The math on
this is simple. If you’re a “talentless” actor, you don’t keep making movies. That
being said, let me state this as a caveat – sale-ability is a significant
contributing factor to an actor’s longevity. And sale-ability and talent may
not always correlate.
Having read
several of the responses, I must confess I’m at a loss for words. First, just
because an actor isn’t as talented as Daniel Day-Lewis or Frances McDormand, it
doesn’t mean they are “talentless.”
Talent is a
nebulous word to begin with, and an actor’s perceived talent has so much to do
with factors outside of their control-writing, directing, editing.
Talent is
hard to define and even harder to measure. Perhaps even more so with acting,
which is a deeply collaborative process. If actors continue making movies, it
means they are offering some or other form or talent.
Reacting to the question, others replied:
Charles
Johnson
I’ll go with
the one people want to pretend isn’t as bad as he is. Listen, I love Keanu but
after Replicas, Brahm Stoker’s Dracula, Knock, Knock, and countless other
disasters of performances I think it’s safe to say Keanu Reeves is possibly one
of the worst “actors” working in Hollywood today. He delivers lines with all of
the grace of a plane stripped of its wings midflight, he portrays all the
emotions of a cardboard rock and used to have a habit of constantly choosing
roles beyond him. I wish I could say he’s improved or learned what roles he
can’t fulfill but that just isn’t true as Replica.
Wairia-Film Maker
We all can
pretend as much as we like. But Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson is the icing on the
cake for this question. Sure, currently he has become the bonafide box office
gold. Driving ticket sales with his charisma and earning millions in return. It
doesn’t matter what a shit-fuckery of a movie he’s in, I’m looking at you
Skyscraper, San Andreas and Baywatch, it’ll still make enough $$ Benjamins $$
every major studio want him to headline their movies. (cough Black Adam,
seriously DC??!!) But honestly, this guy is talentless. Every character he
portrays is a wooden imitation of previous characters he has done. Generally,
his acting is either a disappointment or truly abysmal. And the only talent he
brings into a film is his rather larger-than-life muscles. I think, and this is
a credit to him, he realized he could win audiences by borrowing some of the
bizarre, over-the-top swaggers that he brought to the ring during the glory days
of his WWE career. But it shows the very clear limits of The Rock’s acting
ability when he tries to play a straight-faced serious role in a film because
all he can deliver are cheap cheesy jokes and weird facial expressions. Benjamins
or not he’s not getting an Academy Award or an Emmy nomination anytime soon.
Cassie Jones
Two words:
Mark Whalberg. His acting is atrocious, his “music” is cheesy and he’s reportedly
a terrible person (yes, it might be rumors, but the fact that he was convicted
of a hate crime makes said rumors pretty credible).
