5 Great Performances By Infamously Bad Actors

2) Jennifer Aniston In Cake

Jennifer Aniston has spent the majority of her movie career reciting dialogue that sounds weird without a laughter track; seemingly content to breeze through the movie business by opting to choose safe, similar roles that would earn her a tidy buck in the process. Whilst often inoffensive and generally quite likeable, Aniston simply never seems to get out of second gear for any film performance, with her high-profile personal life more invigorating to the public than her movie roles.

After assuring the public that she was still very much as sexy as ever by shedding her clothes in We’re The Millers, and playing the nymphomaniac dentist from hell in Horrible Bosses, Aniston has finally arrived at Cake, a movie that reminds us that she is able to perform higher than sitcom-level after all.

For the first time since perhaps The Good Girl, Aniston actually stretches herself, daring to venture into pastures new in a performance that’s miles apart from much of her earlier work. It’s a welcome digression away from the dreary monotony of sitcom-land where Aniston usually finds herself, as the actress openly takes a chance on a character who sits in a different social continent to the likes of her TV-wife-esque roles in Bruce Almighty, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Just Go With It.

The movie sees Aniston plays Claire, a scathing, acidic woman with a worn-out look perpetually etched into her features. She is riddled with scars, and is continuously haunted by a tragic incident from years gone by. It’s a far cry from being on the arm of Adam Sandler and Gerard Butler in previous glossy Hollywood parts.

Aniston throws herself into the role in Cake and is enormously impressive, with a Golden Globe nomination and a Critics’ Choice Award nod to prove it. Long may it continue.