MomSkoop
Hollywood isn’t always kind to actors who take big risks. Sometimes a role that seemed perfect on paper turns into a career nightmare on screen. From box office bombs to critical disasters, these performances left stars scrambling to rebuild their reputations. Many fought for years to escape the shadow of one terrible movie, while others never fully recovered from the damage. Here are ten roles that nearly destroyed the careers of well-known actors.
1. George Clooney as Batman
Long before his Oscar wins, Clooney donned the Batsuit in 1997’s “Batman & Robin” – a decision he still apologizes for today. The film’s campy style, rubber nipples on the Batsuit, and cringe-worthy ice puns made it a critical laughingstock.
Clooney has called it a career-killer, admitting he thought he’d never recover professionally. The film’s failure nearly typecast him as just another failed Batman in a long line of actors who couldn’t escape the cowl’s curse.
Thankfully, his work in “Out of Sight” and “Three Kings” shortly afterward helped audiences forget his Bat-blunder, allowing him to rebuild his reputation as a serious actor.
2. Halle Berry’s Catastrophic Catwoman
Fresh off her historic Oscar win for “Monster’s Ball,” Berry leaped into 2004’s “Catwoman” – and landed flat on her face. The disconnected-from-Batman adaptation featured bizarre basketball scenes, an inexplicable cat resurrection plot, and a costume that looked like leftover Halloween scraps.
Berry showed tremendous grace by actually accepting her Razzie Award in person, holding her Oscar in one hand and her Razzie in the other. “I want to thank Warner Brothers for putting me in this godawful movie,” she joked during her acceptance speech.
The $100 million bomb threatened to derail her A-list momentum permanently, taking years to overcome.
3. Mike Myers’ Love Guru Disaster
Myers had been comedy gold with Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, and Shrek. Then came 2008’s “The Love Guru,” a film so poorly received it effectively ended his leading man status. The character Guru Pitka relied on juvenile humor and cultural stereotypes that felt outdated even then.
Critics demolished the film, with Richard Roeper calling it “a monument of bad comedy.” Audiences stayed away in droves, making it one of the biggest comedy failures of the decade.
Myers essentially disappeared from live-action starring roles afterward. Apart from a small role in “Inglourious Basterds” and a documentary, his on-screen presence became almost entirely limited to voicing Shrek.
4. Madonna’s Body of Evidence Blunder
Following the success of “A League of Their Own,” Madonna gambled on 1993’s erotic thriller “Body of Evidence” – her attempt to create a “Basic Instinct”-style hit. The film featured graphic sex scenes, including notorious moments with hot wax and handcuffs that aimed for steamy but landed on silly.
Critics savaged both the film and Madonna’s wooden performance. The Washington Post called it “about as erotic as a root canal,” while audiences avoided it entirely.
The spectacular failure, combined with other acting missteps like “Shanghai Surprise,” cemented her reputation as a music legend but acting liability. Her acting career never fully recovered despite occasional later successes.
5. Eddie Murphy’s Plunge with Pluto Nash
The 2002 sci-fi comedy “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” stands as one of Hollywood’s most expensive disasters ever. Costing $100 million to make, it earned back just $7 million at the box office – a catastrophic 96% loss that haunted Murphy for years.
Murphy, once the biggest box office draw in America, found himself struggling after critics called the film “witless,” “unfunny,” and “a black hole of entertainment.” The space casino setting and Murphy’s charmless performance created a perfect storm of awful.
The bomb kicked off a string of failures including “Norbit” and “Meet Dave” that threatened to permanently tarnish his once-golden reputation.
6. Elizabeth Berkley’s Showgirls Shocker
Berkley desperately wanted to shed her squeaky-clean image from TV’s “Saved by the Bell.” Her solution? The NC-17 rated “Showgirls” (1995), featuring explicit nudity, sexual content, and her character’s infamous pool scene with Kyle MacLachlan that still makes viewers cringe.
The film became an unintentional comedy, with Berkley’s over-the-top performance earning her the Razzie for Worst Actress. “Her acting is so bad that her excessive nudity quickly becomes tedious,” wrote one critic, capturing the general sentiment.
While the film later gained cult status, Berkley’s legitimate acting career was effectively over. Major studios wouldn’t touch her for years.
7. Ben Affleck’s Gigli Nightmare
The 2003 romantic comedy “Gigli” wasn’t just a bad movie – it became a cultural punchline that nearly destroyed Affleck’s career. Co-starring with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez created a tabloid frenzy that overshadowed everything else about the film.
Critics were merciless. The movie’s awkward dialogue (“It’s turkey time… gobble, gobble”) became infamous, while the chemistry between the real-life couple somehow failed to translate to screen. The film won seven Razzies and lost over $70 million at the box office.
Affleck’s reputation took such a beating that his career entered a downward spiral for years. He wouldn’t fully recover until directing “Gone Baby Gone” in 2007.
8. John Travolta’s Battlefield Earth Catastrophe
As a passion project based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s novel, 2000’s “Battlefield Earth” was Travolta’s dream film. It quickly became his worst nightmare. Playing the alien Terl, Travolta sported dreadlocks, a prosthetic forehead, and platform boots while delivering dialogue at an angle that left audiences baffled.
The film swept the Razzies with a record eight wins including Worst Picture of the Decade. Critics called it “monumentally bad” and “plan-9-from-outer-space awful.” The $73 million production earned just $29 million worldwide.
Travolta’s career went into free fall afterward, with several years of direct-to-video releases following this epic misfire.
9. Sofia Coppola’s Godfather III Debacle
When Winona Ryder dropped out of “The Godfather Part III” at the last minute, director Francis Ford Coppola made a fateful decision – casting his daughter Sofia as Mary Corleone. The 18-year-old had minimal acting experience and was thrust into one of the year’s most anticipated films.
Critics were brutal. The Los Angeles Times called her performance “hopelessly amateurish,” while others suggested it ruined the entire trilogy’s legacy. The backlash was so severe that Sofia abandoned acting entirely.
The silver lining? The experience pushed her behind the camera instead, where she found her true calling as the acclaimed director of films like “Lost in Translation” and “The Virgin Suicides.”
10. Taylor Kitsch’s John Carter Collapse
After “Friday Night Lights” made him a TV star, Taylor Kitsch seemed poised for Hollywood greatness. Disney bet $250 million that he could carry 2012’s sci-fi epic “John Carter” – a gamble that failed spectacularly.
The marketing confused audiences, the title gave no hints about the plot, and Kitsch struggled to connect with viewers as the Mars-traveling Civil War veteran. Disney took a $200 million write-off, making it one of the biggest financial disasters in film history.
The same year, Kitsch also starred in “Battleship” – another expensive flop. The one-two punch effectively ended his chances of becoming a leading man in major studio films.