When you think of William Shatner, you usually think of how he is a beloved actor. With a household name, you’d expect him to have phenomenal reviews from critics. Unfortunately, it’s quite the opposite. He pops up in the movie American Psycho 2 (2002) which you may think is a good thing. However, notice how this is only the sequel. While the first movie did really well, the second couldn’t even come close. It’s not even like he was in the first one. He was in Miss Congeniality (2000) and its sequel, but this series was overall disliked by critics. Was it his performance or the terrible roles that he has had plaguing his career? It is hard to say.
43. Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba has had a long and iconic acting career. After all, she literally takes on the superhero role of Sue Storm in the Fantastic Four series. She’ll forever be engrained in fans’ hearts in this way. However, critics actually hate her more so for her role in The Love Guru (2008). In this comedy, she stars alongside Justin Timberlake who also doesn’t have a great acting history. We also can’t forget her role in Little Fockers (2010) which had fans laughing and critics absolutely cringing.
42. Jennifer Love Hewitt
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) was highly criticized for poor writing and a boring plot line. Jennifer Love Hewitt was actually probably the high point of the whole thing, but she got caught in the dumpster fire that the critics lit. After that, though, Jennifer continued to get criticized including for her brief time on the show Criminal Minds. Maybe her best performance wasn’t truly acting at all, but rather her appearance in boyband LFO’s music video for “Girl on TV.”
41. Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner has a very diverse background in acting, tackling a variety of different roles. Fans in recent years have gushed over her motherly role in Love, Simon (2018) and the impactful message it has had about LGBTQ+ youth and acceptance. Critics just can’t get over some of her less-than-savory roles, though. One of the most notoriously bad movies would be Mr. Magoo (1997). In essence, critics weren’t impressed by the film or by her performance in it.
40. Zac Efron
Starting out in a preteen movie sensation can make it really hard to have a stellar acting career thereafter. Zac Efron was the teenage heartthrob Troy Bolton in Disney’s High School Musical (2006). He instantly curated a dedicated fanbase that would grow up alongside him. However, once the series ended, his career became a bit wonky. He starred in 17 Again (2009) and then Neighbors (2014) as a frat brother. Basically, he wasn’t exactly handed the most complex roles to be judged by. This doesn’t really matter to critics, after all. They really only care about your performance and, ultimately, they didn’t like his very much.