13 Actors Whose Performances Sparked A Lot Of Debate and Even Hate Amongst Movie Fans And Critics

When a film is based on widely known source material, whether it's a book, a video game, or a series of comics, fans will always have different opinions about the actors who are cast to play characters they've already grown to love in form of media.
To totally immerse into characters, actors sometimes need to spend hours learning new techniques, improving their accents, and having to wear tons of makeup. But despite all of this work, viewers might not be happy with the results. Perhaps they think the actor is just too sweet to play a villain, or that the actor simply does not fit the role. These controversial performances of actors made several fusses.
Since Vivien Leigh in "Gone with the Wind", fans have had a long history of denouncing Hollywood's casting decisions, and the internet has only accelerated and exacerbated these reactions. These actors whose performances caused a lot of controversy might be found here. 
Here are 13 examples of movie casting decisions fans hated, whether the actors ultimately deserved it or not.

#1 Ana de Armas in Blonde

Source: © Blonde / Plan B Entertainment

Ana's performance received a 14-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in September 2022. However, after the trailer was released, not all liked the actress in the role of Marilyn Monroe. Some thought her accent was off and she didn't look like the legendary blonde. She was even included in lists of actors with the worst accents in films, alongside Lady Gaga in House of Gucci and Keanu Reeves in Dracula.
The outcry was so loud that the Marilyn Monroe Estate issued a statement in Armas' defense. Many people thought the film's plot was unpleasant, and one-sided, and portrayed the famous actress solely as a victim.

#2 Anna Gunn in Breaking Bad

Source: © Breaking Bad / Sony Pictures Television and co-producers

Many people disliked the actress because she was too annoying. Anna was concerned and even wondered if she was portraying her character correctly. The showrunner was taken aback by the outpouring of criticism because he didn't expect people to understand and empathize with the main character, who broke the law and not his wife.

#3 Anne Hathaway in The Witches

Source: © The Witches / Warner Bros. and co-producers

Even an incredible actress like Anne Hathaway faced backlash when she agreed to play the Grand High Witch in Zemeckis' The Witches. Her acting was dubbed "atrocious," and it made many people extremely embarrassed. “Anne Hathaway stars as the Grand High Witch in a performance that is so abysmal, she really should return her Oscar.”

#4 Chloe Grace Moretz in Carrie

Source: © Carrie / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and co-producers

Playing the lead in a remake of an extremely successful movie is a huge risk. Viewers are likely to compare the new actor to the original actor. This is what happened to the 2013 Carrie, which was relentlessly compared to Brian De Palma's 1976 masterpiece. Many people adore the original because of Sissy Spacek's extraordinary performance. Critics thought Chloe was too cute for the role, and some viewers thought she would have been better as the main character's antagonist.

#5 Daniel Craig in James Bond

Source: © Casino Royale / Columbia Pictures and co-producers

When it was confirmed that Craig would play Bond, many people were disappointed, claiming that he looked nothing like previous James Bonds. Of course, he has a distinct appearance that distinguishes him from actors such as Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Sean Connery. But there had previously been a blonde Bond: Roger Moore.
The actor couldn’t understand that. “It was so ridiculous. It was absurd. The fact that they were complaining that he was blonde stupefied me because Roger Moore was blonde. I didn’t know what they were talking about.”

#6 David Thewlis in Harry Potter

Source: © Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban / Warner Bros. and co-producers

Many fans love David Thewlis as Remus Lupin. However, the most devoted fans of the books noticed significant differences between Lupin in the movie and Lupin in the novel.

#7 Emma Watson in Little Women

Source: © Little Women / Columbia Pictures and co-producers

The other actors in Little Women, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, and Timothée Chalamet, were praised by critics. Emma Watson, on the other hand, was criticized for her unconvincing American accent. Fans of the novel were also dissatisfied with Emma's portrayal of Meg, believing she failed to capture the essence of her character.

#8 Halle Berry in X-Men

Source: © X2: X-Men United / Marvel Enterprises and co-producers

Storm (Halle) was not a fan favorite. People claimed she ruined the comic book character and criticized her appearance. Storm was supposed to be powerful, but she wasn't in the film. Others defended Halle, pointing out that it was the fault of the director and writers.

#9 Jamie Dornan in 50 Shades of Grey

Source: © Fifty Shades of Grey / Focus Features and co-producers

The film and the book it was based on were both criticized by viewers. Many people complained about the actors' lack of chemistry on screen. Jamie stated that he was able to deal with the negative attention directed at him and that he did not regret participating in the franchise. His career was boosted by the films, which grossed more than $1 billion.

#10 Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror

Source: © Mirror Mirror / Relativity Media and co-producers

Many people enjoyed Lily Collins' performance as Snow White in this movie version of the fairy tale. They were less impressed with Julia Roberts as the queen. They thought she couldn't really convey such an evil character convincingly. “She plays the evil Queen, Snow White’s murderous stepmother — a role that calls for cold-blooded malice, arrogance, cunning, and class, qualities conspicuously lacking in this warm, earthy, intuitive actress.”

#11 Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia!

Source: © Mamma Mia! / Universal Pictures and co-producers

The touching family comedy starred Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan, and Amanda Seyfried. However, because it was a musical, people were harsh on Pierce Brosnan's singing.
The criticism was so harsh that his singing abilities were even defended by the members of ABBA, the writers of the songs in Mamma Mia! In response to the criticism, Brosnan stated, “Singing is not necessarily my forte — I enjoy singing, I’m not quite sure other people enjoy my singing, but they have good Entertainment value out of my singing.”

#12 Sofia Coppola in The Godfather Part III

Source: © The Godfather Part III / Paramount Pictures and co-producers

Sofia Coppola is a talented director best known for her work on Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette. Winona Ryder was supposed to play the role, but she was replaced at the last minute by Sofia, an 18-year-old girl with little acting experience. Fans of The Godfather were harshly critical of her.
According to director Francis Ford Coppola, he regretted putting his daughter in such a situation because she was uninterested in acting. “I felt that I did this to her. It must have hurt her terribly to be told, ‘You ruined your father’s picture,’ when in fact, she hadn’t — in my opinion. At any rate, the whole subject of The Godfather III was painful for me.”

#13 Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher

Source: © Jack Reacher / Paramount Pictures and co-producers

Tom Cruise was widely hated in this role. Fans of Jack Reacher novels complained that Tom bore no similarity to the fictional character. Lee Child, the Reacher series' author, responded, “We’re also focusing on the non-book readers. What do they need? They need just great entertainment, they don’t have the reference already and so we also had to satisfy them.”