The Most Polarizing Actors of All-Time

[That-Guy]

Ever notice that there are some actors that people either love or hate, with virtually no one on the fence? Here are a few actors that, in my experience, most people either think are brilliant, or flat out suck.

Sean Penn - I think he's amazing but there are a sh**load of people who would say otherwise. I think a lot of the hate stems more for his off-camera activities, but regardless, he's certainly a love-em or hate-em kinda guy.

Val Kilmer - I loathe Kilmer. I've always found him flat, dull and wooden. I'll admit, there have been a couple of movies he's been in that I liked, but for the most part, I think he's got all the charisma of a coma patient. Yet there are people who would argue that he's a genius. And yes, I know he went to Julliard. Guees what? Ryan Leaf was an awesome quarterback in college.

A few others...

Nic Cage
Ellen Page
Leonardo DiCaprio

 

[Episode29]

 

[matrix_ghost]

Ever notice that there are some actors that people either love or hate, with virtually no one on the fence? Here are a few actors that, in my experience, most people either think are brilliant, or flat out suck.

Sean Penn - I think he's amazing but there are a sh**load of people who would say otherwise. I think a lot of the hate stems more for his off-camera activities, but regardless, he's certainly a love-em or hate-em kinda guy.

Val Kilmer - I loathe Kilmer. I've always found him flat, dull and wooden. I'll admit, there have been a couple of movies he's been in that I liked, but for the most part, I think he's got all the charisma of a coma patient. Yet there are people who would argue that he's a genius. And yes, I know he went to Julliard. Guees what? Ryan Leaf was an awesome quarterback in college.

A few others...

Nic Cage
Ellen Page
Leonardo DiCaprio

Dunno if i would say that leo is polarising. IMO it's more a question of the guy finally being able to act. I know some would say that his delivered some good work in movies like What's Eating Gilbert Grape but until the Aviator i really couldn't stand DiCaprio as an actor. And not because of the pretty boy image. I always felt that he just wasn't capable of truly delivering a proper performance and just relied on his looks. All that changed after The Aviator as i finally saw DiCaprio there actually being able to "act".

 

[That-Guy]

Yeah well, I've seen Leo in a lot of stuff and I feel that he's been a top talent since day one. He was brilliant in The Basketball Diaries and he sure as hell wasn't relying on his looks there, same with Gilbert Grape. And these days he's turned out some fantastic performances with The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond and Revolutionary Road. The only film I recall him "sucking" in was The Beach, but that movie was just terrible all around.

So I would say that he is a polarizer, because while a lot of people like myself think that he's really talented, there are those who say that he can't act at all.

 

[Evil Twin]

Marlon Brando owns this title.

I figure Keanu Reeves has to be right up there. He's undoubtedly popular and has worked a lot.

Also, Tom Cruise.

 

[WeaponXProject]

Nobody mentioned George Clooney?!?! He is this thread...

 

[That-Guy]

Yeah, Clooney, Cruise and Reeves are all good suggestions. I think all three are pretty good but a few missteps here and there have turned a good chunk of people against them.

 

[Laderlappen]

Zac Efron.

 

[WeaponXProject]

Yeah, Clooney, Cruise and Reeves are all good suggestions. I think all three are pretty good but a few missteps here and there have turned a good chunk of people against them.

I've only liked Clooney in one movie, O, Brother Where Art Thou?. Everything else he's done is crap as an actor.

 

[Jack O Lantern]

Ben Affleck inspire's the most over the top hate I've ever seen for an actor. Mostly by people who never watch his movies.

 

[That-Guy]

I've only liked Clooney in one movie, O, Brother Where Art Thou?. Everything else he's done is crap as an actor.

Syriana? Michael Clayton? Good Night & Good Luck?

Hell, I even thought he was good in From Dusk til Dawn, Burn After Reading and Out of Sight, three movies that, while I enjoyed, are nevertheless a bit disappointing.

 

[StrainedEyes]

Ben Affleck inspire's the most over the top hate I've ever seen for an actor. Mostly by people who never watch his movies.

Affleck is really not that good of an actor. Directing seems to suite him more.

 

[Commodore Schmidlapp]

Gone Baby Gone was really good. I do think that directing is his call.

 

[That-Guy]

Affleck is really not that good of an actor. Directing seems to suite him more.

Yeah, but he's not as bad as people make him out to be. Granted, he's SUCKED in certain movies (Paycheck, Armageddon) but he can turn out a great performance when he tries (Hollywoodland, Changing Lanes... I even thought he really stood out in Dogma).

I think he still needs to hone his craft a bit more, but he's not as bad as some people make him out to be. I'd take him over Freddie Prize or Zac Efron or any other *****e that has replaced him as the "hearthrob of the month."

 

[Octoberist]

Ever notice that there are some actors that people either love or hate, with virtually no one on the fence? Here are a few actors that, in my experience, most people either think are brilliant, or flat out suck.

Sean Penn - I think he's amazing but there are a sh**load of people who would say otherwise. I think a lot of the hate stems more for his off-camera activities, but regardless, he's certainly a love-em or hate-em kinda guy.

Val Kilmer - I loathe Kilmer. I've always found him flat, dull and wooden. I'll admit, there have been a couple of movies he's been in that I liked, but for the most part, I think he's got all the charisma of a coma patient. Yet there are people who would argue that he's a genius. And yes, I know he went to Julliard. Guees what? Ryan Leaf was an awesome quarterback in college.

A few others...

