Oscar Hall of Shame: When Bad Movies Happen to Good Actors

This year's Oscar nominees all turned in a wealth of impressive performances to get the Academy to recognize them. Leonardo DiCaprio suffered through frozen locations and a cinematic bear attack, Brie Larson turned herself into a shut-in to play an imprisoned woman, Eddie Redmayne took on a transgender character, and Michael Fassbender transformed into Steve Jobs. But everyone has to start somewhere, and not every Oscar nominee has a credits list full of award-winners. Indeed, some past movies of the esteemed actors are pretty bad, so to remind everyone that this year's B-movie star can be next year's Oscar winner, we've rounded up the most embarassing past films of the current Oscar nominees.

Tom Hardy, This Means War
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Tom Hardy, This Means War

We may have a soft spot in our hearts for Tom Hardy's role as Tuck in this Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy, but the movie's most vocal detractor is Tom Hardy himself. Years after the film came out, Hardy called the experience miserable and pledged to not star in a romantic comedy again.

Cate Blanchett, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
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Cate Blanchett, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Carol star Cate Blanchett has won two Oscars and been nominated for seven films, but no, one of them was not for her role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, universally recognized as the worst movie in the Indiana Jones franchise. Let's not even discuss her accent.

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Man in the Iron Mask
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Leonardo DiCaprio, The Man in the Iron Mask

Nothing says career booster like "dual role." Leonardo DiCaprio starred in this period flick as both King Louis XIV and Philippe in 1998, which was his big follow-up to Titanic. Jack Dawson would not have approved of that hair.

Saoirse Ronan, The Host
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Saoirse Ronan, The Host

Stephenie Meyer's big followup to Twilight spawned this adaptation, which starred Ronan as a human invaded by an alien parasite nicknamed Wanda. Luckily, the best actress nominee found her way to Brooklyn.

Mark Ruffalo, Just Like Heaven
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Mark Ruffalo, Just Like Heaven

Romantic comedy veteran Mark Ruffalo charms in just about everything, but even he couldn't save this "comedy," where his love interest is played by Reese Witherspoon . . . as a ghost.

Eddie Redmayne, Jupiter Ascending
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Eddie Redmayne, Jupiter Ascending

It's a funny coincidence that Eddie Redmayne took home the best actor Oscar in 2015 in the exact same month that The Wachowskis' much-maligned Jupiter Ascending was released. Redmayne followed it up with The Danish Girl, though, bookending this movie with Oscar nominations and enough cred for us to write this one off.

Jennifer Lawrence, House at the End of the Street
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Jennifer Lawrence, House at the End of the Street

Four-time Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence has made very few missteps so far in her young career — except for the 2012 horror flick House at the End of the Street. It's just hard to believe an actress who plays tough so well when she plays a character you yell "Don't go in there!" at.

Matt Damon, Stuck on You
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Matt Damon, Stuck on You

The year was 2003. The Farrelly brothers were still a hot commodity in the world of Hollywood comedies, and thus, fellow hot commodity Matt Damon became the unsuspecting victim of a Siamese twinning. This is exactly the kind of thing The Martian's Mark Watney would make fun of.

Rachel McAdams, Aloha
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Rachel McAdams, Aloha

Despite this movie's generous helping of charismatic actors, this Cameron Crowe romantic comedy fell flat. Rachel McAdams, happily, has focused a little more on meatier roles since this, like her Oscar-nominated part in Spotlight.

Michael Fassbender, The Counselor
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Michael Fassbender, The Counselor

The Counselor came out the same year Michael Fassbender was also in 12 Years a Slave (for which he earned his first Oscar nomination). Where do we begin with The Counselor's crimes — Fassbender's unsexy rapport with Penelope Cruz, the yucky Cameron Diaz car-humping scene, or the fact that the Steve Jobs star Fassbender is grossly misused?

Kate Winslet, Labor Day
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Kate Winslet, Labor Day

This combo of director Jason Reitman and Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet should have been a dramatic slam dunk, but instead it's a schmaltzy melodrama about a weak woman falling for her captor.

Rooney Mara, Pan
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Rooney Mara, Pan

The decision to call this Peter Pan reboot simply Pan was an unfortunate choice indeed, considering how poorly it did with critics and at the box office. Carol star Rooney Mara at least escaped the mess for more highbrow fare.