Oscar Hall of Shame: 13 Movies the Nominees Probably Want You to Forget About

This year's Oscar nominees are so talented, but every actor has some bad movies in their past. Sometimes they're the early films in someone's career, and sometimes there are just rare missteps that they'd probably rather you forget about. But we have long memories, so for fun, we're looking at some of the less prestigious films of the acclaimed actors. And to be clear, many of these are so bad they're good (some are just so bad they're bad), but one thing is sure: none of these won them any Oscars.

01
Emma Stone, Aloha
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Emma Stone, Aloha

Getting one movie with best actress nominee Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, and John Krasinski should have been more of a treat, but we just wanted to say the goodbye version of "aloha" to this movie. And even though Stone is always delightful, we're sure the problematic nature of her casting makes her want to forget this film ever happened.

02
Dev Patel, The Last Airbender
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Dev Patel, The Last Airbender

After Slumdog Millionaire, Patel popped up in what's regarded as one of M. Night Shyamalan's worst movies (and that's saying something). We're glad that he found his way back to Oscar-nominated fare with Lion.

03
Meryl Streep, Death Becomes Her
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Meryl Streep, Death Becomes Her

Let's be clear: Death Becomes Her is so bad it's good, but considering the prestige that acting legend Streep has, it's kind of a head-scratcher to look back at her career and see this film. As a woman who's trying to become immortal in order to stay beautiful, she experiences lots of creeptastic side effects. Let's just file this one under guilty pleasure and be glad that the best actress nominee never turns her head all the way around on screen anymore.

04
Viola Davis, Nights in Rodanthe
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Viola Davis, Nights in Rodanthe

In the years before Viola Davis's breakout, she was relegated to these cheap girlfriend roles. Thank God Hollywood sat up and started giving her the roles she deserves.

05
Nicole Kidman, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
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Nicole Kidman, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

This was the highly anticipated follow-up of Steven Shainberg's Secretary, and Kidman herself is great in it, but she's playing Diane Arbus and Robert Downey Jr. plays a man covered in fur. Whom she falls for. Whom she shaves before they fall into bed together. And, oh: it's weirder than it sounds.

06
Michael Shannon, Man of Steel
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Michael Shannon, Man of Steel

Michael Shannon will always make an excellent villain, but everything about the much-maligned Superman movie Man of Steel is pretty ridiculous, including Shannon's over-the-top look and performance as General Zod.

07
Michelle Williams, Oz the Great and Powerful
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Michelle Williams, Oz the Great and Powerful

Michelle Williams is magical on screen, it's true, but the Manchester by the Sea and best supporting actress nominee deserves way better than this deflated Wizard of Oz reimagining.

08
Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives
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Ryan Gosling, Only God Forgives

Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn followed up Drive with this mess in 2013, and not even Gosling could save it. Luckily, he gave us La La Land, so all is forgiven.

09
Octavia Spencer, Allegiant
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Octavia Spencer, Allegiant

Oof. Divergent's first film adaptation started strong, but by the time we got to this, the third movie in the trilogy, just about everything interesting about it had fallen by the wayside (as did the cast for the fourth and final installment).

10
Naomie Harris, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
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Naomie Harris, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Though Naomie Harris broke out in 2002's 28 Days Later, she spent a number of years being cast in some odd roles that did nothing to service her talent, such as this one in Disney's megafranchise.

11
Natalie Portman, Your Highness
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Natalie Portman, Your Highness

It's great to see the best actress nominee in a comedy, but this one — a silly-ass monstrosity — was an odd choice to follow up her win for Black Swan in 2011.

12
Jeff Bridges, Stick It
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Jeff Bridges, Stick It

Don't get me wrong, I love Stick It. As mindless, watch-it-on-TV guilty pleasures go, it definitely makes my list. But something tells me the Academy voters won't be referencing this one as they look back at Jeff Bridges's long, multifaceted career. As crack-the-whip coach Bert Vickerman, Bridges butts heads with scrappy girls . . . in leotards. That's very, very far from the hard-boiled Texas Ranger he plays in Hell or High Water.

13
Casey Affleck, Ocean's Thirteen
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Casey Affleck, Ocean's Thirteen

No shade to the general Ocean's Eleven movies, which are a frivolous good time full of Hollywood male eye candy, but the third installment is widely regarded as The Film No One Needed.