Nic Cage
Ellen Page
Leonardo DiCaprio

I feel bad for Leo because he's been trying to get out of that 'pretty boy' mold for years. And yet, some people still ignornatly dislike. As if they already made up their mind back in 1997. But you know what? You have you start somewhere. Johnny Depp was on a teen cop show. George Clooney was on a sitcom, along with Tom Hanks. Leo always has been in quality movies but he still gets the hate.

Ellen Page too is so young, that it's unfair for middle age nerds to 'dislike' her.

 

[Octoberist]

Syriana? Michael Clayton? Good Night & Good Luck?

Hell, I even thought he was good in From Dusk til Dawn, Burn After Reading and Out of Sight, three movies that, while I enjoyed, are nevertheless a bit disappointing.

Clooney totally redeem himself after Batman & Robin.

 

[That-Guy]

Yeah, I agree with you... Ellen has already proven herself to be a great actress and even if she hadn't, it's unfair to judge somone who is so young.

I think the backlash she has received is, like you said, from uptight middle-aged people who have never done ANYTHING in the entertainment field, yet think they know everything about movies. Therefore, by seeing ONE performance by her (you know that they haven't seen her in anything but Juno and maybe X-Men 3) they feel like they automatically can make an assessment of her ability.

I also think that half of the people who hate Juno would actually like it if it hadn't gotten so much attention and been nominated for a bunch of awards. The trouble with award nominations is that if people see a film after hearing how great it supposedly is, then that movie had better be the greatest film in the history of mankind or else it's deemed "overrated."

 

[That-Guy]

Clooney totally redeem himself after Batman & Robin.

Again, totally agree. To be honest, that movie is the only thing I've seen him in where I thought he was bad. He's done some other stuff that I didn't particularly care for, but B&R was really the only "awful" movie that I've seen him in. And hell, NO ONE could have made that movie good.

 

[Manic]

I agree about Ben Affleck. He may not be an Oscar worthy actor, but I'd take him in a movie over Keanu Reeves, Paul Walker, Channing Tatum, and a ton of other actors who don't get nearly as much hate as he does but are simply terrible. Yes, his relationship with Jennifer Lopez was all over the place, and it got annoying, and nobody wanted to see Gigli because of that, but that bit of backlash has turned him into one of the most "hated on" actors in Hollywood. To this day, whenever he gets a prominent role in a movie, TV commercials are edited to make audiences not notice him.

Since his death, Heath Ledger. I loved him in The Dark Knight too, but now people are divided between their unrelenting post-humous love for him, and overblowing the dislike they had for him prior to The Dark Knight. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't really like him in nearly anything I saw him in prior to The Dark Knight, and a majority of his movies were (I felt) bad. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels that way, but some people take that too far, and some other people use The Dark Knight (and likely Brokeback Mountain) as excuses to call him the greatest actor who ever lived.

 

[That-Guy]

Yeah, I was having the Ledger discussion with a friend lately, and really, there were only three movies that I've seen him in where I felt he was really great (TDK, Brokeback and Monster's Ball). I've heard Candy is excellent, but I have yet to see it. He was likeable in 10 Things I Hate About You, but that was by no means a brilliant film.

But yeah, he was in some TERRIBLE movies and other projects... probably not his fault, but he did chose to sign onto these movies (A Knight's Tale, The Patriot, The Order, and um... ROAR).

All in all, I think that despite a few missteps, he was a gifted actor who simply wasn't given enough time to showcase how much ability he had. However, things happen, and therefore, it's probably not fair to put him at the level of guys who had long, illustrious careers like Brando, Newman or Nicholson.

But the same could also be said for James Dean. He only did three movies and is regarded as a film icon.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Yeah, I was having the Ledger discussion with a friend lately, and really, there were only three movies that I've seen him in where I felt he was really great (TDK, Brokeback and Monster's Ball). I've heard Candy is excellent, but I have yet to see it. He was likeable in 10 Things I Hate About You, but that was by no means a brilliant film.

But yeah, he was in some TERRIBLE movies and other projects... probably not his fault, but he did chose to sign onto these movies (A Knight's Tale, The Patriot, The Order, and um... ROAR).

All in all, I think that despite a few missteps, he was a gifted actor who simply wasn't given enough time to showcase how much ability he had. However, things happen, and therefore, it's probably not fair to put him at the level of guys who had long, illustrious careers like Brando, Newman or Nicholson.

But the same could also be said for James Dean. He only did three movies and is regarded as a film icon.

I never thought A Knight's Tale was horrible. It was a tounge-in-cheek comedy period piece. It never tried to be anything more and it never advertised itself as anything more, and for the kind of movie it was, it was great.

 

[Darthkush]

Cruise, Affleck, and Clooney. All have done good work but all are hated by some person or another. Hell, I'm not fond of Clooney but I think Cruise is great and Affleck is good at times too.

 

[Wiseman]

Wait, since when do people like Pauly Shore

 

[Manic]

Wait, since when do people like Pauly Shore

He had a string of hit movies during the 90s. SOMEBODY thought he was funny, presumably.

 

[Octoberist]

I never thought A Knight's Tale was horrible. It was a tounge-in-cheek comedy period piece. It never tried to be anything more and it never advertised itself as anything more, and for the kind of movie it was, it was great.

Every actor goes through it.

Roar was something when he was 18 years old. You kinda have put into account of the actor's age, and the politics of Hollywood. That's why I was bummed out when Ledger died because he was on the verge of having promising (consistently good) career post Batman.