Good Actors You Didn't Know Starred In Awful Direct-To-Video Movies

There are plenty of exceptions to the rule, but a movie being released straight-to-video is often an indication of a low-quality film. Generally speaking, a straight-to-video release can refer to movies that hit physical media like DVD and Blu-Ray after a limited theatrical release or no theatrical release at all. In the internet age, straight-to-video can also mean a movie is released direct to video-on-demand services or receives a day-and-date release, which means it hits a small number of theaters and a VOD platform on the same day.

Original films produced for prestige streamers have ushered in a shift that proves theatrical releases are no longer the be-all-end-all mark of quality. The pandemic and the broad decline of movie theaters in general has reframed how the film industry looks at release options, but a lower tier of VOD and physical media releases still languish as unfavorable distribution paths.

Sometimes, big-name actors wind up starring in low-grade straight-to-video movies. It might mean their star power is dwindling and they are no longer being offered great roles; it could mean they wanted a quick paycheck and didn't mind a step down in quality; or it could even mean that it's time for them to get a new agent. Whatever the reason may be, it isn't the fault of these actors that their direct-to-video movies turned out awful. Here are a few genuinely good actors who have starred in material far below their talents.

Nicolas Cage is one of the only A-list actors to fall head-first into a long stretch of terrible straight-to-video movies but still maintain relevance and come out the other side with a healthy and enviable modern-day career. After a few of his big-budget starring roles resulted in box-office flops, Cage's cache as a leading man hit the skids. He explained to GQ "The phone stopped ringing." With hefty personal expenses and astronomical debt, Cage was required to headline multiple straight-to-video movies every year to make ends meet when the big paychecks stopped coming.

Some of Cage's worst movies from this unfortunate period include the likes of "USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage," "The Humanity Bureau," "211," a "Taken" knockoff titled "Stolen," and plenty of others. Cage is open about the fact that most of these straight-to-video movies were failures. At the same time, he wants it to be known that he always put 100% effort into each role, regardless of the quality of the movie. There were even a couple of gems to be found in his straight-to-video period that make the whole thing worthwhile, with Cage citing 2018's "Mandy" as a great and successful example. Cage finally managed to clear his debts, and with starring roles in successful recent movies like "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" and "Pig," Cage is back on an upward trajectory.

Tara Reid got off to an extremely promising start in the first phase of her career. The late '90s was her golden age with roles in big movies like "American Pie," "Cruel Intentions," and "The Big Lebowski" all in a couple years. She had a few more good roles over the next couple of years but, by the late 2000s, her career began shifting towards more and more straight-to-video fare after a couple of big mainstream failures like "My Boss's Daughter." Bad low-budget straight-to-video movies like "7-10 Split" and "Vipers" marked a turning point for the worst. A paparazzi frenzy, a failed reality TV show called "Taradise," and a bout of globetrotting partying were all factors that culminated in the downturn in her career. 

The next phase of her career was defined by the "Sharknado" series and other mockbusters of its ilk. She appeared in all six mainline "Sharknado" movies alongside plenty of other trashy B-movies like "Ouija House," "Bus Party to Hell," "Trailer Park Shark," "Tie the Knot," and "Art of the Dead." Reid's only departures from the straight-to-video bargain bin since have been in the TV shows "Ghosts" on CBS and the Amazon Prime original series "The Boys," but both appearances were small cameo roles in which she played herself. For as cheesy and ridiculous as they are, the "Sharknado" movies were extremely financially successful. Reid got on board the series as a producer toward the end and has begun producing her movies regularly, taking more control over the current phase of her career.

Relatively early on in his career, Cuba Gooding Jr. became an Oscar winner for his role in "Jerry Maguire." This early win was the definitive peak of his career and, although he had other good roles, it was mostly downhill from there. Starring roles in critically reviled movies like "Shadowboxer" and "Boat Trip" set his filmography on a downward trajectory that was difficult to pull back from.

Many of Gooding Jr.'s movies began going direct-to-video. With the exception of an occasional small supporting role in a successful film like "American Gangster" or his family-friendly movies aimed at children like "Daddy Day Camp" and "Snow Dogs," the majority of his output throughout the 2000s and early 2010s consisted of weak straight-to-video movies. "The Devil's Tomb," "Lies & Illusions," "Hardwired," "Sacrifice," and "Absolute Deception," amongst others represent his poor output throughout this unfortunate period.

He began making a comeback in the mid-2010s with supporting roles in acclaimed films like "The Butler" and "Selma." His biggest return to form came in 2016 with his starring role as O.J. Simpson in "American Crime Story," which earned him his first Emmy nomination. This handful of good roles hasn't completely turned his career around, however, as he continues to star in terribly received straight-to-video movies like "The Weapon" as recently as 2023. Gooding Jr. also made his directorial debut in 2018 with "Bayou Caviar," but this project also went direct-to-video and was met with negative reviews.

