2. Russell Crowe – Les Misérables (2012)
Whatever your thoughts are on Russell Crowe as an actor, you can’t deny his success – especially given his Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Gladiator. However, there are certain roles that he simply doesn’t look right in.
Many of Crowe’s biggest movies have been big-budget historical epics such as Master and Commander, Gladiator, and Noah, but he also happens to be a musician, and has been performing since the ’80s under various names. Given his numerous roles in historical epics and his experience in the world of music, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Crowe would be an excellent fit for the 2012 big-screen adaptation of Les Misérables.
Crowe was cast as Inspector Javert in the adaptation of Victor Hugo’s musical alongside Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean. However, while it would seem that the other Australian lead might have been the stranger casting choice, Jackman outshone Crowe in almost every way. Crowe’s overconfident belting of all of his lines is actually quite difficult to watch, and Javert is a part that required an awful lot of singing. Let’s just say that there’s a reason his music career never really took off.