8 Actors Who Were Sadly Wasted In DC Movies

As our previous lists of actors who were wasted in Marvel and X-Men movies proved, just because the comic book genre attracts some of the biggest names in Hollywood nowadays, it does not mean that they are used particularly well. In fact, we often see famous faces stuck in minor roles with the actors seemingly having signed on just to say they were in the film. It’s not just Marvel movies that are guilty of this, however, as DC can also be held responsible for squandering talent in their movies. Let’s hope that the upcoming Suicide Squad - which features a stellar ensemble cast including Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Viola Davis - makes sure to let each of its big names have a crack at the whip. While we wait to see how David Ayer's upcoming DC Comics adaptation turns out (thankfully, all signs are pointing to it being a hit), let's take a look at eight stars who unfortunately failed to make much of an impact in their DC movie roles. As always, if you notice a glaring omission from our list, make sure to remind us in the comments section down below. 8) Josh Brolin - Jonah Hex Josh Brolin is about to get his due in a superhero movie in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War two-parter, in which he plays big bad the Mad Titan Thanos. After several cameo appearances in previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he will finally get to show us what he can do beneath the heavy CGI. Let’s just hope it turns out better than the last comic book film role Brolin played with his face obscured. The actor was a perfect fit for the titular western anti-hero in 2010’s Jonah Hex – unfortunately, he was stuck in a terrible movie. If the film had been better, Brolin no doubt would have shined in the lead role. As it was, though, the actor had to take one for the team and ended up being lumbered with carrying this dead weight of a comic book adaptation. 7) Michael Fassbender - Jonah Hex It wasn’t just Josh Brolin who was wasted in Jonah Hex, as the movie also squandered great actors like John Malkovich, Michael Shannon, Will Arnett and, um, Megan Fox. Behind Brolin, though, the most egregious sin of the film is not making the most out of Michael Fassbender. Superhero film fans will know the German-Irish actor from his terrific turn as the younger Magneto in the X-Men prequel films. It's a shame, then, that DC didn’t use him better when they nabbed the actor for one of their movies, as well. In Jonah Hex, Fassbender plays the psychopathic assassin Burke – he’s probably the most memorable supporting character in the movie, but he's supremely underused nonetheless. Still, Will Arnett got to voice LEGO Batman after appearing in this movie, so maybe Fassbender could land himself another DC character sometime in the future? Let's just hope they make it a leading role this time, though, eh? 6) Peter O’Toole - Supergirl After the critical and commercial failure of Superman III, the spinoff Supergirl was made in 1984 in the hopes of putting the franchise back on track. Unfortunately, it was even more of a cheap, campy mess – with even Superman himself, Christopher Reeve, refusing to appear for even a cameo. One of the film’s biggest missed opportunities is the total waste of having multi Oscar-nominated British thespian Peter O’Toole on board. He plays the Kryptonian Zaltar, who's in possession of maguffin the Omegahedron. Essentially, he’s filling a similar role to Marlon Brando’s Jor-El in the Superman films. Unfortunately, while Brando managed to make his less-than-engaged performance work, O’Toole is… not that great. So poor is his turn in the film that he was nominated for Worst Actor at the Razzie Awards. If only he had been more plugged into the film he could have elevated Supergirl to another level. 5) Angela Bassett - Green Lantern 2011’s Green Lantern is one of the most disappointing superhero films in recent years, squandering the massive potential of the character and the surrounding mythology in a muddled movie saddled with poor storytelling and acres of awful CGI. Along with all that, it also wastes a cast packed full of talent. Take Angela Bassett, for example. Despite nabbing the part of Amanda Waller, an important character in comic book lore, the actress is sadly given a paltry amount of screen time and hardly anything to do within it. The film also alters the character pretty significantly, portraying her as a scientist investigating extra-terrestrial lifeforms rather than the Nick Fury-like leader of a spy organization that she is in the source material. 4) Tim Robbins - Green Lantern Speaking of Green Lantern, that movie is also guilty of doing absolutely nothing of interest with Tim Robbins, the Academy Award winning actor most known for The Shawshank Redemption. With a star of this calibre on board, they cast Robbins as the film’s main villain’s… father… who appears in a small handful of scenes. Not that even Robbins would be able to do much with such an anaemic role anyway, but he also has the misfortune of trying to act opposite an overzealous Peter Sarsgaard in a ridiculous bulbous head prosthetic. Furthermore, Robbins also has the (dis)honour of appearing in awful movies from both DC and Marvel. Before Green Lantern, his first foray into the bottom rung of the comic book genre was the infamous Howard the Duck. There, he plays a kooky janitor who tries to help Howard get back to his home planet. 3) Tommy Lee Jones - Batman Forever This one is more of a waste of opportunity than the actor as such. Tommy Lee Jones is actually in Batman Forever quite a bit – after all, he is one of the film’s main antagonists as Harvey Dent AKA Two-Face. The problem here is that his performance is terrible. Rather than playing a tragic character with deep psychological issues, Jones’ Two-Face is a cackling Joker knockoff – and the film had one of those already in Jim Carrey’s Riddler. This is a real pity, as if Jones brought his A-game he could have been fantastic in the role. As it is though, this is an unfortunate case of a pitch-perfect casting going wrong. Some say director Joel Schumacher pushed the actor for an OTT performance, while other sources claim Jones was worried Carrey would steal his thunder so he aped the actor’s style. Whatever the truth is, we wish it could have gone another way. 2) Laurence Fishburne - Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice An iconic part of Superman mythology he may be, it has to be said that Perry White isn’t the most dramatic part for an actor to play. He’s a safe second place when it comes to comic book newspaper editors (behind J. Jonah Jameson, of course). Naturally, then, Laurence Fishburne is routinely wasted in the role of Perry in the DC Extended Universe. Though Man of Steel gave him a couple of strong moments, he got even less to do in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Fishburne does the best with what he’s given in the role, but mostly it’s just a shame to see an actor of his talents being sidelined as much as he is. Presumably, he'll will stick around the DCEU for a while, but with Superman currently out the picture, it doesn’t seem likely he'll get much more time in the spotlight. 1) Amy Adams - Man Of Steel It seems that Amy Adams was destined to play the love interest of Superman. After auditioning for Lois Lane in both Superman Returns and Brett Ratner’s abandoned Superman: Flyby, as well as Smallville’s Lana Lang, Adams was finally cast as Lois in 2013’s Man of Steel. It would be nice, then, if the role she had been trying to get for the better part of her career actually gave her something to do. Man of Steel made some innovative changes to Lois’ character, making her aware of Clark’s secret identity being a big one, but Adams is still often underused. Again, BvS is the worst offender, as Lois is stuck in a boring subplot about Lex Luthor’s special bullets and at various points is relegated to damsel in distress. That film also hinted that Lois might have a tragic fate waiting for her, so it looks like we might be about to see even less of Adams’ Lois in the future.

8 Actors Who Were Sadly Wasted In DC Movies

8) Josh Brolin – Jonah Hex