21 Movies That Just Wasted Great Actors

No matter how much praise we heap upon indie films starring nobodies (or nobody, in the case of the truly avant garde), star power is still key to selling a movie. Like, if you can get Tom Hanks, definitely get Tom Hanks. It doesn’t really matter what you make him do — he can be a leading man, a death row prison guard, an alcoholic baseball coach or literally a 12-year-old boy.

You should give him something to do, though. Just having Tom Hanks stand around in the background of your movie will probably be enough to sell tickets, but it’s an insult to everyone involved. Still, a surprising number of movies catch a big fish and then just let it flop around.

For Redditor kshep1188, it was a mostly literal fish. “Recently, my little girl wanted to watch the live-action The Little Mermaid (2023),” they told r/Movies, “and seeing Javier Bardem just kind of exist as Triton was a bummer. I know it’s just a Disney cash grab, but let the man act and bring something special to the role!” 

They then asked, “What movies waste an incredible actor?,” and their fellow Redditors certainly didn’t waste any time providing their thoughts.