Best performance by a bad actor?

[Jingus]

Twins. Even though his character is very physically capable, he's not an action star by any means. And he's playing a character who really does have a surprisingly wide variety of traits; he has to go back and forth between being a modern Frankenstein's monster, and a dude who could believably be the twinned-soul of fuckin' Danny Devito's cynical street hustler. That's requiring an awful lot of shit from a guy with notoriously limited range, but Arnold pulls it all off beautifully. We even get moments of genuine sorrow from him, in those moments where he's getting his bubble busted by the cold cruel realities of the world we live in. Combine all that with also being the kind of guy who would obliviously scream along with Yakkity Sax while on a quiet airplane, and he's really a shockingly complex character in that film when you break it all down.

[caley]

His best performance is actually quite possibly 'Last Action Hero'.  Now the movie has all kinds of problems, but Arnold is not the problem is he conveys all kinds of meaning all over the place: whether he plays a cartoony parody of his action hero stock character, a goofy pompous version of himself as an actor, but where he really shines is in the scenes where he comes into the real world and realizes he's a fictional character and there's a certain awareness and sadness in his eyes that you don't get too often from him.

I really want to see 'Maggie'.  He looks great in it.

[Devin]

Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"

[caley]

Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side"

Except she was way better in 'Gravity'

[Jingus]

And way better than that in Demolition Man.

[Execproducer]

And Miss Congeniality is pretty entertaining.

[Curt McGirt]

Wait, how did I forget about the closing rant/breakdown in First Blood? THAT kicks the shit out of anything either actor ever did.

[Execproducer]

^{Stallone is miles above Arnie in terms of emoting, but Arnie learned enough about acting in front of a camera to go from completely wooden to believable in any role in just a couple of films. Neither is a bad actor.}

[ArtVanderlay]

Fuck all this True Lies bullshit.  Raw Deal is Arnie's best movie from an acting standpoint.

 

[mco543]

Jingle All the Way.

[Reed]

Hogan in Rocky III.

[supremebve]

Hogan in Rocky III.

Mr. T. is probably the best performance in that movie, and he isn't as good anywhere else.  I was having a conversation with a friend about what sports movie scene would have been the biggest story in real life.  My pick is when Mr. T. insulting Rocky's wife at his statue dedication. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

 

Hogan in Rocky III.

Mr. T. is probably the best performance in that movie, and he isn't as good anywhere else.  I was having a conversation with a friend about what sports movie scene would have been the biggest story in real life.  My pick is when Mr. T. insulting Rocky's wife at his statue dedication. 

 

 

If you watch the Richard Belzer thing, you can tell Hogan and Mr. T were like the pinnacle of macho attitude that predated the MMA and boxing Affliction T-shirt wearing/I do Crossfit on the weekends bro.

 

That's why Thunderlips and the Southside Slugger work. Now if you try to place that in a bunch of other movies, it's going to look way out of place. Fortunately for Hogan, he could cheese it down because of his gimmick and slide into a PG rated movie.

[ArtVanderlay]

I think Above the Law is Steven Seagal's best performance as an actor, in that director Andrew Davis had the brilliant idea of filling supporting roles with non-actors who came off as so wooden and stone faced that you didn't notice Seagal's limitations.

 

Joseph Kosala as Seagal's commanding officer was a real life Chicago cop with no acting experience, and it shows (he also shows up in Davis' Under Siege and The Fugitive).

 

The "sikh" store owner who was very obviously a Italian guy with sunglasses and a tan:

 

 

And even Davis' own mother as Seagal's mother.

[J.T.]

Keanu was king sized as shit kicking redneck Donnie Barksdale in The Gift.

 

I think we are forgetting how bad Sly Stallone can be and how awesome he was in both First Blood and Cop Land.

 

Christian Slater is usually a deal breaker for me but he redeems himself in both Heathers and the new TV show, Mr, Robot.  He also chews on scenery with glee in the mummy short from Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.

[Greggulator]

I'm sure someone has nominated Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love by now. But if not, that.

EDIT: The very first post!

[elizium]

I wouldn't say it was a particularly great performance or anything, but Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is the first thing I can remember where Chris Pine shows any sort of personality. He can't help being a plank of wood, even when playing Captain fucking Kirk.

[Brian Fowler]

He's strangely compelling and fun in Into The Woods.

[caley]

I wouldn't say it was a particularly great performance or anything, but Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is the first thing I can remember where Chris Pine shows any sort of personality. He can't help being a plank of wood, even when playing Captain fucking Kirk.

He was great in a tiny scene-stealing role in 'Celeste and Jesse Forever'

Spoiler for enormous picture

[Hooks]

 

Hogan in Rocky III.

Mr. T. is probably the best performance in that movie, and he isn't as good anywhere else.  I was having a conversation with a friend about what sports movie scene would have been the biggest story in real life.  My pick is when Mr. T. insulting Rocky's wife at his statue dedication. 

 

 

Such a great scene.  And when I saw trailers for Southpaw, I was kind of annoyed that they kind of seem to do a very similar scene.  I can't speak completely on it since I haven't actually seen Southpaw, but the basic idea of it seemed to be there and it bugged me. 

[J.T.]

He's strangely compelling and fun in Into The Woods.

 

Chris Pine was one of the Tremor Brothers.  He gets a pass from me.  I have no idea how Smoking Aces had some of the most original character concepts ever and yet it gelled into a complete shitburger of a movie.

[S.K.o.S.]

I wouldn't say it was a particularly great performance or anything, but Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is the first thing I can remember where Chris Pine shows any sort of personality. He can't help being a plank of wood, even when playing Captain fucking Kirk.

 

I take it no one's seen Stretch.  He's completely bonkers in that movie.

[driver]

I always thought Stallone was really good in Nighthawks as well.

[Reed]

 

 

Christian Slater is usually a deal breaker for me but he redeems himself in both Heathers and the new TV show, Mr, Robot.  He also chews on scenery with glee in the mummy short from Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.

 

I think he was pretty damn good in Broken Arrow. He had potential to be an action star that he never really lived up to.

[Kuetsar]

 

 

 

Christian Slater is usually a deal breaker for me but he redeems himself in both Heathers and the new TV show, Mr, Robot.  He also chews on scenery with glee in the mummy short from Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.

 

I think he was pretty damn good in Broken Arrow. He had potential to be an action star that he never really lived up to.

 

He wasn't bad in interview with the vampire.  I'd call him perfectly acceptable in supporting roles, but if your counting on him to star in your movie, your probably in trouble. . . .