Christian Slater had a fantastic early career. After his star-making role in the 1988 cult classic "Heathers," Slater had plenty of great roles over the next few years in hits like "Interview with the Vampire" and "True Romance." But his stardom fizzled out quickly after a couple of duds, like the atrocious Uwe Boll movie "Alone in the Dark."

By the mid-2000s, the quality of Slater's roles took a steep nosedive. His starring role in the 2006 direct-to-video sequel "Hollow Man II" would end up being a good indicator of the state of his career moving forward for the next several years. Terrible low-budget movies like "Stranded," "Sacrifice," "Way of the Wicked," "Lies & Illusions," "Dawn Rider," "Soldiers of Fortune," and "Assassins Run" would become his bread and butter for a long time. He managed to find a bit more success as a voice actor throughout this period and can be heard in small roles in animated projects like "Phineas and Ferb" and "Robot Chicken."

When his career was at its lowest point, "Mr. Robot" came along to prove to the world that he was still a talented actor worthy of major roles. His parts have improved drastically since his resurgence from "Mr. Robot" with a role in the acclaimed film "The Wife" and more good TV roles coming his way in recent years.

From "Say Anything," "Stand By Me," and "Better Off Dead" in the '80s to acclaimed movies like "Being John Malkovich," "High Fidelity," and "The Thin Red Line" later on, John Cusack has starred in many hits. It has only been recently in the 2010s and 2020s that Cusack's roles have taken a turn toward straight-to-video fare. After a few of his starring vehicles like the Edgar Allen Poe film "The Raven" and the animated movie "Igor" severely underperformed at the box office, Cusack's status as an audience draw was called into question.

Cusack's movies began having reduced budgets and frequently wound up going direct-to-video. To his credit, he continued giving his all even as the roles got smaller. He gave two great performances in the direct-to-video thrillers "Grand Piano" and "The Frozen Ground" in villain roles opposite Elijah Wood and Nicolas Cage respectively. As he did more and more of these direct-to-video movies, they eventually began turning out bad more often than good. "Singularity," "Arsenal," and "Blood Money" were all released in the space of a single year and were all met with overwhelmingly negative responses.

One of Cusack's most recent projects was a lead role on the Amazon Prime original series "Utopia." This could have helped bring him back into more mainstream projects, but he followed it up immediately with "Pursuit," another awful straight-to-video movie released in 2022, which became the lowest-rated movie of his entire career.

Lara Flynn Boyle had quite a drastic rise and fall from grace. Early on in her career, she landed roles in movies like "Poltergeist III," "The Rookie," and "The Dead Poets Society," the last of which she was edited out of. Her real big break came in the world of television when she was cast as Donna Hayward on "Twin Peaks." Though she was one of the most important characters in the TV show, her role was recast with Moira Kelly when the prequel movie "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" was made one year after the premature cancellation of the series. Her fractious exit from the property was owed in part to the real-life drama she was causing behind the scenes, which contributed to her growing negative reputation in the eyes of Hollywood.

Boyle had a handful of other prominent roles including a lengthy run on the ABC series "The Practice" and supporting roles in the movies "Wayne's World" and "Men in Black II," but the good roles grew few and farther between. She began taking on much smaller parts in order to keep working on notable projects, such as a one-off guest appearance on "Law & Order" and an uncredited, unnamed bit part in "Charlie Wilson's War." With her output significantly slowed down, Boyle began appearing in trashy straight-to-video movies in the late 2010s with titles like "Hansel & Gretel Get Baked" and "Cougar Hunting."

The great John Malkovich has given dozens of great performances over the years. From his Oscar and BAFTA nominated performances in "Places in the Heart" and "In the Line of Fire," to crowd-pleasing roles in movies like "Burn After Reading," "Con Air," and his meta role in "Being John Malkovich," he has done it all. For the vast majority of his career, Malkovich has consistently managed to pick interesting, high-quality roles. In recent years, however, Malkovich's output has been far more inconsistent.

Malkovich may want to change up his agent because more and more of his roles have been in terribly received straight-to-video movies like "Rogue Hostage" and "The Survivalist" lately. This really only became a facet of his career in the 2020s, with the vast majority of his work beforehand being of a considerably higher caliber. In 2022 alone, Malkovich appeared in five of these lower-tier movies: "White Elephant," "Savage Salvation," "Mindcage," "Shattered," and "Chariot." This late-stage career drop-off is a surprise coming from Malkovich as he has continued appearing in high-profile movies in recent years like "Deepwater Horizon" and "Bird Box" alongside TV shows like "Crossbones," "Billions," and "The New Pope" without a clear reason for his recent shift toward the trashy.