. Can anyone truly claim to remember what The Man From Toronto, Lift, or Me Time are? I certainly can’t.
The main problem with Hart is the same as many other Hollywood stars who achieve any level of fame: he does the same thing repeatedly. It doesn’t matter which movie he’s in: audiences know by now exactly what they’re going to get from Hart. It’s going to involve fast-talking quips and jokes about him being short, but you’ll be lucky if one or two of the jokes even raise a giggle.
Maybe the problem lies in Hart’s origin as a stand-up comedian, not an actor by trade. Perhaps he’s been caught in a vortex of lucrative Hollywood mediocrity that is hard to walk away from. Either way, he’s burned audiences who want to give him the benefit of the doubt one too many times, so much so that, even when he tried to show his dramatic chops in The Upside or True Story, people were already too bored by him to care.
Vin Diesel
In the 21st century, more than a third of Vin Diesel’s big-screen output has been as part of the Fast and Furious franchise, while almost a quarter has come from him voicing everyone’s favourite sentient tree, Groot, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, crunching the numbers, this means 16 of his 28 motion picture appearances in the last 25 years have been as part of those two – admittedly hugely popular – mega franchises.
With this in mind, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that Diesel ain’t exactly someone who likes to push himself as an actor by embracing new and challenging projects. He’s perfectly happy collecting his millions monosyllabically grunting about “family” as Dominic Toretto, and monosyllabically grunting ‘Groot’ as Groot. On the one hand, the man has clearly found a niche, and he’s sticking to it. On the other hand, though, it has made his career extremely uninteresting.
Contrary to popular belief, Diesel actually suggested he might be a decent actor if properly motivated on a few occasions in the ‘90s. His performance in Pitch Black is all old-school screen presence, and he gave a good account of himself in Boiler Room and Saving Private Ryan. Is it out of the realm of possibility that the artist formerly known as Mark Sinclair might one day decide to stretch himself as an actor again? Yes, probably. But nothing’s impossible.
Gal Gadot
Gal Gadot has become one of Hollywood’s most controversial actors in recent years because of her ties to the IDF and pro-Israel beliefs, which often become the main focus of online discussion and media coverage regarding the star. Not only has she consistently proved herself to be a divisive public figure, but she has done little to prove that she actually has any business landing huge roles, which she somehow continues to score.
Gadot’s first film role was in the mind-numbing action franchise Fast & Furious, and she has since continued to show her allegiance to big-budget productions with her role as Wonder Woman in various DC movies. With parts in forgettable action movies like Red Notice and Heart of Stone, as well as a very stiff and poorly-performed role in the widely-panned Snow White, there’s little of interest to be found in Gadot’s filmography.
Millie Bobby Brown
When Millie Bobby Brown rose to prominence with her iconic role in Stranger Things as Eleven, it seems as though the British star had the whole world at her feet. Unfortunately, Brown has quickly proved herself to be one of cinema’s most disappointing rising stars, wasting her potential on original Netflix movies and blockbusters that are far from being harbingers of quality.
Her first proper film role following Stranger Things was in the rather poorly-received Godzilla: King of the Monsters, although she has predominantly committed herself to the world of Enola Holmes since, with the third one currently being filmed. With the negatively reviewed Damsel and The Electric State also under her belt, the actor is clearly refusing to challenge herself. None of her acting choices are remotely interesting, and with Brown previously admitting that she doesn’t even watch movies – finding them too long and time-consuming – it feels like she is only in the business for superficial reasons.
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg appeared in some good movies when he started acting in movies during the 1990s, like The Basketball Diaries with Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, which became his breakthrough performance. From there, it seemed as though Wahlberg had real promise to work in genuinely great movies, but instead he has largely picked action movies and comedies that haven’t exactly endured as timeless classics, like Max Payne and Ted.
While Wahlberg has starred in some good films during the 21st century, like The Departed and The Fighter, he predominantly picks out uninteresting parts in movies that look like they’ll be nothing more than box office gold, like Daddy’s Home, Transformers: The Last Knight, Uncharted, Me Time, The Family Plan, The Union, and Flight Risk. If he wants to be taken seriously as an actor, maybe he needs to re-team with Anderson; instead, one of his upcoming projects is going to be directed by Shallow Hal filmmaker Peter Farrelly, so it’s not looking good for him.
Ryan Reynolds
Everyone knows Ryan Reynolds, and many claim to love Ryan Reynolds, but why? Has the actor actually been in anything good? From the early days of his career, when he could be seen wearing a fat suit in Just Friends, to his box-office dominance with the cringe-inducing superhero series Deadpool, Reynolds has consistently appeared in movies that fail to challenge him creatively or leave any significant impact on cinema.
Of course, some stars are simply more drawn to the mainstream, but it says a lot about the kind of actor someone is when they refuse to appear in anything with an ounce of substance. It feels like many of Reynolds’ movie roles are just money-making vehicles, with titles like Detective Pikachu, Free Guy, Red Notice, The Adam Project, Ghosted, IF, and Deadpool & Wolverine all standing as great examples of his consistently bad choices.
